Juvenile justice bills would eliminate most court fines, expand diversion in Pa.
State lawmakers held a hearing Tuesday on a set of bills intended to reduce burdens on students and families involved in Pennsylvania’s juvenile court system.
The three-part package would require judges to refer some students to diversion programs instead of detention, limit the number of days students can be held pre-trial, and eliminate most fines and fees from the juvenile court system.
“Children should not be propping up our criminal justice system with the money that they have to pay into it,” said Allegheny County representative Emily Kinkead, who introduced the bill to eliminate fines and fees. “They should not be paying for their own incarceration, for their own supervision.”
If enacted, Pennsylvania would join 24 other states across the country that have already eliminated all or some fines and fees from the juvenile justice system, according to a report from the Juvenile Law Center published this week.
Unpaid fines were the most frequently alleged offense in 2021, according to the state’s Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission (JCJC). Black youth are most likely to end up with long-term consequences for that offense.
