Pa. lawmakers push for juvenile justice reform. But will it pass both chambers?

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More than two years ago, the Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force delivered a final report and offered recommendations to overhaul the state’s embattled youth justice system.

Now those proposed reforms are finally getting a chance in Harrisburg.

The Youth Safety Caucus recently held a webinar, updating the media on legislative movement.

Erika Parks, a policy officer for Pew Charitable Trusts, said House Bill 1381 made it through the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee in September, and could see a vote on the floor soon.

Sponsored by state Rep. Dan Miller (D-Allegheny), HB1381 makes several significant changes to the state’s youth justice system, including ending a direct file to adult court, eliminating almost all court fees and fines, prohibiting the use of solitary confinement on children, prioritizing diversion programs, and requiring consultation with an attorney before a child waives their rights.

“There is the potential for moving some of these solutions forward and making a real difference for kids,” Parks said.

Donna Cooper, executive director of Children First, a child advocacy nonprofit, has been at the forefront opposing the state’s controversial youth detention facilities  — such as the Glen Mills Schools and its successor Clock Tower Schools.

“They’re not the full suite of bills that we need to move to a really reasonably effective and state-of-the-art juvenile justice system where we make sure that children never become adult offenders, but they begin to move us in that right direction,” Cooper said.