Investments in Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Reform Leverage State Funding

Pennsylvania, where the Foundation’s Models for Change juvenile justice systems reform initiative has been active since 2004, announced $4.3 million in new funding for local projects that divert young people from formal juvenile court processing, establish community-based alternatives to incarceration, and improve county-based systems for providing legal representation. Two of the three funding announcements directly referred to Models for Change and seek to implement policy reform recommendations developed under the initiative; the third aims to replicate a successful local pilot program launched with Models for Change start-up funding. The new funding will help to ensure that reform gains are sustained and progress continues.