Website made possible with the generous support of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Northeast Regional Defender Center

In order to increase the capacity of the grassroots juvenile defense bar across the country, the National Center incorporated into its design the development of nine Regional Defender Centers. The Northeast Region includes the following four states: Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Helpful Links

Juvenile Law Center
National Juvenile Defender Center
The Juvenile Act of PA

State and Local Defender Sites

Delaware

Delaware Public Defender

New Jersey

New Jersey Office of the Public Defender

New York

Albany County
New York City
New York State Defenders Association
Steuben County

Pennsylvania

Adams County
Allegheny County
Armstrong County
Beaver County
Berks County
Bradford County
Bucks County
Butler County
Cambria County
Carbon County
Centre County
Chester County
Clearfield County
Crawford County
Cumberland County
Delaware County
Elk County
Erie County
Franklin County
Greene County
Huntingdon County
Lackawanna County
Lancaster County
Lawrence County
Lebanon County
Luzerne County
Mifflin County
Monroe County
Montgomery County
Northampton County
Philadelphia County
Pike County
Somerset County
Union County
Venango County
Washington County
Westmoreland County
York County

Special Education

  1. Statistics
    1. As many as 20% of students with emotional disabilities are arrested at least once before they leave school.
    2. Approximately 70% of youth who are incarcerated suffer from a learning or emotional disability or both.
  2. Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA): the federal special education law that guarantees that each state must provide a “free and appropriate education� to all children between the ages of three and twenty-one who have disabilities and who reside within the state. 20 U.S.C. §1412 (a)(1)(A) (2000). This includes children who are residing in juvenile treatment facilities.
  3. Individual Education Plan (IEP): This is an education plan that is designed to help compensate for the child’s deficiencies and place them in the least restrictive learning environment where they will be able to learn
  4. Special education law can help in your client’s delinquency case
  5. Links to Research
    1. Special Education and the Juvenile Justice System