Posted: | May 22, 2023 10:11 AM |
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From: | Representative Dan L. Miller and Rep. Jordan A. Harris, Rep. Donna Bullock |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | Improving our Juvenile Act |
According to our bipartisan Juvenile Justice Task Force, Pennsylvania involves police and arrests our kids at rates that dwarf our neighboring states – arresting them 9x more than West Virginia, 7x more than OH, and almost 15x more than NY. Children of color fare even worse. Black girls are 3x more likely to be involved with police than white girls. Black boys are arrested more, removed from home more, are tried as adults more, and stay in placement longer than any other demographic (while representing a fraction of our state youth population). To begin the systemic change needed to improve futures in Pennsylvania for all of our children, the Task Force recommended nearly three dozen changes involving several areas of law. This bill incorporates recommendations involving the Juvenile Act and builds upon them by including other measures that will help ensure that our juvenile justice system is fair, equitable, and responsive to the rehabilitative needs of our kids. Among the improvements are:
Please join us in sponsoring this critically important legislation. |
Introduced as HB1381