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Op-Ed:
Pennsylvania's Juvenile Justice Task Force can help the state's youth
and save money
[The Center Square]
Each year, about 18,000 kids in the state of
Pennsylvania have some type of contact with the criminal justice system.
Most of these young people are in trouble for relatively minor
behaviors, like failing to pay a court-ordered fine or a fee,
shoplifting, disorderly conduct or possession of drugs. |
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 For youth adjudicated in Pennsylvania’s juvenile courts, the
most common outcome is formal probation. This is the case even though 81% of
these cases are misdemeanors and close to half of the kids placed on probation
are determined to be at low risk to reoffend.
While putting kids on probation may not seem like a big deal, research shows
probation isn’t effective for low-risk kids and is often a pathway to deeper
criminal justice system involvement. Formal probation comes with close
supervision and a long list of conditions. For many kids, this means more
opportunities to miss appointments and make mistakes. Indeed, recent data from
Pennsylvania shows that technical violations of probation – things like missing
appointments with probation officers, staying out past curfew, or failing to
keep up with court-ordered fines and fees, can, and often does, result in kids
being removed from their homes.
But Pennsylvania lawmakers may soon turn the tide. Just last week, the
Pennsylvania General Assembly’s Bipartisan Juvenile Justice Task Force issued a
set of recommendations to improve the way the state responds to justice-involved
youth. One of their recommendations is to divert more youth who commit low-level
offenses from the criminal justice system entirely. And another is to expand
diversion options across the state, so this alternative is available to kids
regardless of where they live. While doing less in response to youth misbehavior
may seem counterintuitive to some, there is strong data behind this approach,
both in Pennsylvania and in other states.
Diversion is not a new thing in Pennsylvania, but it isn’t used consistently
throughout the state. Indeed, whether it’s an option for your child probably
depends on where you live. Here is how it works. When a kid gets in trouble, a
written allegation of their conduct is sent to the probation intake department.
At that point, Pennsylvania’s probation officers decide whether to proceed with
the case or divert it from the justice system. Under Pennsylvania law, probation
officers are given broad discretion to extend diversion offers to almost any
kid, when they determine that diversion is both safe and appropriate.
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When a child’s case is diverted, it is not handled by the court, the child does
not appear before a judge and the child is not placed on probation. Instead, the
case is handled informally, and a specialized unit of the probation department
oversees it. This unit works with each child to create an individualized
diversion agreement. This agreement might include writing an apology letter,
completing community service hours or participating in a restorative justice
program. The matter is resolved quickly and the child’s contact with the justice
system is minimal.
When diversion is used in Pennsylvania, it is wildly successful. Eighty percent
of youth successfully complete all of the requirements of diversion programs,
and there is no further escalation in the case. In the small percentage of cases
where a child is not successful, the probation department can seek to have the
case move forward in the justice system.
There is great momentum behind this approach nationwide. Like Pennsylvania,
other states have begun to discover that for children with limited justice
system involvement, diversion is cheaper and more effective. For example, a new
study shows that for low-risk kids and first-time offenders, diverting kids from
the justice system leads to better outcomes across the board – diverted kids are
less likely to reoffend and less likely to have ties with delinquent peers. They
are more likely to graduate from high school and much more hopeful about their
future opportunities and potential to succeed.
To be clear, diverting kids from the justice system does not mean that they
won’t be held accountable for their behavior. It simply means that we try a less
formal approach before using the resources and training of criminal justice
professionals to respond to a kid’s conduct.
Kids make mistakes. It’s normal. It’s how they learn and grow. But for most
kids, and most mistakes, the criminal justice system is not an effective answer.
And all kids – no matter where in Pennsylvania they live – should be considered
eligible for a second chance.
The Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force should be applauded for their work
to expand diversion and make it an available option to all kids throughout the
state. Giving most kids a chance to stay out of the justice system makes sense.
It is cheaper, keeps families together, leads to less crime and is the right
thing to do.
Noella Sudbury is a senior fellow for Criminal Justice and Civil
Liberties at the R Street Institute. |
