Contact Information Young Women's Justice Center (Southern California)

Founder/Executive Director
Judy Marsh
youngwomensjusticecenter@earthlink.net
323-770-2650




Young Women’s Justice Center is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit community-based organization that provides therapy and intensive individualized case management services to girls (13-18 years of age), who are involved in the Los Angeles county juvenile justice system.

Young Women’s Justice Center’s mission is to provide female-responsive services and programming to girls within an environment that is safe and supportive where girls can heal themselves- emotionally and spiritually. Young Women’s Justice Center offers girls viable and sustainable economic and educational opportunities that will assist them in creating and determining their own success. Also, it is the philosophy of Young Women’s Justice Center to create services and programming in response to the opinions and needs of the girls themselves.

Young Women’s Justice Center’s “Girls Detention-Diversion Advocacy Program” was created in response to the girls themselves who expressed their feelings of frustration and hopelessness at being re-detained in juvenile hall and or sentenced to detention camp due to lack of adequate services and support systems that would help them to successfully exit the Los Angeles county juvenile justice system.

This program is a modified version of The Center For Juvenile and Criminal Justice’s “Detention-Diversion Advocacy Project”- a national program model designed to reduce the of recidivism of youth detained in juvenile detention facilities. Young Women’s Justice Center’s “Girls Detention-Diversion Advocacy Program” offers girls in juvenile hall who are awaiting disposition of their cases- an alternative to detention by offering: 1) weekly in-home individual therapy and bi-weekly family therapy; 2) intensive individualized case management services; and 3) 24 hour crisis intervention services. First of all, a female-responsive intake and strength-based needs assessment is completed for each female participant, and from the information obtained- an individual case plan is developed to ensure each girl’s successful reintegration back to their homes and communities. Young Women’s Justice Center documents each girl’s attendance and progress to ensure that girls and their families are benefiting from the services and programs they have enrolled in. Additional services include:

“Sisterhood Empowerment and Support Group”: A weekly therapy and support group for girls recently released from juvenile hall or camp. Girls discuss any challenges or difficulties they may be experiencing and receive feedback and support from their female peers. A Rites of Passage component is incorporated in the group which honors and celebrates the successes and achievements that the girls have made.

“Life Skills Program For Girls”: An education, prevention and intervention program adapted from The S.A.G.E. Project (Standing Against Global Exploitation) a model program that offers girls detained for prostitution-related charges- an alternative to detention.

“Sisterhood Outreach Project”: A peer educator/peer mentorship job training for girls in the juvenile justice system. Girls receive training to co-facilitate self-advocacy workshops; and are given the opportunity to create and implement their own workshops.

“Creative Expressions Program”: This program gives girls an opportunity to explore their talents in art, music and poetry; as well as offering an entrepreneurship arts and poetry component which gives girls venues in which to market and sell their creative works.