Nationally, girls are the fastest growing segment of the juvenile justice population, despite the overall drop in juvenile crime. The Female Detention Project in Philadelphia had the goal of drawing attention to the common experiences and needs of girls involved in the juvenile justice system, in order to identify gaps in services available to them, and to identify strategies that would compel the system to improve the quality of services offered to girls.

Using data collected in a single day in Philadelphia's Youth Study Center, each girl's court history was reviewed, and each girl was interviewed personally. From these 26 girls a profile was created of the typical girl being held in detention. This "typical" girl had a history of drug or alcohol abuse, violent behavior, and suicide attempts. Additionally, she had been adjudicated "dependent" due to abuse or neglect in the home, and had 5 or more foster care transitions.