Across California and the nation, justice-involved women represent the fastest-growing population within the criminal legal system. Despite recent declines in men’s incarceration, women’s incarceration continues to rise, revealing a significant gap in how systems respond to women’s needs. Over the past 35 years, arrests of women have increased by 25%, while arrests of men have decreased by 33%. Between 2009 and 2018, men’s jail populations fell by 8%, but women’s jail populations grew by 23%. These statistics make clear that gender-neutral services are not effective for women, and that counties must adopt specialized, gender- and trauma-responsive approaches if they hope to improve outcomes.

About The Gemma Project
Gemma was founded in 2000 by and for justice involved women who were tired of cycling in and out of jail without programs and services designed to help them from coming back. The
Gemma Project is a therapeutic reentry curriculum that begins prior to release and continues into the community as a trusted bridge of support for an unlimited amount of time. We provide therapeutic groups that support practical skill building in a supportive environment that specifically addresses the unique pathways to women’s incarceration. As part of our program, each participant receives group and individual reentry planning, as well as group and individual therapy. We use evidence-based practices and have been effective at reducing recidivism by 40%.

Why Gender-Responsive Services Matter
Research consistently shows that women’s experiences of trauma, domestic violence,
economic instability, addiction, parenting responsibilities, and lack of safe housing create
distinct patterns of system involvement. Nearly 90% of justice-involved women have histories of violence and sexual assault and 80% are mothers - often sole caregivers. When counties rely on generic reentry models designed primarily for men, women fall through the cracks, which leads to higher recidivism, unstable reentry, and increased strain on local courts, probation, and social services and directly contributes to the intergenerational cycle of incarceration. The Gemma Project fills this gap by providing direct services tailored to the real, lived experiences of women and their children.

Where we are:
The Gemma Project operates our full service model in Contra Costa County including:
*Pretrial Care Coordination for all women released on pretrial.
*In-Custody 8-week Day Program Curriculum.
*Individual Continuing Care pre-release planning and support.
*Individual and Group Continuing Care post-release groups,
*Individual and Group therapy post release.

We provide the following services to women on parole and being released from prison to
Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz,
Solano, and Sonoma counties:
*In-Custody 8-month Day Program Curriculum at both CA women’s prisons
*Individual Continuing Care pre-release planning and support
*Individual and Group Continuing Care post-release groups
*Individual and Group therapy post release
*Housing subsidies

Why Counties Choose The Gemma Project
Counties turn to The Gemma Project because
we:
Specialize in serving justice-involved women
Employ trauma-, gender-, and culturally
responsive practices that are proven
effective
Provide a proven structure for reentry
success
Offer scalable programming tailored to
county needs
Reduce in-custody liability
Reduce strain on multiple county department
budgets
Strengthen court and probation outcomes
Strengthen families and reduce
intergenerational risk for incarceration
Reduce long-term justice-system
involvementWe do not believe in one-size-fits-all solutions.
Our work is designed for the women most
overlooked by the traditional system – because
when women succeed, families stabilize, and
entire communities become stronger.
Partner With Us
The Gemma Project welcomes the opportunity
to collaborate with counties committed to

building a more effective, equitable, and gender-
responsive justice system. We are ready to assist

with program implementation, training, service
coordination, and long-term partnership
development.