McKean County Chief Retires

After 23 years of service to the Pennsylvania juvenile justice system, Teresa Wilcox has retired from McKean County Juvenile Probation. Teresa began her career with McKean County Juvenile Probation in 1999 as a school-based juvenile probation officer and Truancy Prevention Officer. In 2002, she was promoted to Placement Specialist, and three years later she was appointed as Chief Juvenile Probation Officer, which is a position she held until retirement.

Teresa has been an active and dedicated leader at both local and state levels. She served as Co-Chair of the McKean County Criminal Justice Advisory Board and Chair of the McKean County Reentry Committee. She also served as a member of numerous committees and workgroups, including the PA Reentry Council through the Office of Attorney General, McKean County Collaborative Board, McKean County Department of Human Services Advisory Board, McKean County Community Foundation, McKean County Children’s Advocacy Center, and Victims Resource Center Advisory Board, just to name a few. Teresa successfully implemented the Victim Community Awareness Curriculum and obtained grant funding to provide necessary resources to the victims in McKean County. She received the Linda K.M. Ludgate Criminal Justice Advisory Board Excellence in Leadership Award in 2017 and is a 2019 graduate of Leadership McKean.

At the state level, Teresa was a long-standing member with the Pennsylvania Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers (PCCJPO), serving as both Vice President and President during her membership with the Council. In 2012, she was appointed to serve as the PCCJPO representative on the PA Restitution Task Force. At the time of her retirement, she served as the Chair of the Membership Committee and was an active member of the Executive Committee. In the past, she also served as Chair for the Victim Services Committee, the Recognition Committee, and the Awards Committee. Teresa was also a contributing member to many other PCCJPO committees over the years.

Teresa was instrumental in the rollout of the Juvenile Justice System Enhancement Strategy (JJSES) in her county and across the state. As Chief, she spearheaded McKean County Juvenile Probation Department’s implementation of the initiative. Statewide, she worked tirelessly to advance the work of various JJSES activities, always willing to pilot a new activity or initiative. She assisted in the organization of the statewide Rural Summits for JJSES implementation and was always the voice for Pennsylvania’s rural counties. Teresa also served on the JJSES Leadership Team as the Stage 4 Co-Chair for the last nine years.

Teresa obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in History/Pre-Law from College Misericordia, and through the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission Graduate Education Program, she achieved her Master of Science degree in Administration of Justice from Shippensburg University. In addition to her formal education, Teresa is a certified Level One Standardized Program Evaluation Protocol (SPEP™) Specialist and occasionally teaches Criminal Justice courses for the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

Teresa resides with her husband Corey and their children Mackenzie, Corrine, and Colby. She enjoys the outdoors, crafting, and supporting her children in sports and academics. Teresa has accepted a position with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency as a Program Analyst and will be providing monitoring and technical assistance to adult probation departments on grants, standards, and evidencebased practices. Best wishes to Teresa in her new role!