girls circle association

Data Analysis for Girls Circles in Juvenile Justice Settings

The Girls Circle Association (Girls Circle) is a non-profit organization that is a project of the Tides Center. Girls Circle has developed a model for girl-centered support groups. This model provides support groups that are delivered for girls by women. Girls Circle maintains facilitators from organizations such as probation department and school districts to set up circles for girls in a variety of institutional settings.

Ceres Policy Research analyzed survey data that was collected by Girls Circle Association and Dominican University of California. This data was collected from circles in fifteen different cities and included responses to three different validated instruments: a self-efficacy instrument, a body image instrument, and a perceived social support instrument. We paid special attention to whether girls in juvenile justice settings had different outcomes than girls in other settings.

Download a PDF file of the findings summary.

Program Evaluation

Once Girls Circle established that their curricula lead to gains in self-efficacy, body image, and perceived social support, they were interested in developing a research project that would measure a broader range of outcomes for girls participating in circles. Ceres Policy Research worked with the founders of Girls Circle Association to develop a logic model, a survey instrument, and a quasi-experimental research design.

Survey data from fifteen sites was collected in the 2006-7 school year.

Download a PDF file of the logic model and survey instrument. Download a PDF file of the final report.