Resources
Faith-Based Resources
Abolition: Alternatives
to the American
Carceral System"
Prisons and
Criminal Justice
Alternatives to Jail
Death Penalty
US Gov't Agencies
PA Corrections
Lehigh Valley Corrections
- Jail Vendors
Mental Health
Police Policies
Prison Boards
Probation and Parole
Reentry Resources
Stepping Up
(mental health)
War on Drugs
and Alternatives
Other Resources
Contact Us
Faith-Based Resources
Prisons and
Criminal Justice
Abolition: Alternatives
to the American
Carceral System"
Alternatives to Jail
Death Penalty
Alternatives to Jail
US Gov't Agencies
PA Corrections
Lehigh Valley Corrections
- Jail Vendors
Mental Health
Police Policies
Prison Boards
Probation and Parole
Reentry Resources
Stepping Up
(mental health)
War on Drugs
and Alternatives
Other Resources
Contact Us
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This is a brief resource list on U.S. prisons, criminal justice, and restorative justice issues and public policy.
Faith-Based Resources on Criminal Justice and Restorative Justice
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
- Mennonite Central Committee U.S. - Office on Justice and Peacebuilding
21 South 12th Street, P0 Box 500, Akron, PA 17501
Phone: (717) 859-1152
Email: lsa@mcc.org
Web: http://mcc.org/us/peacebuilding/
includes educational resources on Crime and Justice and Mennonite Mediation Service.
- Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office
920 Pennsylvania Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20003
Phone: (202) 544-6564
E-mail: mccwash@mcc.org
Web: www.mcc.org/us/washington
Monitors U.S. public policy for its impact on MCC’s domestic and international relief, development and
peacemaking work.
Other Faith-Based Resources
- United Methodist General Board of Church and Society
The Washington Office (addresses public policy issues on criminal justice)
100 Maryland Ave N.E.
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-488-5600
Email: bmefford@umc-gbcs.org (Bill Mefford)
Web: www.umc-gbcs.org -- then, search for criminal and restorative justice.
- American Friends Service Committee
1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Phone: (215) 241-7000
Web: www.afsc.org
-- then, search for criminal justice issues.
- From Harm to Healing (Quaker Action: Summer 2013)
several articles on alternatives to the current prison system
- Profiteering on Prisons - recording of July 17, 2013 webinar (61 min.).
- The AFSC "Stopmax" campaign seeks to end solitary confinement in U.S. prisons.
Prisons, Jails, and the Criminal Justice
- Amnesty International:
www.amnesty.org
Promotes human rights and campaigns against specific human rights abuses. In 2005, Amensty International(AI) reported
that there were 2,225 child offenders serving life without parole (LWOP) sentences in U.S prisons
for crimes committed before they were age 18.
Search Amnesty website for other information on U.S. prisons and torture in U.S. military prisons.
- American Bar Association
www.abanet.org
ABA Justice Kennedy Commission report (2004).
Kennedy Commission Fact Sheet
The report identifes a number of factors that have contributed to a steady increase in incarceration rates without any significant improvement crime rates or public safety. The report includes recommendations on punishment, incarceration, sentencing, clemency, and restoration of rights, as well as racial disparity in the criminal justice system and prison conditions.
- Google: Crime Rates
U.S. Crime Rates (1960-2006)
- Journey for Justice
www.journeyforjustice.org
Prison Fact sheet (pdf).
- Human Rights Watch
www.hrw.org
Drug Arrests and Racial Disparity
Table1718.pdf on drug use and arrests.
- Mother Jones
www.motherjones.com
"Debt to Society":
A special report (July 10, 2001) on the real cost of prisons.
This resource includes commentary on a number of prison issues, including state by state charts and statistics. (However, it has not been updated since 2001.)
- National Institute of Corrections
www.nicic.org
Pennsylvania statistics
The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice,
Federal Bureau of Prisons, whose Director is appointed by the U.S. Attorney General.
NIC provides training, technical assistance, information services, and policy/program development
assistance to federal, state, and local corrections agencies.
- November Coalition
november.org
graphs of prison statistics.
The November Coalition provides educational resources about drug-related incarceration that began
with President Nixon's "War on Drugs". The November Coalition seeks to show that current policis of
the U.S. drug war are unnecessary and counter-productive. They also advocate for "drug war prisoners".
- New York Times
Racial disparity in drug arrest rates.
- The Pew Center on the States
www.pewpublicsafety.org
The Public Safety Performance Project includes prison/criminal justice data for Pennsylvania.
Recommends changes in corrections programs and sentencing laws to avoid further prison expansion.
- Philadelphia Enquirer: Apr. 21, 2008
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_top_stories/20080421_Prison_bills_aim_to_ease_Pa__s_burden.html
- Prison Society
www.prisonsociety.org
prison editorial
U.S. 1/143 in prison; England, France, Germany and Italy: about 1/1000
- Prisoners of the Census
www.prisonersofthecensus.org
- U.S. Census Bureau statistics
www.census.gov
Crime Rates in the U.S.
- infoplease
www.infoplease.com
Provides on-line statistics for state and federal prison inmates by type of offense (among many other topics).
- Prison Policy Initiative
www.prisonpolicy.org
graphs comparing Pennsylvania's mental hospital population with
prison statistics.
PPI web page includes research reports and statistics on a number of prison-related issues, including juvenile
justice abuses, the adverse consequences of current U.S. Census policies,
PPI's on-line book The Prison Index:
Taking the Pulse of the Crime Control Industry (2003), also
www.prisonersofthecensus.org
Pa. mental hospitals vs. prisons (1981-2003)
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
www.oas.samhsa.gov/nhsda.htm
Provides information and statistics on U.S. illicit drug use, drug abuse prevention, and drug abuse treatment.
- Vera Institute of Justice - extensive resources on Ending Mass Incarceration and related topics.
.
- World Prison rates (map) wikipedia
world map
of incarceration rates. [Gray areas on the map mean no data available].
Abolition: Alternatives to U.S. Police and Carceral Systems
Capital Punishment (Death Penalty)
- Death Penalty Curriculum
deathpenaltycurriculum.org
Resource for high school education, including extensive information and statistics on capital punishment.
Curriculum and website were developed at Michigan State University with support of the Death Penalty Information Center.
- Death Penalty Information Center
www.deathpenaltyinfo.org
- Amnesty International
www.amnestyusa.org
Resources on death penalty issues and abolition.
- Sr. Helen Prejean
ww.prejean.org
Sr. Prejean, author of "Dead Man Walking" and other publications on the death penalty, is an articulate
opponent of capital punishment.
Pennsylvania Death Row
- Pennsylvania Department of Corrections: Death Penalty
www.cor.state.pa.us/deathpenalty
Pennsylvania death penalty statistics, death row inmates, death warrants, and executions.
Since 1962 there have been three executions in Pennsylvania: Keith Zettlemoyer and Leon Moser in 1995, and
Gary Heidnik in 1999. There are 200 death row inmates inmates in Pennsylvania as of November 2012.
Also, six men have been exonerated from death row.
- Terrance Williams was scheduled for execution on Oct. 3, 2012, but a Philadelphia judge issued a stay of execution, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to review the case.
See www.terrywilliamsclemency.com for more about the Williams case.
US Government Agencies
- U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs
prison statistics (2010)
- Federal Bureau of Prison (BOP):
www.bop.gov
BOP has statistics of prisoners and detainees dating back to 1982. You can search for a detainee by inmate number,
name or INS number. The results will provide you with the exact location of the detainee (if in a BOP facility),
their inmate number, INS number, full name, age, race and gender.
- Human Rights Reports:
state.gov/global/human_rights
- Internet Law Library:
www.lawguru.com/ilawlib
- U.S. Census Bureau:
www.census.gov
You will find statistics on the U.S. population including the foreign born.
- Congress:
thomas.loc.gov
The Library of Congress’s site for information on Congressional legislation, past and pending
- House of Representatives:
www.house.gov
Links to websites of members of Congress
- House Judiciary Committee
www.house.gov/judiciary/
Contains testimony from Subcommittee Hearings
- U.S. Senate:
www.senate.gov
Links to Websites of Senators
- The White House:
www.whitehouse.gov
Presidential Statements and text of press conferences
Pennsylvania Corrections
Lehigh Valley Corrections
Lehigh County:
Northampton County:
Other County resources:
Behavioral Health resources:
- Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) and Universal Health Services (UHS) are building a new Behavior Health Hospital.
LVHN and UHS will jointly run the new 144-bed behavioral health hospital now under construction at Macada and Schoenersville roads in Hanover Township, Northampton County. The new 97,000-square-foot facility is expected to employ 300 people when construction is completed in late 2025.The care team will include psychiatrists, medical doctors, certified registered nurse practitioners, psychiatric case managers, and psychiatric rehabilitation services staff.
- LVH also operates a 52-bed Behavioral Health Science Center at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Muhlenberg which has an Adult Behavioral Health Unit and an Adolescent Behavioral Health Unit. Both are short-term care units with treatment programs designed to help stabilize adults and adolescents (ages 12 to 18) in severe acute crisis and return them to a less-intensive level of care. The average length of stay is about one week. There are also some mental health services at other LVHN locations.
- Mental Health Crisis Resources - for children, youth, and adults
Fines, Court Costs, and Restitution
Probation and Parole Reform
Also see:
Reentry Resources
- Fair Shake Reentry Resource Center -
Wisconsin-based national resource center specifically for people returning from jail or prison. FairShake includes many educational / self-help resources of interest to returning citizens as well as a directory of local and state agencies. (EMI and partners are working on how to gather more detailed and current information about Lehigh Valley reentry resources and how to keep it updated on the Fair Shake database.)
- Lehigh Valley Reentry resources
- Lehigh County - Community Corrections Center, 1600 Riverside Dr., Bethlehem 18015.
This facility affords sentenced individuals varied prescriptive rehabilitative programs, as well as the opportunity to enter the community for work, to perform community service work, and to utilize community-based resources, under structured parameters. The Community Corrections Center also needs mentors to guide and assist residents through the reentry process.
- Pinebrook Family Answers - Forensic Serivces
- Allentown office: 402 North Fulton St. 610-432-3919
- Easton office: 1101 Northampton St., Suite #201
- Lazarus House - housing program for people leaving incarceration in Lehigh, Northampton, and Berks Counties. The Lazarus House program is managed by the Lehigh Conference of Churches.
- Lancaster Re-entry Coalition. (Lancaster Community Action Partnership has replaced Lancaster County RMO as the Lancaster reentry contract agency.) Also see "Three nonprofits end services for inmates as Lancaster County considers for-profit Geo Group" (April 23, 2018) and "Churches rally around Reentry Management Organization as Anti-Recidivism Program Ends" (April 27, 2018).
- Healing Communities Program
- National Reentry Resource Center - many resources and publications related to reentry.
- Reentry Central is a national website for news and information on the subject of reentry and related criminal justice issues (requires $35 annual subscription to access news stories).
- Federal Problem-Solving Courts The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania supports three Problem-Solving Courts: the STAR Re-entry Court, Relapse Prevention Court, and STRIDES Mental Health Court.
Reentry Strategic Planning
Evidence-Based Reentry Programs
Services Provided by Private For-Profit Vendors
Policing and Surveillance
- Policing and Surveillance (AFSC webinar, recorded April 8, 2021)
Presentations included reports about the ways communities are criminalized and surveilled, the impact, and how community members in New Orleans, LA, and Oakland, CA, have organized local legislative campaigns to limit surveillance.
- Atlas of Surveillance - Documenting Police Technology in U.S. Communities
Who is targeted by surveillance? Lehigh Valley examples:
- Easton Police Department - Automated License Plate Readers
In 2017, the Mayor of Easton approved a surveillance camera plan to "flood the West Ward with license plate recognition software" so the Easton Police Department can "record every single vehicle."
- Bethlehem Township Police Department - Automated License Plate Readers
The Bethlehem Township Police Department uses automated license plate readers, according to a 2017 video.
- Catasauqua Police Department - Ring/Neighbors Partnership
The Catasauqua Police Department signed an agreement with Amazon's home surveillance equipment company, Ring, in 2019 to gain special access to the company's Neighbors app.
- South Whitehall Township Police Department - Ring/Neighbors Partnership
The South Whitehall Township Police Department signed an agreement with Amazon's home surveillance equipment company, Ring, in October 2020 to gain special access to the company's Neighbors app. |
- Prison Mail Surveillance Company Keeps Tabs On Those On the Outside, Too
Prisons are increasingly copying mail to prevent contraband, but this means prisoners never get to hold letters and photos from loved ones. One company goes even further. Smart Communications not only wants to eliminate paper mail, they want to implement more surveillance on people who are incarcerated and everyone who commun-icates with them. Massachusetts is beginning a pilot program of 6 prisons and the BOP will begin a pilot program.
- Why treating white supremacy as domestic terrorism won't work: A Toolkit for Social Justice Advocates
In brief, Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) programs don't work because they attempt to address a systemic issue with methods that target individual behavior.
- New Orleans - ordinance passed Dec. 17, 2020, includes a ban on facial recognition
- Oakland, CA - On December 15, 2020, the Oakland City Council unanimously adopted a number of recommended amendments to its existing surveillance technology ordinance, including first-in-the-nation prohibitions on the city's use of predictive policing analytics and biometric surveillance technologies. The bans were supported by a large coalition of racial justice, immigrants' rights and civil liberties organizations. The bans became effective on January 12, 2021.
- SARs Suspicious Activity Reporting - in Illinois, SARs primarily targeted at Muslim, Arab-Americans
- Fusion Centers. These state, local and regional institutions created to share anti-terrorism intelligence among law enforcement agencies, have expanded to include not just criminal intelligence, but all kinds of public and private data.
What's wrong with fusion centers? See this report from ACLU.
- Surveillance Self-Defense: Tips, Tools, and How-Tos for Safer Online Communications
Juvenile Justice
- Restorative Justice Diversion: A Better Way to Provide Meaningful Accountability for Youth (Sentencing Project: March 26, 2026)
- Youth Justice by the Numbers, by Joshua Rovner (Sentencing Project: November 20, 2025)
Between 2000 and 2023, youth incarceration fell by almost 75%. However, racial and ethnic disparities in youth incarceration and sentencing persist amidst overall declines in youth arrests and incarceration.
- Effective Alternatives to Youth Incarceration (The Sentencing Project: June 28, 2023)
This report is focused primarily on alternatives to correctional confinement after youth have been found delinquent in court, but not on pre-adjudication detention when youth may be confined pending their hearings in court.
- Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI - Annie E. Casey Foundation)
- Juvenile Offenders - Alternatives to Confinement (Child Crime Prevention & Safety Center)
- The Missouri Model: Reinventing the Practice of Rehabilitating Youthful Offenders
(Annie E. Casey Foundation: 2010)
- Maryland's 'Thrive Academy' recognized for its work to support youths impacted by gun violence (WBAL-TV: Oct. 3, 2024)
Thrive Academy provides supports to youth to interrupt cycle of violence, prevent gun crimes
- Teens are the judge, jury, and respondents in this Philly courtroom
(Philadelphia Inquirer: Nov. 17, 2024) The Philadelphia Community Youth Court is a restorative justice program that diverts youths away from the traditional justice system.
- Pennsylvania law on Juvenile Detention (PA Juvenile Court Judges' Commission)
- Juvenile Justice: Rehabilitation vs. Disciplinary Action (info-graphic)
(Wilson College, Jan 3, 2024)
- America's Growing Movement to Divert Youth Out of the Justice System. Sentencing Project (one hour webinar - recorded June 13, 2024)
Other related resources:
- Reducing Youth Incarceration: What Works? This Sentencing Project webinar (recorded January 23, 2024) reviews recent reports showing why it's important for America's youth justice systems to reduce incarceration and how to safely reduce the number of young people confined.
Also see: Why Youth Incarceration Fails: An Updated Review of the Evidence
(Sentencing Project report: 3/1/2023)
- What Happened When America Emptied Its Youth Prisons (NYTimes, January 28, 2025)
Reducing youth detention appears to reduce youth crime.
- Developing a Positive Youth Justice System (NICJR report: 2024; 32 pages)
This report includes examples of effective alternatives to youth detention.
- In Chicago, cognitive behavioral therapy shows promise curbing youth violence
(NPR: February 17, 2025)
- Juvenile Diversion: A Smart Approach to Reducing Crime includes examples from several PA counties and several other states (ChildrenFirst: March 2025; 12 pages).
- Diversion: Promoting Safety Without Prosecution (Children First: Feb. 12, 2025)
[Abstract (html)]
[Report (10-page PDF)]
- Philadelphia Police: Juvenile Diversion (ChidrenFirst: Jan. 3, 2025)
As Chief of School Safety for the School District of Philadelphia, Kevin Bethel expanded school-based diversion programs that supported - not incarcerated - kids. "Safety doesn't require we criminalize normal adolescent behavior." Arrests in Philly public schools dropped over 90% and students who completed the program were less likely to be subsequently suspended or arrested than those students who were sent to jail.
As Philadelphia's new Police Commissioner, Bethel is taking another step to protect children by keeping more children and teens out of the system. In a nutshell, cops on the street will have the discretion not to arrest a kid causing trouble, taking them home or to a diversion program instead of jail. For higher level offenses, police can take kids to the Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC) instead of a cell block, where they can be referred to an appropriate diversion program.
- 2021 Pennsylvaania Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Plan (96 pages)
Lehigh Valley Juvenile Justice
- Presentation by Kevin Miller, Juvenile Probation Office: (August 7, 2024 - video recording)
- Lehigh County Courts & Corrections meeting.
Abbreviations/Acronyms:
CD - Consent Decree
CJAB - Criminal Justice Advisory Board
EBP - Evidence Based Practices
JPO - Juvenile Probation Office
PCCD - Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency
PO - Probation Officer
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Juvenile Detention/Treatment Center proposed legislation (2026):
- There was initial presentation/discussion of Bill 2026-14 at March 31 and April 8 meetings of Courts and Corrections Committee, and additional discussion of Bill 2026-14 at the April 8 meeting of the full Board of Commissioners.
- At the April 22nd meeting of the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners, Bill 2026-14 was approved 6:3 after more than 3 hours of discussion during which County Executive Josh Siegel and other county officials expressed support for the Bill.
- There will be new legislation to modify the agreement to add Delaware County (5 counties total), and reduce the number of beds guaranteed for each county from 10 to 8 (out of 40 total).
(See video recordings of the March 31 and April 8, and April 22 meetings HERE.)
- The Power-Point presentation at the March 31 Courts & Corrections meeting shows an estimated annual cost (to Lehigh County) of about $2.6 million:
Regional Juvenile Facility Initiative PowerPoint Revised 3.30.26.pptx (114 KB)
Other Documents:
- Bill 2026-14: "Waiving Certain Contract Requirements and Approving a Regional Youth Detention Center Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement with Berks County, Dauphin County, and Lackawanna County"
- Juvenile Detention White Paper by Sonia Davis
- Berks Detention OpEd by Ettore Angelo and Stephen Mory (Morning Call: April 15, 2026)
- Proposed Regional Juvenile Detention Agreement and Local Alternatives
by Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley
- Lehigh County wants to create a joint juvenile detention facility in Berks. But critics are trying to put on the brakes (Morning Call: April 16, 2026)
- Lehigh County commissioners consider agreement for regional youth detention center project (WFMZ = April 8, 2026)
- Lehigh County rushing into misguided plan for juvenile detention center by Mohammed Khaku , (Morning Call: April 21, 2026)
- Joint juvenile Detention Center is the best option by County Executive Josh Siegel, President Judge Douglas G. Reichley, and Chief Probation Officer Kevin D. Miller (Morning Call: April 21, 2026)
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Juvenile Detention/Treatment Center proposal (2024):
Proposed rennovation of Berks County Youth Detention Center (Leesport, Berks County, PA) in three-county partnership (Berks, Lehigh, and Dauphin).
- Juvenile Detention/Treatment Center proposal - See 2025 Capital Plan Booklet (page 2-102)
- Discussion of Juvenile Detention/Treatment Center proposal at Nov. 26, Dec. 11, and Dec. 18, 2024 meetings of Lehigh County Board of Commissioners.
- See Nov 26 video recording (33-minute discussion, beginning 20 min. from start of video recording).
- Dec. 11 video recording (one hour discussion, beginning about 11 min. from start of video recording).
- Dec. 18 video recording: Discussion and vote on Resolution 2024-60, which was approved 6:3, following 50-min. discussion in Courts & Corrections Committee, beginning about 5 min. from start of video recording; and one hour discussion during meeting of the full Board of Commissioners, beginning about 01:13:30 from start of recording.)
- Lehigh County commissioners seek state funding to open regional youth detention center (WFMZ: Dec 18, 2024)
- Lehigh County commissioners ask state to fund regional juvenile detention center (MorningCall: Dec. 19, 2024)
- Berks commissioners move ahead with tri-county effort to operate youth detention center
(WFMZ: Nov. 14, 2024)
- Lehigh County to consider new juvenile detention center (MorningCall: August 20, 2024)
Three counties (Berks, Lehigh, and Dauphin) would occupy an old Berks County detention facility in Bern Township, which closed in 2012. It would have 30 beds.
- Overview of three-county proposal - Berks County Coummissioners - Nov. 13, 2024
Video recording - brief discussion of Juvenile Detention Center starts about 10 min. from beginning of video.
- Supporters of the Berks proposal argue that Abraxas Academy (private detention center in Berks County where most youth are sent to detention now) can't/isn't taking more juveniles and that the county is better off building their own beds that can then be contracted out for revenue.
Construction of the Berks facility would be paid for by a PA state grant.
- But ..... are there better evidence-based alternatives, such as:
- rennovate a section of Lehigh County's Juvenile Detention Center, with services provided by local social service agencies - so that youth can remain connected with family, schools, and other local resources.
- release more youth with house arrest/electronic monitoring, rather than detention centers
- continue to reduce the number of youth in detention by other evidence-based practices such as the many examples above.
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Other resources:
Juvenile Detention Fails in Pennsylvania - and across the USA
- What Happened When America Emptied Its Youth Prisons (NYTimes, January 28, 2025)
- Annie E. Casey Foundation CEO Calls for States to Close 'Youth Prisons' (June 24, 2015)
- Lawsuits allege widespread sex abuse at juvenile detention centers in Western Pa.
(July 23, 2024) 3 lawsuits claim rampant sex abuse went unchecked at facilities in the region
- 'Damaged, traumatized and broken by the system': Former residents sue Pa. juvenile detention centers for institutionalized child abuse (WHYY: July 31, 2024) Lawsuits were filed on behalf of 67 clients, accusing nearly a dozen Pennsylvania juvenile centers of child abuse.
- By the dozen, accusers tell of rampant sexual abuse at Pennsylvania juvenile detention facilities (WITF: August 5, 2024)
- Pennsylvania Juvenile Detention Center Sex Abuse Lawsuits
(Lawsuit Information Center: May 15, 2024) Includes Abraxas Juvenile Center, one of several Pennsylvania facilities operated by the GEO Group.
- No Kids in Prison
- Justice Department Finds Unconstitutional Conditions at Five Texas Juvenile Justice Facilities (US DOJ: August 1, 2024)
- New York: Hundreds Sue City Alleging Past Sex Abuse at Youth Detention Centers
(The City: June 13, 2024)
- New Hampshire jury finds state liable for abuse at youth detention center and awards victim $38M (AP: May 3, 2024)
- Illinois youth detention home accused of abusive practices in new class action lawsuit
(Peoria Journal Star: June 17, 2024)
- Also see "Kids for Cash" reports
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention - U.S. Federal Resources
- Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention:
Report to Congress and the White House 2023-2024
[Abstract (html)]
[Report (25-page PDF)]
- Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention:
Independent Practitioner Report on Youth Justice, Report to Congress, Fiscal Year 2023-2024
[Abstract (html)]
[Report (16-page PDF)]
- The Path to Youth Justice Reform
(Sentencing Project recorded webinar: March 20, 2025) - highlights the rwo reports above
Alternatives to Jail/Detention
- A Review of Evidence-Based Alternatives to Pretrial Detention and Incarceration
(R-Street: Feb 7, 2022)
- Bucks County: Community Accountability Program (CAP)
Diversion program for first-time offenders. The CAP program engages community volunteers, representatives of local government, treatment professionals and law enforcement in seeking remedies to the harm caused by criminal behavior, holding first-time offenders accountable for minor criminal infractions with the opportunity to avoid a criminal conviction.
- Trenton Restorative Justice Hub
- Trenton Community Street Team
- Project Nia - working to end the incarceration of children and young adults by promoting restorative and transformative justice practices.
- Creative Interventions Toolkit - A Practical Guide to Stop Interpersonal Violence
- Common Justice - a program of the Vera Institute of Justice. (Danielle Sered, Executive Director)
Community is what keeps us safe, not prisons
- Danielle Sered, "The Four Guiding Principles for Making Our Cities Safer"
(May 4, 2020; short video: 4:43)
- Danielle Sered, "Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair"
(Overview of Sered's book; Sept. 18, 2020; 3:11)
- Danielle Sered: Accounting for Violence (Recorded Feb. 2, 2018; 1:13:27)
Lecture at Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy (U. Michigan)
- Healing Without Incarceration: A Webinar with Danielle Sered
(Recorded Feb. 18, 2021; 1:33:16)
Includes Zoom video recording, audio recording, and "transcript."
- Introduction to Restorative Justice (3-part webinar series)
from Impact/Justice National Training and Innovation Center for Restorative Justice Diversion
- Responding to Crimes of a Sexual Nature: What We Really Want Is No More Victims
Sentencing Project report (January 30, 2024) examining misconceptions around crimes of a sexual nature (CSN) that contribute to the rise in imprisonment rates and the lengthening of sentences. The brief offers recommendations for reforming our responses to crimes in this category.
Care First, Jail Last - Los Angeles and Alameda County
- Care First, Jails Last - Health and Racial Justice Strategies for Safer Communities
(PDF: March 2020, 100 pages) Research report and Strategic Plan from the Los Angeles County Alternatives to Incarceration Work Group.
- Care First, Jails Last - Resolution and Presentation Slides
(Alameda County, CA: May 10. 2021)
- A Local Victory in California's East Bay: Care First, Jails Last (AFSC: June 22, 2021)
Advocates succeed with passage of "Care First, Jails Last" resolution in California's East Bay: The resolution will address the over-policing of people with mental illness in Alameda County--and calls for investing in care instead of incarceration.
- Los Angeles Is Creating a Model for Fighting Mass Incarceration
(CommonDreams: Aug. 31, 2022) Success of the Care First, Jails Last model
- Opinion: California prisons must provide inmates addiction treatment (June 27, 2021)
Abuse by some is not justification for denying others their constitutional rights to lifesaving medication.
ACLU-Georgia resources on their fight against a new jail in Fulton County
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Trauma-Informed Practices
The effect of traumatic experiences on behavior is a relatively new field of study, but it has profound implications for how to effectively deal with children or adults who are disruptive or otherwise dysfunctional. A child who is exposed to trauma (such as physical, emotional, or sexual abuse; parents divorced, parent in jail) is much more likely
to end up with behavioral problems, substance abuse, violence, and jail if there is not appropriate intervention.
Law enforcement, corrections, and court staff, as well as educators and social service providers need appropriate training in trauma-informed practices to effectively assist people who have experienced significant trauma.
- Trauma and Resilience (United Way, Greater Lehigh Valley) - Overview of Trauma Informed Practices and ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences).
Other Resources
Wikipedia -- the online encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Immigration Resources: efpjc.ppjr.org/immigra.htm
Links to extensive resources (Pennsylvania and U.S.)
Note: Relatively few immigrants are in U.S. prisons (immigrant crime rates are well below the U.S. average),
but about 30,000 immigrants are held in detention centers on any given day -- men, women, and children.
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