2024 JCJC Awards Program

The Juvenile Court Judges' Commission (JCJC), the PA Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers, and the Awards Committee are pleased to announce that nominations are now being accepted for the 2024 JCJC Awards Program which includes nine professional and two youth award categories.
Juvenile justice professionals are encouraged to nominate individuals and programs that work with system-involved youth to honor and recognize their exemplary efforts and achievements. The Awards Committee requests that juvenile justice professionals encourage youth under their jurisdiction to participate in the Creative Expression Contest or nominate them for the Outstanding Achievement Award to celebrate and recognize their accomplishments.

Awards will be presented at the 2024 James E. Anderson Pennsylvania Conference on Juvenile Justice November 6-7, 2024, at the Hilton Harrisburg. Nomination forms can be found on the JCJC website. Nomination materials must be submitted by Monday, July 29, 2024.

Please contact Angel Stewart at 717.783.7835 or via email at angstewart@pa.gov or contact Keysla Rodriguez at 717.783.6263 or via email at keyrodrigu@pa.gov for questions or further assistance.

2024 PROFESSIONAL AWARD CATEGORIES AND DEFINITIONS

Chief Juvenile Probation Officer of the Year - an individual who supervises a juvenile probation department within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as of the date of the nomination email submission. Award Winners prior to 2019 are eligible for nomination.

Juvenile Probation Supervisor of the Year - an individual who supervises Juvenile Probation Officers, but who is not a Chief Juvenile Probation Officer, as of the date of the nomination email submission. This category includes Deputy Chiefs, Assistant Directors, Supervisors, Coordinators, and other positions functioning in a similar capacity that supervise Juvenile Probation Officers.

Juvenile Probation Officer of the Year - an individual who is employed as a Juvenile Probation Officer, but who is not a Chief Juvenile Probation Officer, Deputy Chief, or Juvenile Probation Supervisor as of the date of the nomination email submission.

Meritorious Service Award - a person committed to furthering the development of at-risk, alleged and/or delinquent youth, or advancing the mission of the juvenile justice system (Examples of volunteer work may include, but is not limited to, youth aid panels, youth commissions, anti-violence programs, school-based programs, diversionary programs, mentoring programs, faith-based programs, community centers or similar programming).

Court-Operated Program of the Year - any program operated by court employees which serves alleged and/or adjudicated delinquent youth.

Residential Program of the Year - any public or private sector program serving alleged and/or adjudicated delinquent youth in a residential setting. This includes foster homes, group homes, residential treatment programs, general childcare facilities, shelter care facilities, detention centers, independent living programs, and other programs providing out-of-home, overnight care to children. Award Winners prior to 2019 are eligible for nomination.

Community-Based Program of the Year - any public or private sector program, not operated by the court, which provides community based, non-residential services to alleged and/or adjudicated delinquent youth including, but not limited to, day treatment programs, in-home services, Boys and Girls Clubs, Education Services, and out-patient services.

Juvenile Court Support Service Award - individuals eligible to receive this award include those persons who provide clerical, secretarial, fiscal specialist, management, information technology, quality assurance, or other support services to the juvenile court. This includes receptionists, secretaries, clerk/typists, information technology specialists, quality assurance specialists, office managers and others functioning in a similar support capacity. (This individual does not need to be in a position that is entirely dedicated to the juvenile court system, but it should be a significant part of their position).

Victim Advocate Award - an individual who works on behalf of crime victims in a district attorney’s office, juvenile probation department, or in a community-based agency (This individual does not need to be in a position that is entirely dedicated to victims of juvenile crime, but it should be a significant part of their position).
 
PLEASE NOTE: Nominations that were not selected as winners in previous years may be resubmitted for reconsideration in the same category.

2024 YOUTH AWARD CATEGORIES AND DEFINITIONS

Outstanding Achievement Award - the Outstanding Achievement Award submission consists of a narrative description of a youth’s outstanding qualities of community service, victim reparation, academic accomplishments, school attendance, citizenship, attitude, extra-curricular activities, peer relationships, significant life experience and positive changes in behavior.

Creative Expression Contest- Using the theme “The Real Story: My Battle, My Strength,” youth are to submit an original creative expression project in one of the following three categories: Poster, Written (essay, poem, story, etc.); or Mixed Media (Dance, song, audio, video, or photography). This contest has a fifteen (15) and under category and a sixteen (16) and over category.