Patrick McCarthy will lend national expertise to youth justice reform efforts in Philadelphia and statewide.
Philadelphia, PA (June 25, 2019) – The Stoneleigh Foundation today announced the selection of Patrick McCarthy, Ph.D. as a Visiting Fellow. McCarthy served 25 years with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, including the last nine as President and CEO, and retired in January 2019.
“Patrick McCarthy served with distinction at the helm of one of the country’s foremost organizations dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth,” said Ronnie L. Bloom, Esq., Executive Director of the Stoneleigh Foundation. “He will bring a national perspective to the Foundation’s work improving outcomes for vulnerable young people involved in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. We’re thrilled by the opportunity to work with him in Philadelphia and across Pennsylvania to advance our shared goal of better outcomes for system-involved youth.”
In his role as a Stoneleigh Visiting Fellow, McCarthy will work in partnership with the Columbia University Justice Lab, an action research center focused on reshaping justice and ending mass incarceration. At the Justice Lab, he will collaborate with policymakers, advocates, philanthropic organizations, and both current and former youth correctional administrators to transform youth justice systems, shifting away from the use of incarceration and investing in the creation of more robust supports for youth and families in their communities.
“This nation is at a pivotal moment: closing the remaining youth prisons and developing viable community-based networks to support children and families are within our grasp,” said McCarthy. “With the support of the Stoneleigh Foundation, the Justice Lab will help states and local governments seize this opportunity to transform our approach to young people who get in trouble.”
The Stoneleigh Foundation was established in 2006 by the late John and Chara Haas to improve the life outcomes of Philadelphia’s most vulnerable youth. The Foundation awards Fellowships to exceptional practitioners, researchers, and policymakers who advance change in the systems that serve these young people, including juvenile justice, child welfare, education, and health. Prior Visiting Fellows have included Robert Listenbee, the former Administrator of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and current First Assistant District Attorney at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, and Robert Schwartz, the co-Founder and Executive Director Emeritus of Juvenile Law Center.
During his Fellowship, McCarthy will work with local, state and national leaders to leverage and expand current momentum in Philadelphia and Harrisburg related to juvenile justice reform and systems change. McCarthy’s Fellowship will also include acting as an advisor to the Stoneleigh Fellows—accomplished and emerging leaders working across systems to improve youth outcomes.
“During his tenure at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Patrick McCarthy demonstrated what was possible in terms of improving outcomes for our most vulnerable children,” said Justice Lab co-Director Vincent Schiraldi, MSW, senior research scientist at the Columbia University School of Social Work. “The Justice Lab is building on that foundation to develop and implement strategies to transform youth justice, including closing youth prisons and building community supports for young people. With this Stoneleigh Fellowship, Patrick will continue to provide leadership to this movement.”
McCarthy served as President and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation from 2010 through 2018. During his tenure, he was credited with deepening the Foundation’s commitment to race equity issues and leading its efforts to create a fairer and safer juvenile justice system and a more family-focused child welfare system. In his 2015 TedX talk, McCarthy issued a clarion call to replace all of America’s youth prisons with a safer and more decent continuum of community programs. He joined the Foundation in 1994 to manage its Mental Health Initiative for Urban Children, a multi-year, $20 million effort to provide high-quality, community-based mental health services to children in four high-poverty communities.
McCarthy has also held a variety of positions within the juvenile justice and child welfare fields, including as a psychiatric social worker; the head of a school for youth with emotional and behavioral challenges; and Director of the Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services at the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families. He received a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from the Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research.
“The message has been received in states and counties across the U.S.: our most vulnerable children deserve better than what they’ve been getting,” said McCarthy. “Now those states and local governments are hungry for guidance on next steps. With the support of the Stoneleigh Foundation, I look forward to working with the Justice Lab to share my experience and networks with local officials who want to close their youth prisons and develop viable community-based programs so that children never have to see the inside of a courtroom or a jail.”
About the Stoneleigh Foundation
The Stoneleigh Foundation was founded in 2006 by John and Chara Haas to improve the life outcomes of Philadelphia’s most vulnerable youth. The Foundation meets its mission by awarding Fellowships to exceptional leaders who advance change in the systems that serve these young people, including juvenile justice, child welfare, education, and health. For more than ten years, Fellows have undertaken projects that enhance how systems work together, improve practice to better meet the needs of youth, and generate new knowledge through action-oriented research. For more information, visit stoneleighfoundation.org.
About the Columbia Justice Lab
The Columbia Justice Lab combines original research, policy development, and community engagement to propel the project of justice reform. In their vision, justice depends on peaceful and healthy communities that help all their members to flourish in a climate of fairness and respect. The Lab works for a community-centered justice, in which incarceration is no longer used as a solution to problems that are often rooted in poverty and racial inequality. For more information, visit justicelab.columbia.edu.
