The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee is the official juvenile justice planning, coordinating, and policy-setting body for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The committee develops a comprehensive, long-range plan and related policies for the Commonwealth's juvenile justice system. Additionally, the group sets priorities for juvenile justice projects supported by PCCD’s various funding streams 

Mission 

"Juvenile Justice: Community Protection; Victim Restoration; Youth Redemption."  

Disproportionate Minority Contact Subcommittee (DMC)

The Chairman of the Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Subcommittee is Daniel Elby, Founder and Executive Director of Alternative Rehabilitation Communities (ARC), Inc., based in Dauphin County. The DMC Subcommittee represent the Department of Human Services, the delinquency intervention arena, juvenile court services, public defenders, education and community-based organizations.   

The Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Subcommittee of the PCCD Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee works to develop and implement strategies to reduce the disproportionately high contact of minority youth with the state’s juvenile justice system. This includes working closely with the National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ), which develops the DMC indices for each county in Pennsylvania. These indices are then submitted to the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Each state that participates in the federal Formula Grants Program is required to report on DMC progress as part of the monitoring process in its comprehensive Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention three-year plan and subsequent plan updates in order to demonstrate compliance with Section 223(a)(22) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. Plan updates are required and reviewed annually by the federal OJJDP. States failing to address the overrepresentation of minority youth contact in their juvenile justice systems risk losing 20 percent of their federal Formula Grants allocation for that year. Pennsylvania is one of three states currently in full compliance with the federal reporting requirements. 

Questions about the work of this Subcommittee should be directed to Lenore Wyant at lewyant@pa.gov or (717) 265-8458. 

DMC Subcommittee Members  

Diversion Subcommittee

PCCD’s Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee (JJDPC) has established a Diversion Subcommittee to promote both the creation of pre-adjudication diversion programs, as well as formal, county-wide policies designed to hold non-violent youthful offenders accountable without proceeding to an adjudication of delinquency or conviction for a summary offense.

Originally created as part of the MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change Initiative, the Diversion Subcommittee is working to help provide juvenile justice professionals with alternative ways to address the criminogenic needs of young, non-violent offenders, while ensuring that community safety is not compromised.  Use of diversion policies and practices in appropriate cases can reduce the burden on the formal juvenile justice system while still ensuring that juveniles are held responsible for their actions and their victims are restored to the greatest extent possible.  Diversion programs are of special interest for those youth with mental health needs who are better served by identifying and treating the underlying conditions, rather than their becoming involved with the formal juvenile court process.

The co-chairs of the Diversion Subcommittee are George Mosee and Angel Stewart, Juvenile Probation Officer, Cumberland County Juvenile Probation.  Members of the subcommittee are drawn from across the spectrum of the juvenile justice system including probation, prosecutors, public defenders, state agencies such as the Department of Human Services, the Department of Education, the Juvenile Court   Judges' Commission, law enforcement, victims' services, and mental health providers.   

A full list of the members can be found at the link below.  Questions about the subcommittee should be directed to Geoff Kolchin at gkolchin@pa.gov or (717) 265-8483.   

Diversion Subcommittee Members 

Guide to Developing Pre-Adjudication Diversion Policy and Practice in Pennsylvania (PDF) 

The Pennsylvania Juvenile Collateral Consequences Checklist (PDF)  

Family Involvement in Pennsylvania's Juvenile Justice System (PDF)

In 2005 the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee established the System Enhancement Subcommittee. This committee is chaired by Keith Snyder, Executive Director of the Juvenile Court Judges Commission.  The original purpose of this Subcommittee was to provide oversight and coordination for three intersecting projects designed to impact and improve the juvenile justice system.

The projects are: "Juvenile Justice System Enhancement/BARJ Training Project" based at the Center for Juvenile Justice Training and Research (CJJT&R) at Shippensburg University; and "Research, Analysis and Communications" and "Measuring Intermediate Outcomes of Balanced and Restorative Justice" Projects based at the National Center for Juvenile Justice.

The committee is currently tasked with assessing, monitoring and addressing system wide issues that may affect the juvenile justice system. The committee will prioritize these issues and advise the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee on strategies that could be employed to effect system wide change. 

Questions about the work of the System Enhancement Subcommittee should be directed to
Marcella Szumanski at mszumanski@pa.gov or (717) 265-8463.

System Enhancement Subcommittee Members