REPORT: Juvenile Diversion: A Smart Approach to Reducing Crime

More than 17,000 Pennsylvania children were charged in juvenile court in 2023, and 2/3 of the charges were for misdemeanors or summary offenses, like loitering and disorderly conduct. For those children and their communities, diversion is a better alternative than...

REPORT: Priorities of Early Childhood Providers in PA

In the fall of 2021, the Racial Equity Subcommittee, a subcommittee within the newly formed Early Childhood Provider Council, was created with the task of researching inequities within Pennsylvania’s early childhood system. As a result of this mission, the Racial...

REPORT: State Examples for Optimizing Medicaid – March 2024

In March 2024, Children First published a policy brief entitled “Optimizing Medicaid to Improve Child and Youth Mental Health in Pennsylvania.” In that brief, five specific reforms to optimize Medicaid as a sustainable funding source to improve child and adolescent...