WestEd’s Justice & Prevention Research Center is helping Pennsylvania build smarter, more coordinated youth-serving systems to prevent and reduce juvenile justice system involvement.
The Challenge
Too many young people fall through the cracks. Prevention and diversion programs exist, but they’re often scattered, underfunded, or hard to access—especially for communities that already face systemic barriers. Pennsylvania needed a clearer picture of what services existed and where the gaps were to connect them into a system that actually worked—all while supporting successful community reintegration.
How We’re Taking Action
We’re partnering with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) to map the state’s continuum of youth-serving programs and to build a roadmap for improvement.
We mapped what exists. We compiled publicly available resources and grant-funded programs statewide, then organized them along the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Continuum of Care—from early prevention all the way through reentry—to show where services are concentrated and where they’re missing.
We listened to the people closest to the work. Through statewide input sessions and advisory subcommittee engagement, we gathered on-the-ground perspectives on what’s working, what’s not, and what young people and families need.
We turned findings into action. Our recommendations address both concrete levers—policy changes, funding, expanded services—and the harder relational work: cross-system communication, coordinated transitions, and approaches codesigned with youth, families, and people with lived experience.
The result will be a data-informed statewide plan with policy, program, and actionable recommendations to support more coordinated, youth-centered, and community-driven local continuums of care.
What Sets Our Work Apart
Built for Local Use
We use the OJJDP Continuum of Care as a shared framework—to organize assets, needs, and improvements in a way local partners can apply and make actionable.Centering Voices With Lived Experiences
Youth voice, family input, and culturally responsive programming are core to how we design this work—not add-ons.Data Meets Reality
We combine mapping and data analysis with real-world qualitative input, so the full picture reflects what the numbers show and what people on the ground experience.