Juvenile justice reforms slow going

(The Center Square) – In June of 2021, the Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force made 35 recommendations it claimed could avert $81 million in state costs over five years.

So far, only a few have found a way to the governor’s desk.

Senate Bills 169 and 170 require quarterly disposition review hearings for children in detention centers and standardized records expungement post-discharge, respectively.

The reforms target the high numbers of juvenile offenders pushed into systems that closely mirror their adult carceral counterparts.

Critics say it’s not enough to create “meaningful” change.

“I can’t help but to feel like this legislation represents reform in only the most minimalist of ways,” said Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Philadelphia. “We must act as a legislative body to enact the more substantive proposed reforms in service of justice for adjudicated youth of Pennsylvania.”

Those reforms include reducing the number of youths tried as adults by eliminating statutory exclusion, a process known as “direct file” which automatically requires juvenile offenders aged 15-17 to be tried as adults when certain criteria are met.

“Instead of helping our youth, this ‘direct file’ law has been proven time and time again to be a failure, nothing more than a cruel, unnecessary punishment that forces children into the adult prison system. Research has shown again and again that young people tried as adults have higher rates of recidivism than those who remain in the juvenile system,” wrote the bill’s co-sponsors in a memo to the House.

That legislation, House Bill 1551, is currently awaiting consideration by the House Judiciary Committee.

Other recommendations have been included in bills that have stalled in the committee, and others have yet to see legislative action.

Key findings of the task force showed that the majority of youth placed out-of-home were guilty of misdemeanors for instances in which they hadn’t paid fines to magisterial district courts. For 40%, these were first offenses, and only 39% were person offenses that involve threat or force against another person.

Most youth placed out-of-home begin at a low risk for re-offense. Once in the system, this risk increases significantly. On average, they are kept from their homes for about 16 months.

The current practices disproportionately affect Black boys, still recovering from the “super-predator” label used to justify laws like the direct file statute which HB 1551 aims to repeal, advocates say.

The task force’s recommendations include reinvesting the costs reform would save into diversion and intervention for youth. They also include supporting probation offices in complying with JCJC standards, creating alternative programs to residential placements, and strengthening restorative justice programs.

Victim restitution funds, which currently can be earned through service programs in which offenders are reimbursed at minimum wage for their work, could also be filled by the diverted funds.

Recent bills seeking to reform juvenile detention facilities themselves remain on the table in the wake of abuse allegations.