Disrupting Pathways to Juvenile Justice for Black Youth in Allegheny County

“Pittsburgh's public schools refer more students to police than 95 percent of school districts in similar cities.” – Pittsburgh’s Inequality Across Gender And Race, 2019 report of the Pittsburgh Gender Equity Commission

In September, the Black Girls Equity Alliance (BGEA) released a new report: Disrupting Pathways to Juvenile Justice for Black Youth in Allegheny County, to more deeply explore the school-to-prison pipeline and what can be done to dismantle it. The report highlights that we are disproportionally criminalizing our Black youth in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, often for minor behavioral infractions that happen at school. According to the report, Black girls ages 10-17 in Allegheny County are 10 times more likely than white girls to be referred to the juvenile justice system. Black boys are 7 times more likely to be referred than white boys. 

Join us as we explore the two primary causes of the over-referral of Black youth to juvenile justice: arrests/ referrals made by school police and summary citations. We will also hear about recommendations for addressing these issues and discuss ways the funding community can help prevent the entry of youth into juvenile justice. 

Speakers:  

Kathi Elliott
Chief Executive Officer, Gwen’s Girls, Inc. 

Sara Goodkind
Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, Department of Sociology, and Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Program 

Ghadah Makoshi
Community Advocate, American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania 

This will be offered as a virtual meeting. Connection details will be shared after registration.

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We are committed to making GWP programs accessible to all members. If you have questions, or if an accommodation would be helpful to fully participate in this program, please reach out to Paula or call 412-471-6488 and we will make every effort to accommodate your request.