A state Juvenile Justice Task Force has been created, but Butler officials feel pretty comfortable with current operations.

Gov. Tom Wolf and a bipartisan effort by legislators formalized a joint agreement with Pew Charitable Trusts on the creation of the task force on Monday.

The task force will assess how the state handles juvenile justice and will develop a report detailing what should be done to strengthen the system, a system that some in Butler County feel already is strong.

“Our juvenile justice system is pretty successful,” said Doug Ritson, chief county probation officer. “Our juvenile system, comparatively to the adult system, is head and shoulders above.”

Ritson said the county's recidivism rates among juveniles is lower than the adult system, and he said a lot of the system is built on being proactive.

He said if the task force could work in conjunction and help improve what Pennsylvania has already accomplished with its system, then it could be a leader among many states in the area of juvenile justice.

“I always want to make it better. I want a 100 percent recidivism rate,” Ritson said. “That's what we strive to do.”

County District Attorney Rich Goldinger said the state made significant improvements to the juvenile system in the last 10 to 15 years, including getting more involved in the children's lives early on and having parole officers attached to schools.

“I like the intensive hands-on action, they have with them,” Goldinger said.

Wolf commended the caucus for its bipartisan commitment to a thorough review of the juvenile justice system and this new task force with Pew's assistance.

“The partnership we're creating today is an important step toward protecting vulnerable young Pennsylvanians,” Wolf said.

Task force members will be appointed within 30 days, and the report will be delivered by Nov. 30, 2020.

“My Council on Reform identified justice-involved youth as a vulnerable population and said that our juvenile justice system needed significant reform,” Wolf said.