Tell Governor Shapiro to stop using 18 million dollars of our state’s money to place 48 children on the grounds of a maximum-security prison for men!

Pennsylvania’s juvenile incarceration system is dismal. Children are frequently incarcerated for too long, tried as adults, and treated without consideration for their emotional or developmental age, while racial disparities are rampant. We know that incarceration causes significant trauma for children, slows their development, and increases their victimization.

Right now, detention facilities across our state are experiencing unsafe and hazardous conditions for both children and staff. Instead of working to remove children and increasing safety measures, the state has left staff and children to face the aftermath alone. Now, Governor Shapiro is spending 18 million dollars of our state's budget to place children on the grounds of a men's maximum security prison! This is inhumane and must be stopped. Lawmakers have shown us time and time again that they will risk the safety of our children at any cost. This time, we are saying no!

We are demanding that Governor Shapiro, the State Department of Human Services, Secretary Valerie Arkoosh, and the Deputy Secretary of the State Department of Human Services, Office of Children, Youth, and Families, Laval Miller-Wilson put a stop to this investment in abuse, and instead use those funds to invest in children’s education, supporting families, and evidence-based programming that reduces victimization and criminalization, and instead helps young people learn, thrive, and heal.