Francine Sherman speaks and writes widely about the juvenile justice system and, in particular, about girls in the justice system. She has testified before Congress, served on the U.S. Department of Justice National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women focusing on children and teens victimized by domestic violence and sexual assault, and as consultant to OJJDP’s National Girls Initiative. Her most recent report, Gender Injustice: System-Level Juvenile Justice Reforms for Girls, provides a comprehensive overview of the needs and pathways of girls into and through the justice system and details a developmental approach to current juvenile justice reforms. She is also the author of Detention Reform and Girls, a volume of the Pathways to Detention Reform series published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation (2005); Making Detention Reform Work for Girls: Practice Guide #5 (Annie E. Casey Foundation); and Juvenile Justice: Advancing Research, Policy and Practice (Wiley & Sons), and “Justice for Girls: Are we Making Progress?” (UCLA Law Review).

She is an ongoing consultant to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative on strategies to reduce the detention of girls nationally, and regularly consults with national and local foundations and systems on issues related to girls in the justice system. Her current research continues to explore a developmental approach to juvenile justice for girls and young women and includes oral histories of young women with justice system histories, qualitative research focusing on pregnant and parenting young women in the juvenile justice system, and law and social science research with Impact Justice on LBQ/GNCT girls detained for prostitution.