Pennsylvania and MacArthur's Models for Change

At the heart of the Models for Change story in Pennsylvania is the partnership between the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee (JJDPC), Pennsylvania’s state advisory group (SAG). The JJDPC distributes federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act funds and helps shape state juvenile justice policy. Aligning many of its goals with those of the Foundation, JJDPC matched MacArthur Foundation’s nearly $11 million contribution by providing more than $10 million of its own for Models for Change-related issues. This public-private partnership began with a common interest in aftercare, mental health services, and disproportionate minority contact. It flourished because of the savvy collaboration of JJDPC with Foundation

staff and leadership.

This monograph highlights some of the ways that Pennsylvania’s SAG combined people, vision and dollars with those of Models for Change. It shows how the Foundation identified and collaborated with a key state agency to improve Pennsylvania’s juvenile justice system. The JJDPC and Models for Change supported many separate lanes on the highway of reform, but some of those lanes merged to create a smoother, faster pathway to common goals.

At the heart of the Models for Change story in Pennsylvania is the partnership between the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee (JJDPC), Pennsylvania's state advisory group (SAG). The JJDPC distributes federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act funds and helps shape state juvenile justice policy. Aligning many of its goals with those of the Foundation, JJDPC matched MacArthur Foundation's nearly $11 million contribution by providing more than $10 million of its own for Models for Change-related issues. This public-private partnership began with a common interest in aftercare, mental health services, and disproportionate minority contact. It flourished because of the savvy collaboration of JJDPC with Foundation staff and leadership. 

This monograph highlights some of the ways that Pennsylvania's SAG combined people, vision and dollars with those of Models for Change. It shows how the Foundation identified and collaborated with a key state agency to improve Pennsylvania's juvenile justice system. 

As the lead entity for Models for Change in Pennsylvania, Juvenile Law Center was active in many of the activities and events that are described in the publication.