Pennsylvania Juvenile Probation Departments in the Wake of the Luzerne County Scandal: What Has Changed?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52935/21.193152020.09Keywords:
Juvenile Justice, Probation, Luzerne County, Kids for CashAbstract
In 2008, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania made national headlines when the “Kids for Cash Scandal” broke. As a result of the actions of the Juvenile Court Judge and other juvenile system personnel, the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice was created to develop rules to prevent the juvenile justice system in Pennsylvania from failing again. The purpose of this study was to determine how juvenile probation practices have changed since the scandal and if those departments were following through with the recommendations of the Commission. While many policies and practices have changed since the scandal, such as the policies regarding gifts and gratuities, there was a lack of consistency in the magnitude of those changes.
References
42 Pa. C. S. A. § 6304(a)(4) (2021). https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=42&div=0&chpt=63&sctn=4&subsctn=0
42 Pa. C. S. A. § 6307(b)(1.1) (2021). https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=42&div=0&chpt=63&sctn=7&subsctn=0
42 Pa. C. S. A. § 6352(a) (2021).
American Probation and Parole Association: Juvenile Justice Committee (2020). Guiding Principles for Systems Working with Youth Involved in the Justice System. https://www.appa-net.org/eweb/docs/APPA/stances/ps-GPSWYIJS.pdf
Barnert, E. S., Dudovitz, R., Nelson, B. B., Coker, T. R., Biely, C., Li, N., & Chung, P. J. (2017). How does incarcerating young people affect their adult health outcomes?. Pediatrics, 139(2), e20162624. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-2624
Bazemore, G., & Feder, L. (1997). Judges in the punitive juvenile court: Organizational, career and ideological in-fluences on sanctioning orientation. Justice Quarterly, 14(1), 87-114.
Bechtold, J., Monahan, K., Wakefield, S., & Cauffman, E. (2015). The role of race in probation monitoring and responses to probation violations among juvenile offenders in two jurisdictions. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 21(3), 323-337.
Bishop, D. M., & Leiber, M. J. (2012). Racial and ethnic differences in delinquency and justice system responses. In D. M. Bishop & B. C. Feld (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of juvenile crime and juvenile justice (pp. 445-484). Oxford.
Bushway, S. D., & Piehl, A. M. (2001). Judging judicial discretion: Legal factors and racial discrimination in sentencing. Law & Society Review, 35(4), 733-764.
Cassidy, M., & Rydberg, J. (2020). Does Sentence Type and Length Matter? Interactions of Age, Race, Ethnicity, and Gender on Jail and Prison Sentences. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 47(1), 61-79.
County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania. (2020). Counties by Class.
https://www.pacounties.org/PAsCounties/Pages/Counties-by-Class.aspx
Feldberg, M. (1985). Gratuities, corruption and the democratic ethos of policing. In F. A. Elliston & M. Feldberg (Eds.), Moral issues in police work (pp. 267-276). Rowman and Allanheld Publishers.
Fountain, E. N., & Woolard, J. L. (2018). How defense attorneys consult with juvenile clients about plea bargains. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 24(2), 192-203.
Gainey, R. R., Steen, S., & Engen, R. L. (2005). Exercising options: An assessment of the use of alternative sanctions for drug offenders. Justice Quarterly, 22(4), 488-520.
Goldstein, A. P., & Glick, B. (1994). Aggression replace-ment training: Curriculum and evaluation. Simulation & Gaming, 25(1), 9-26.
Gowen, C., Thurau, L., & Wood, M. (2011). Education, eviction, and employment: The collateral consequences of juvenile adjudication. Duke Forum for Law & Social Change, 3, 187-203.
Guevara, L., Boyd, L. M., Taylor, A. P., & Brown, R. A. (2011). Racial disparities in juvenile court outcomes: A test of the liberation hypothesis. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, 9(3), 200-217.
Harris, A. (2007). Diverting and abdicating judicial discretion: Cultural, political, and procedural dynamics in California juvenile justice. Law & Society Review, 41(2), 387-428.
Hauser, W., & Peck, J. H. (2017). The intersection of crime seriousness, discretion, and race: A test of the liberation hypothesis. Justice Quarterly, 34(1), 166-192.
Henggeler, S. W., Melton, G. B., & Smith, L. A. (1992). Family preservation using multisystemic therapy: An effective alternative to incarcerating serious juvenile offenders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60(6), 953-961.
Holloway, E. D., Cruise, K. R., Morin, S. L., Kaufman, H., & Steele, R. D. (2018). Juvenile probation officers’ evaluation of traumatic event exposures and traumatic stress symptoms as responsivity factors in risk assessment and case planning. Law and Human Behavior, 42(4), 369-384.
In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967). https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/387/1
Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice. (2010). Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice Report. http://www.pacourts.us/assets/files/setting-2032/file-730.pdf?cb=4beb87
Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission. (2015). New Employee Manual. https://www.jcjc.pa.gov/Publications/Documents/New%20Employ-ee%20Manuals/New%20Employee%20Training%20Manual%20for%20Juvenile%20Probation%20Officers.pdf
Keenan, S. J., Rush, J. P., & Cheeseman, K. A. (2015). Judicial waiver decisions in two southern states: A study of judicial perceptions. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 40(1), 100-115.
Landenberger, N. A., & Lipsey, M. W. (2005). The positive effects of cognitive–behavioral programs for offenders: A meta-analysis of factors associated with effective treatment. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 1(4), 451-476.
Leiber, M. J., & Brubaker, S. J. (2010). Does the gender of the intake probation officer contextualize the treatment of Black youth?. Justice Research and Policy, 12(2), 51-76.
Leiber, M. J., Peck, J. H., & Beaudry-Cyr, M. (2016). When does race and gender matter? The interrelationships between the gender of probation officers and juvenile court detention and intake outcomes. Justice Quarterly, 33(4), 614-641.
Lopez, V., & Russell, M. (2008). Examining the predictors of juvenile probation officers' rehabilitation orientation. Journal of Criminal Justice, 36(5), 381-388.
MacDonald, J. M., & Chesney-Lind, M. (2001). Gender bias and juvenile justice revisited: A multiyear analysis. Crime & Delinquency, 47(2), 173-195.
Maxwell, S. R., & Gray, M. K. (2000). Deterrence: Testing the effects of perceived sanction certainty on probation violations. Sociological Inquiry, 70(2), 117-136.
McConnell, J. E. (2012). Five devastating collateral consequences of juvenile delinquency adjudications you should know before you represent a child. Richmond School of Law: Law Faculty Publications, 61(Dec.), 34-38.
Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing. (2019). 7th Edition Amendment 5 Sentencing Guidelines. http://pcs.la.psu.edu/guidelines/sentencing/sentencing-guidelines-and-implementation-manuals/7th-edition-amendment-5-1-1-2020/303.15-offense-list-amendment-5-offenses/view
Pennsylvania Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers (2021). Ethics/Code of Conduct: Ethics/Gratuities. https://www.pachiefprobationofficers.org/ethics_code_of_conduct.php
Pennsylvania Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network. (2010). The Pennsylvania Juvenile Collateral Consequences Checklist. https://www.pccd.pa.gov/Juvenile-Jus-tice/Documents/Pennsylvania_Juvenile_Collateral_Consequences_Checklist.pdf
Phillippi, S. W., Thomas, C. L., & Lentini, K. (2021). Translation of national juvenile drug treatment court guidelines into statewide standards and practices: A case study. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 46(3), 483-495.
Prenzler, T, & Mackay, P. (1995) Police gratuities: What the public think. Criminal Justice Ethics, 14(1), 15-25.
Ruiz, J., & Bono, C. (2004). At what price a “freebie"? The real cost of police gratuities. Criminal Justice Ethics, 23(1), 44-54.
Saldaña, J. (2015). The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.
Sanborn Jr, J. B. (2001). A parens patriae figure or impartial fact finder: Policy questions and conflicts for the juvenile court judge. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 12(4), 311-332.
Schwalbe, C. S., & Maschi, T. (2011). Confronting delinquency: Probations officers’ use of coercion and client-centered tactics to foster youth compliance. Crime & Delinquency, 57(5), 801-822.
Schwalbe, C. S., & Maschi, T. (2009). Investigating probation strategies with juvenile offenders: The influence of officers’ attitudes and youth characteristics. Law and Hu-man Behavior, 33(5), 357-367.
Shah, R. S., Fine, L, & Gullen, J. (2014). Juvenile records: A national review of state laws on confidentiality, sealing and expungement. Juvenile Law Center. https://juvenilerecords.jlc.org/juvenilerecords/documents/publications/national-review.pdf
Shearer, R. A. (2002). Probation strategies of juvenile and adult pre-service trainees. Federal Probation, 66(1), 33-37.
Sherman, L. W. (1985). Becoming bent: Moral careers of corrupt policemen. In F. A. Elliston & M. Feldberg (Eds.), Moral issues in police work (pp. 253-265). Rowman and Allanheld Publishers.
Spohn, C., & Holleran, D. (2000). The imprisonment penalty paid by young, unemployed black and Hispanic male offenders. Criminology, 38(1), 281-306.
Spohn, C., & Horney, J. (1993). Rape law reform and the effect of victim characteristics on case processing. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 9(4), 383-409.
Starr, S. B. (2015). Estimating gender disparities in federal criminal cases. American Law and Economics Review, 17(1), 127-159.
Starr, S., & Rehavi, M. (2012). Racial disparity in the criminal justice process: Prosecutors, judges, and the effects of United States v. Booker. University of Michigan Law School: Law & Economics Working Papers, 53, 1-56.
Steffensmeier, D., & Demuth, S. (2006). Does gender modify the effects of race–ethnicity on criminal sanction-ing? Sentences for male and female White, Black, and Hispanic defendants. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 22(3), 241-261.
Steiner, B., Wada, J., Hemmens, C., & Burton, V. S. (2005). The correctional orientation of community corrections: Legislative changes in the legally prescribed functions of community corrections 1992-2002. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 29(2), 141-159.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (1998). In Re: Prohibited Political Activity by Court-Appointed Employees. https://law.justia.com/cases/pennsylvania/supreme-court/1998/201jad-rul.html
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. (2008). In Re: Expungement of Juvenile Records and Vacatur of Luzerne County Juvenile Court Consent Decrees or Adjudications from 2003-2008. https://www.njjn.org/uploads/digital-library/Luzerne-County-Pennsylvania-Conviction-Vacating-Order-10.29.09.pdf
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. (2013). Final Report on Implementation on Recommendations of the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice. http://www.pacourts.us/assets/files/setting-2032/file-2570.pdf?cb=9e7037
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. (2019). Code of Conduct for Employees of the Unified Judicial System. http://www.pacourts.us/assets/files/setting-429/file-212.pdf?cb=e8406e
Tracy, P. E., Kempf-Leonard, K., & Abramoske-James, S. (2009). Gender differences in delinquency and juvenile justice processing: Evidence from national data. Crime & Delinquency, 55(2), 171-215.
Vidal, S., & Skeem, J. L. (2007). Effect of psychopathy, abuse, and ethnicity on juvenile probation officers’ decision-making and supervision strategies. Law and Human Behavior, 31(5), 479-498.
Ward, J. T., Hartley, R. D., & Tillyer, R. (2016). Unpacking gender and racial/ethnic biases in the federal sentencing of drug offenders: A causal mediation approach. Journal of Criminal Justice, 46, 196-206.
Wooditch, A., Sloas, L. B., & Taxman, F. S. (2017). A multisite randomized block experiment on the seamless system of care model for drug-involved probationers. Jour-nal of Drug Issues, 47(1), 50-73.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Journal of Applied Juvenile Justice Services
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
