500 signatures reached
To: Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and Philadelphia Department of Human Services
Say NO to shipping Philadelphia’s children to Texas!
We call on Philadelphia and Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services to say NO to shipping PA kids across the country!
Why is this important?
Youth leaders, advocates and community members demand that Philadelphia and Pennsylvania DHS refuse to send any children in their jurisdictions to detention facilities far from their homes and prioritize community-level alternatives to punishment. We were shocked and appalled to learn that Philly and PA officials recently toured Texas youth prison facilities to consider sending our children 1,600 miles away - making it nearly impossible for their family and friends to visit them and tearing them further from their community.
Additionally the Texas juvenile justice system is beleaguered with problems, abuse and scandal and is currently under federal investigation. Read more:
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/02/texas-juvenile-prisons-crisis/
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/02/texas-juvenile-prisons-inspections/
We know that children do better in their homes and communities. Sending youth halfway across the country, away from those who care about them, will cause immense trauma and destabilization and will NOT make our communities safer. We demand that state and local officials take this option OFF THE TABLE!
Additionally, we call on the PA legislature to enact legislation based on Care, Not Control’s seven demands to reduce youth incarceration and invest in community resources to keep young people home with their families.