(The Center Square) – Two more bills that came out of recommendations from Pennsylvania’s 2021 Juvenile Justice Task Force have passed the House with bipartisan support this week.
House Bill 1576 would require the state to compensate counties for some of the expenses incurred while children are in their care. House Bill 1577 would require institutions to use safe and humane restraints on children.
Another bill requiring the Department of Human Services to conduct an inventory of juvenile delinquency programs and services throughout the state received second consideration Wednesday.
“Our children – all of our children – are our future. And that absolutely includes the children who go through our juvenile detention system,” said the bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Melissa Shusterman, D-Paoli.
Accusations of abuse and neglect have plagued Pennsylvania’s overcrowded juvenile detention centers, with many asserting that the inhumane conditions common in adult prisons have also become commonplace in facilities meant to care for children.
HB 1577 would ensure that practices like strip searches, seclusion, and the use of mechanical, chemical, or manual restraints be used as measures of last resort only when a child poses an immediate risk of harm to themselves or others. The bill emphasizes that these restrictive procedures are never appropriate as punishments, matters of convenience, or to mitigate staffing shortages.
The new law would hold facilities criminally liable for violations. Violators would also be subject to having their licenses revoked and funding rescinded.
“As legislators, we are responsible for ensuring the support, development, and safety of young people who are placed in the custody of the Commonwealth,” said Shusterman. “We must invest in these children to ensure they are equipped to have successful futures — where they will participate in our economy and contribute meaningfully in their communities.”
In the context of HB 1576, that investment would support counties in providing medical services, transportation, the appointment of guardians or counsel, and other services. The Department of Human Services would be responsible for 50% of the costs incurred by counties in these cases.
The largest financial burden in the juvenile justice system comes from out-of-home placements, and a major objective of the task force’s recommendations is reducing the number of situations in which that occurs. When youth have entered the decentralized system, the costs of needed services largely fall to the counties which operate detention centers and oversee individual cases.
Earlier this month, the House relaunched its bipartisan Pennsylvania Youth and Public Safety Caucus, which will continue to evaluate outcomes for safety and resources for children. The developments come as part of a slow response to the 35 recommendations issued by the state task force four years ago.
