By Hannah Schaffer, Editor-in-Chief
In December 2019, the Juvenile Justice Task Force was established by Governor Tom Wolf and Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas G. Saylor. The Juvenile Justice Task Force was co-chaired by Senator Lisa Baker, Senator Jay Costa, Representative Tarah Toohill and Representative Mike Zabel.[1] Members of the Task Force were appointed by Governor Wolf, the Legislature, and the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.[2]
Pennsylvania’s juvenile justice system’s stated main goals are community protection, accountability, and competency development for youth by “employing evidence-based practices whenever possible and, in the case of a delinquent child, by using the least restrictive intervention that is consistent with the protection of the community, the imposition of accountability for offenses committed, and the rehabilitation, supervision and treatment needs of the child.”[3] However, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Pennsylvania’s rate of juvenile residential placement exceeded the national average.[4]
“The members of the Task Force were selected for their expertise in various areas surrounding the juvenile justice system, including youth members who bring a unique perspective and experience to this important topic,” Governor Wolf said.[5]
The Force was comprised of thirty members. Members of the Task Force included James Anderson, the former Executive Director of the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission, Megan Black, Assistant District Attorney in Allegheny County, Michael Pennington, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and Tiffany Sizemore, who at the time was an Assistant Professor of Clinical Legal Education at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.[6] The Juvenile Justice Task Force also included Judge Douglas Reichley of the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas and Judge Kim Berkeley Clark of the 5th Judicial District.[7]
“Despite our progress, more work remains. We must move forward to ensure our juvenile justice system is aligned with what data and research tell us is best for our young people, their families, and the public safety of our communities,” said Judge Kim Berkeley Clark.[8]
The purpose of the Juvenile Justice Task Force was to “assess the state’s system and review data from court and state agencies, gather input from diverse stakeholders, and examine how current practices can better align with research about what works best to improve youth outcomes.”[9]
“This task force is the next important step toward protecting vulnerable young Pennsylvanians and I look forward to its thorough review of our juvenile justice system with the goal of making lasting change that ensures every young Pennsylvanian is getting the support needed to grow into a successful adult,” Governor Wolf said.[10]
Over 16 months, the Task Force reviewed Pennsylvania’s laws and policies and heard from hundreds of citizens “through roundtables, public testimony, and questionnaires.”[11] The Task Force then developed 35 “data-driven, research-based recommendations” intended to strengthen due process and procedural safeguards.[12]
In June of 2021, the Task Force released a number of key findings. The first finding of the Task Force was that, based on research, “most youth are not on a path toward adult crime and over-involvement in the system can increase their likelihood of reoffending.”[13] Second, the Force found that “despite its success, diversion is underutilized.”[14]
The report also found that “young people with low-level cases end up on probation and in residential placement.[15] In 2018, 59 percent of adjudicated youth were sent to residential placement for a misdemeanor, and most had no prior adjudications.[16]
The report also stated that “out-of-home placement consumes the vast majority of taxpayer spending—even though services for youth living at home are generally more effective.[17] This came from the finding that on average, out-of-home placement costs as much as $192,720 per child per year.[18] It was estimated that Pennsylvania was spending 80 percent of its juvenile delinquency expenditure on out-of-home placement.[19]
Finally, the Task Force found that “outcomes for youth show large disparities by race and geography—even for similar behavior.”[20] The Task Force’s report found that there were large racial disparities for Black Non-Hispanic youth, especially boys.[21] Black Non-Hispanic boys were more likely to be removed from their homes and more likely to be prosecuted as adults.[22]
Data from 2018 revealed that Black youth comprised 14 percent of the Pennsylvania’s youth population.[23] That same year, Black youth comprised “38 percent of the written allegations, 62 percent of pre-adjudication detention admissions, and 47 percent of placement decisions.”[24] In 2018, white youth comprised approximately 70 percent of Pennsylvania’s youth population, but only “45 percent of the written allegations, 20 percent of pre-adjudication detention admissions, and 28 percent of placement dispositions.”[25]
After establishing its key findings, the Task Force announced 35 recommendations.[26] For example, the Juvenile Justice Task Force recommended that evidence-based practices be employed at every stage of the juvenile justice process, the minimum age for when a youth can be tried in juvenile court be raised and that youth with low-level cases be consistently diverted to community-based interventions instead of out-of-home placement.[27] The Task Force also recommended that the juvenile justice system prioritize restitution payments to victims and eliminate unnecessary fines and court costs, as well as increase system accountability to address inequities through “enhanced data reporting to the public” and “wider representation on oversight bodies.”[28]
The Task Force estimated that if all the recommendations are enacted together, the out-of-home placement population could be reduced by 39 percent by 2026, which would free up over $81 million in state costs over the course of five years.[29]
The report concluded by stating “action is necessary to reestablish Pennsylvania’s status as a national leader in aligning practice and policies with research about how to keep communities safe and put young people in every county on a path to a better future.”[30]
In May 2022, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for four reform measures, including Senate Bill 1226, which would standardize a shorter timeline for the expungement of juvenile cases, Senate Bill 1227, which would explicitly include juvenile justice in the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services’ funding goals language, Senate Bill 1228, which would require program placements to be reviewed at three months instead of six months, and Senate Bill 1229, which would amend the state’s reimbursement schedule to cover half of counties’ costs for public defenders and other court expenses for juvenile cases.[31]
Christopher Welsh, a public defender in Delaware County, said the four bills were “an important first step,” but “future legislation will be necessary to achieve all that the juvenile justice recommendations lay out.”[32] Welsh also stated that providing state funding for juvenile defense is “particularly relevant” since Pennsylvania is the “only state in the nation that does not fund public defenders.”[33]
Following the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing, advocates for criminal justice reform gathered on the steps of the Capitol to demand action, mainly the restriction or elimination of the “direct file” or “statutory exclusion” laws—these laws give district attorneys the power to immediately prosecute juveniles in adult court for certain offenses.[34]
Anderson, the former executive director of the Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission, strongly urges that a working group be convened to address direct file reform, since decreasing the number of juveniles subject to trial as adults “is one of, if not the most important of the recommendations that was put forth by the task force.”[35] In its report, the Task Force found that an estimated 60 percent of direct file cases are eventually moved to juvenile court, dismissed or withdrawn.[36] However, while these cases are being adjudicated, juveniles are often held in adult jails.[37]
“We’re not saying no one can ever be tried as an adult, we’re saying start it in family court. If you want to charge someone as an adult, shift the burden to the prosecutor,” said Andre Simms, an advocate with Care, Not Control, a coalition of advocacy groups pushing for juvenile justice reform.[38]
A major roadblock to decreasing the number of direct files is that there is the limited number of beds in juvenile detention centers.[39] Allegheny County specifically has struggled with implementing the new federal law that requires juveniles to only be held in adult facilities when “in the interest of justice,” since the county’s Shuman Juvenile Detention Center was closed after the state revoked its license for safety and conduct violations.[40]
While Pennsylvania has started to reconsider some of its juvenile justice practices following the Juvenile Justice Task Force’s official report, the state has ways to go to meet the Task Force’s recommendations.
[1] Criminal Justice Reform, Press Release, Gov. Wolf Announces Juvenile Justice Task, GOVERNOR TOM WOLF (JAN 17. 2020)ForceMembershttps://www.governor.pa.gov/newsroom/gov-wolf-announces-juvenile-justice-task-force-members/
[2] Id.
[3] Report & Recommendations, THE PENNSYLVANIA JUVENILE JUSTICE TASK FORCE (June 2021) https://www.pacourts.us/Storage/media/pdfs/20210622/152647-pajuvenilejusticetaskforcereportandrecommendations_final.pdf
[4] Id.
[5] Criminal Justice Reform, Press Release, Gov. Wolf Announces Juvenile Justice Task, GOVERNOR TOM WOLF (JAN 17. 2020)ForceMembershttps://www.governor.pa.gov/newsroom/gov-wolf-announces-juvenile-justice-task-force-members
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Report & Recommendations, THE PENNSYLVANIA JUVENILE JUSTICE TASK FORCE (June 2021) https://www.pacourts.us/Storage/media/pdfs/20210622/152647-pajuvenilejusticetaskforcereportandrecommendations_final.pdf
[9] Criminal Justice Reform, Press Release, Gov. Wolf Announces Juvenile Justice Task, GOVERNOR TOM WOLF (JAN 17. 2020)ForceMembershttps://www.governor.pa.gov/newsroom/gov-wolf-announces-juvenile-justice-task-force-members/
[10] Id.
[11] Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force Report: Executive Summary, THE PENNSYLVANIA JUVENILE JUSTICE TASK FORCE (June 2021) https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:30e440dc-b50a-4f81-9259-e655ebd914c2#pageNum=1
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force Report: Executive Summary, THE PENNSYLVANIA JUVENILE JUSTICE TASK FORCE (June 2021) https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:30e440dc-b50a-4f81-9259-e655ebd914c2#pageNum=1
[17] Id.
[18] Id.
[19] Malik Picket, The Juvenile Justice Task Force report gave us a roadmap to reform. Now it’s up to lawmakers to finish the job, PENNSYLVANIA CAPITAL-STAR (June 27, 2021) https://www.penncapital-star.com/commentary/the-juvenile-justice-task-force-report-gave-us-a-roadmap-to-reform-now-its-up-to-lawmakers-to-finish-the-job-opinion/
[20] Id.
[21] Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force Report: Executive Summary, THE PENNSYLVANIA JUVENILE JUSTICE TASK FORCE (June 2021) https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:30e440dc-b50a-4f81-9259-e655ebd914c2#pageNum=1
[22] Id.
[23] Malik Picket, The Juvenile Justice Task Force report gave us a roadmap to reform. Now it’s up to lawmakers to finish the job, PENNSYLVANIA CAPITAL-STAR (June 27, 2021) https://www.penncapital-star.com/commentary/the-juvenile-justice-task-force-report-gave-us-a-roadmap-to-reform-now-its-up-to-lawmakers-to-finish-the-job-opinion/
[24] Id.
[25] Id.
[26] Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force Report: Executive Summary, THE PENNSYLVANIA JUVENILE JUSTICE TASK FORCE (June 2021) https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:30e440dc-b50a-4f81-9259-e655ebd914c2#pageNum=1
[27] Id.
[28] Id.
[29] Id.
[30] Id.
[31] Zack Hoopes, Pa. Senate panel holds hearing on juvenile justice reform bills, but advocates ask for more (May 24, 2022) https://www.pennlive.com/news/2022/05/pa-senate-holds-hearing-on-juvenile-justice-reform-bills-but-advocates-ask-for-more.html
[32] Id.
[33] Id.
[34] Id.
[35] Id.
[36] Zack Hoopes, Pa. Senate panel holds hearing on juvenile justice reform bills, but advocates ask for more (May 24, 2022) https://www.pennlive.com/news/2022/05/pa-senate-holds-hearing-on-juvenile-justice-reform-bills-but-advocates-ask-for-more.html
[37] Id.
[38] Id.
[39] Id.
[40] Id.
