Pennsylvania spends roughly $200,000 a year for each juvenile it incarcerates , according to a 2021 report from the bipartisan Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force.

That’s 50 times the cost to deliver evidence-based family therapy that could prevent kids from entering the justice system in the first place.

In Philadelphia, juvenile incarceration involves confinement in the city‑run Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center or other residential placement facility .

Young people leave these facilities with lower chances of graduating high school , frayed mental health and a higher likelihood of rearrest or being shot .

The social, emotional and economic costs of incarcerating young people are compounded in Philadelphia where, on any given day, dozens of youth may

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