Background

In 2007, eyes around the nation turned to Luzerne Country, PA, when the Juvenile Law Center (JLC) began investigating reports from youth and their families of harsh –and illegal– treatment during the adjudication process.

In what has been widely acknowledged as the worst juvenile justice scandal in US history, JLC investigators uncovered wide-spread pervasive greed and corruption by dozens of county officials at the expense of vulnerable young people and their families. JLC’s attorneys sought intervention from the PA Supreme Court, which ultimately intervened on the youths’ behalf. Read More>

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Juvenile Justice Commission Reports on “Kids for Cash” Scandal — What Failed & Needed Responses

Juvenile Justice Commission Reports on “Kids for Cash” Scandal — What Failed & Needed Responses

written on June 7th, 2010 with no comments

A Report for the Governor, Legislature, and Courts and the Public.

On May 27, the PA Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice (ICJJ) issued its much-anticipated report about the “kids for cash” scandal in Luzerne County. The Commission was created in 2009 by an act of the General Assembly, with the support of the Governor and the Supreme Court, to determine how the Luzerne County juvenile justice system failed; restore public confidence in the administration of justice; and prevent similar events from happening again.

The Commissioners adopted much of all the witness’ testimony, both juvenile justice experts and the families and youth impacted by the corruption scandal. These recommendations target key areas within the juvenile justice system that need reform or strengthening. Such reforms will impact all of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, supporting current good practices, and re-mediating problem areas.

The report calls to accountability both the central players in the corruption, the two Luzerne County judges and others currently under indictment, and the larger community that tolerated and even contributed to the Luzerne County abuses, including the education systems at the state and local level. The Commission cites longstanding local problems with corruption. It is noteworthy to mention that families at the Advocacy Alliance Family Forums last fall emphasized that this culture of corruption kept citizens from speaking out about the events for fear of retribution.

Report Recommendations Designed to Promote Effective, Evidence Based Approaches that Hold the System Accountable

MHAPA supports the far reaching recommendations within this report, and urges the PA Legislature, Governor, and the Courts to move forward immediately to adopt these reforms. When enacted, they will improve:

Legal representation for children
Training and oversight of juvenile justice staff
Oversight of practices and trends, such as residential placements
Humane responses to children with the elimination of Zero Tolerance philosophy and shackling, neither of which are supported by research. MHAPA and the advocacy community have long rejected Zero Tolerance and restraints including shackling, in favor of effective individualize and objective reposes to children in need of intervention and supports.

Recommendations in the report that specifically reinforce MHAPA’s recommendations to the Commission for Evidence Based Practices include:

Use of the Youth Level of Service (YLS), an objective instrument Probation Officers can use to determine a youth’s level of need, including the appropriateness of keeping a youth in their home.
Adoption by County Juvenile Probation Offices of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), a national research-based juvenile justice model. JDAI is a coordinated program of services and supports that rely more on proven family-focused interventions, and creates opportunities for positive youth development.

Children’s Ombudsman Still Needed

We do want to express our disappointment that MHAPA’s recommendation for a Children’s Ombudsman Office was not within the immediate reforms requested by the Commission. We maintain that a Children’s Ombudsman is critically needed within the state, not only to serve as a central public point of contact for concerns about juvenile justice processes, but as an independent public oversight and information resource for all the child caring systems. The need for such an entity was consistently expressed in the testimony of families, youth, and juvenile justice professionals who knew there was something wrong, but did not know where to turn for information or assistance. A state Children’s Ombudsman would provide exactly that service.

Many of the Commission’s recommendations address the need for increased juvenile justice system oversight. The Commission assigns such oversight to existing state governmental bodies, including the PA Supreme Court, the Juvenile Court Judges Commission, and Judicial Conduct Board. We agree that the system itself must have greater capacity to monitor its functioning, however these reforms do not respond to the basic need expressed by so many of the victims – the need for a safe, independent, and responsive resource to turn to for information and direction when they believe a governmental agency is acting improperly. A state Children’s Ombudsman Office would meet that need, and would coordinate with and support the other accountability measures the Commission recommends. Note: MHAPA does not recommend a separate Ombudsman Office to handle only juvenile justice issues, though we believe that a centralized Children’s Ombudsman Office would need to have expertise on the juvenile justice system.

Role of Public in Reform- Next Steps

The Commission’s report was delivered to all three branches of PA government and to the public. It is expected that the recommendations it contains will be enacted by the responsible government and juvenile justice entities. The implementation process should continue to include the broad based stakeholder representation key to the Interbranch Commission proceedings. This will help to ensure that the improved system is responsive to all perspectives and respectful of all those impacted by Pennsylvania’s juvenile justice system.

As this process rolls out, MHAPA’s Children’s News will keep readers advised of opportunities to participate in the reform. A first step is offering your thoughts and comments regarding the Interbranch Commission Report in the Comments section below. Additionally we will hold a public forum in Luzerne County in the near future to inform the public on the report’s findings and recommendations, and offer support for public response. Date to be announced shortly.

More Information:

More information on the report and the Interbranch Commission can be found at: