In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many jurisdictions across the country took measures to reduce their jail populations as a way of lessening the risk of disease spread. This included Allegheny County, which decreased the Allegheny County Jail (ACJ) population by considering for release older and health-compromised individuals, individuals sentenced to the jail who could be paroled early, and individuals awaiting trial or probation violation hearings who could safely be released.

This data brief explores the decrease of the ACJ population between March 16, 2020, and June 1, 2020, and the recidivism of individuals released during this period.

What are the takeaways?

• The ACJ population decreased 30% between March 16, 2020 and June 1, 2020, as a result of both decreased jail bookings and increased releases of eligible individuals.
• Of those who were released during the early months of the pandemic, most were being held in the ACJ while awaiting a hearing for a County probation violation (34%) or awaiting trial (29%).
• Many individuals who were released from jail during this period (63%) received support services through Pretrial Services, Re-Entry/Justice Related Services, or Adult Probation.
• The people released from the jail during this period had a recidivism rate (i.e., a new criminal filing or jail booking within 90 days of release) of 11%. A comparison group of individuals who were released from the jail during the same period a year prior had a recidivism rate of 19%.

The City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police (PBP) tracks each incident in which an officer uses force with a subject. The most current report on police use of force and the previous report provide an overview of incidents in Pittsburgh. The reports describe trends, circumstances of incidents, control techniques used, and incident outcomes. The analyses also describe charges commonly filed against subjects, subjects’ demographics, and the distribution of incidents across the police force.

What are the takeaways?

• Around one in 10 total arrests involve the use of force.
• Most subject resistance (SR) incidents resulted from some form of attempted arrest: 74% of subjects resisted arrest during an on-view arrest (an arrest where probable cause is established by observing or “viewing” an offense), and 4% resisted during a warrant arrest.
• The most commonly used control techniques were forcible handcuffing (used with 68% of resisting subjects) and “other,” which includes grabbing, pushing and pulling (58%), and takedowns (51%). Note that more than one control technique can be used and reported.

Previous reports:

Use of Force in Pittsburgh, 2010–2015

The dashboard below provides information about Allegheny County Jail population management, including the daily jail population, population in alternative housing, bookings and releases, and lengths of stay. Data is available from 2018 to the present and is updated daily.

Trouble viewing the dashboard? You can view it directly here.

The Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) helps more than 200,000 people each year through well-established programs and innovations that advance its mission. In addition to these day-to-day programs, DHS developed a set of “strategic initiatives” to focus on in 2019 and 2020 – developed through a planning process that involved a full review of priorities across the agency. These initiatives, of course, were planned prior to the challenges of 2020, which required DHS to be flexible and respond to new and greater needs.

The report presents these initiatives and examples of how DHS has worked with our community partners to continually improve the well-being of children, youth and adults in Allegheny County.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Allegheny County, PA, the Department of Human Services (DHS) responded with a tireless focus on the needs of providers, staff and County residents. DHS was able to streamline processes that helped feed, educate, house, protect and serve thousands of clients and residents of the County.

A first report covers DHS’s early response to the pandemic through June 2020, including establishing remote work policies, creating daily briefings for provider staff, and providing internet capability for hundreds of families and children.

A subsequent report provides an overview of later efforts through the summer, fall and winter of 2020 and into 2021, including topics such as deployment of funding and Emergency Rental Assistance, establishment of learning hubs for school-aged children and modifications to housing for people with COVID-19.

Input from community members is vital to the work that Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) does. One way that DHS is learning about the community’s needs is by posing questions on a public online feedback platform called Neighborland. DHS is reviewing and summarizing the answers we receive and analyzing the text for common themes. Feedback is being used to inform our planning and programming.

• Community feedback report #1: COVID-19 needs, remote services and technology challenges (June 2020)
• Community feedback report #2: Racial justice, COVID-19 support, and communicating with immigrant and international communities (January 2021)

The dashboard below provides an overview of Allegheny County child welfare out-of-home placements from 2010 through 2021. Data describe yearly point-in-time counts of children in placement (“PIT” tab), characteristics of children in placement, what types of placements were used, how long children stayed there, where they went after their placement ended (also known as exits) and how many returned to the child welfare system after returning home (also known as re-entries). The dashboard is updated annually when a full year of data becomes available.

A related report provides analysis of placement trends over the past decade.

Trouble viewing the dashboard? You can view it directly here.

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Related materials

• Report: Child Welfare Placement Dynamics, 2008-2017 data
• Brief overview of findings: 2008-2017 data

Developed by the Black Girls Equity Alliance, this independent report uses data from several local partners, including the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, to explore racial disproportionality in youth referrals to the juvenile justice system.

Click here to view the full report.

In Allegheny County, a preliminary arraignment is a defendant’s first court appearance, during which a judge notifies the defendant of their charges and a bail determination is made. Defendants are not guaranteed legal representation at preliminary arraignments, but lack of representation can have serious consequences for fairness and equity in court proceedings, as well as a substantial impact on the jail population.

What is this report about?

In April 2017, the Allegheny County Office of the Public Defender began a pilot project utilizing existing staff to provide legal representation for all people arraigned during business hours at Pittsburgh Municipal Court.

What are the takeaways?

The outcomes of the first year of the pilot are encouraging. Compared to a matched sample, people represented by public defenders at preliminary arraignments:

• Were less likely to receive cash bail
• Were less likely to be booked into the Allegheny County Jail
• Experienced less racial disproportionality in cash bail decisions and jail bookings/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20-ACDHS-06-Public-Defense-Brief_v5-1.pd

Click here to read the data brief.

The presence of police officers in schools has become increasingly common since the practice was introduced in the 1950s. While law enforcement in schools may deter criminal behavior, it can also have the effect of increasing youth juvenile justice system involvement. Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) wanted to learn more about youth arrests in Pittsburgh, particularly differences related to where an allegation happens — in or out of school — and how the outcomes of students involved with the juvenile justice system differ from those who have not been involved. We also wanted to know more about students’ involvement with human services in order to better understand where there might be gaps in services and supports for students involved with juvenile justice.

To explore these questions, we took a descriptive longitudinal look at students who were registered in Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) in school year 2010 and followed them through 2018.

What we found:

• One out of four middle and high school students who attended Pittsburgh Public Schools in the 2010 school year had at least one allegation in juvenile court during the study period. Of those allegations, 37% were made by PPS police.
• Eighty percent of students with allegations were Black, while only 58% of the total student body was Black. The rate of disproportionately was similar for allegations made by school police and those made outside of school.
• Allegations made by PPS police were much more likely to be for lower-level offenses than allegations outside of school, but more than half of students with either type of allegation had involvement with the adult criminal justice system later on.
• Students with an allegation had a higher number of school absences and suspensions throughout their time in school than those with no allegations.
• Students with an allegation were more likely than other students to be involved with the child welfare system, mental health services and live in assisted housing.

In recent years, PPS has put in place programs to divert students from the criminal justice system as well as implement restorative justice practices in schools, which we hope will lead to a reduction in disproportionality and improved outcomes for students.

 

Click here to view the full report. 

 

Throughout the United States, people experiencing behavioral health challenges are overrepresented in the criminal justice system and Allegheny County is no exception. To better understand the state of our current system and to learn more about promising approaches in other jurisdictions, Allegheny County sought an independent evaluator to conduct a study. From among a number of proposers, the county selected researchers from the University of Pittsburgh who interviewed dozens of stakeholders, analyzed justice system data, examined models from other jurisdictions, and solicited feedback through a series of workshops.

Click on the links above to learn more about the researchers’ findings and recommendations:

This report describes women in the Allegheny County criminal justice system with a goal of better understanding the population by exploring their demographics and human services history. The analysis describes women at three stages in the criminal justice system: women who had criminal filings, women booked into the Allegheny County Jail (ACJ), and women released from the ACJ.

 Key findings include:

• While overall justice system involvement is declining in Allegheny County, the proportion of women involved is growing. For example, between 2008 and 2018, overall rates of incarceration in Allegheny County fell by 32%, but women’s rates of incarceration declined at a slower rate than men’s — a decrease of 23% compared to 34% for men.
• The majority of women booked in the jail were white (59%), but Black women were disproportionately represented when taking population into account: Black women were 4.2 times more likely to be in jail than white women.
• Prior to incarceration, women were more likely than men to have received income supports, used the emergency room, and received mental health and/or drug and alcohol treatment. They were also more likely to access these services after release from jail. These findings highlight the unique needs of women, while also suggesting points of contact where intervention might be effective.

Click here to read the full report.

Since 2010, ACTION-Housing’s My Place program has provided housing and case management to Allegheny County youth who are either transitioning out of foster care or at-risk for homelessness. In 2013, ACTION-Housing built a modern, energy-efficient structure — the 24-unit Uptown Lofts — with the belief that services could be offered more effectively if many young adults were living at a single location. This report provides an overview of ACTION-Housing’s youth-focused programs and how it has found success serving vulnerable youth through supervised independence; clear expectations; and motivating, compassionate support staff.

Click here to read the report.

One way that Allegheny County promotes the provision of high quality behavioral health services is through value-based contracting (VBC), which pays providers of behavioral health services based on quality of care rather than quantity of care. This type of contracting can reduce system costs while also providing financial incentives for high-performing providers. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (PA DHS) has implemented a series of VBC requirements for the Medicaid-funded behavioral health program statewide. This report outlines these requirements, highlights Allegheny County’s various VBC initiatives, and discusses next steps.

Click here to read the report.

In partnership with nine community-based providers, Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) provides home-delivered meals to older adults in need. In order to learn more about meal recipient satisfaction, DHS surveyed more than 200 meal program participants. The survey found high satisfaction overall, with average scores ranging from 4.2 to 4.9 out of 5. Survey respondents rated delivery people high, while scores for taste of food and amount of food were slightly lower. Sixty-five percent of participants said that the program helped them feel less lonely, and 87% said that meal delivery helped them to remain in their own homes instead of needing a higher level of care.

Click here to read the report.