Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Pennsylvania’s Youth Justice System

The Challenge

Youth of color are disproportionately represented at every stage of the youth justice system—including at arrest, detention, charging, and disposition—compared to their white peers. In Philadelphia, for example, Black youth make up half of all young people, but comprise 77% of all detained youth and 83% of all adjudicated youth. Research also demonstrates that youth of color are often treated more harshly than white youth who are charged with the same offenses.

The Project

Through this Emerging Leader Fellowship, Meghan Ogle will work with the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy to evaluate system reform efforts in Pennsylvania aimed at reducing the racial and ethnic system disparities faced by youth of color.

Specifically, this Fellowship will enable Meghan to:

• Design and lead an evaluation of the Capstone Projects implemented by Pennsylvania counties participating in CJJR’s Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Juvenile Justice Certificate Program, a program CJJR is operating in Pennsylvania in partnership with the Center for Children’s Law and Policy and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
• Support statewide and national youth justice system transformation efforts by disseminating evaluation findings and best practices for replication.