Jennifer Lopez, CEO of Friends Association for Care and Protection of Children in Chester County was sworn in as a member of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD).

The ceremony took place at the Chester County Justice Center and was presided over by the Honorable Ann Marie Wheatcraft.

On May 12, 2023, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro issued the official commission of Lopez to the PCCD. Under the PCCD Chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor, Austin Davis her term as a commissioner will run until May 12, 2027.

Lopez will chair the Mental Health and Justice Advisory Committee (MHJAC) established in 2009 in partnership with the Department of Human Services Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. 

MHJAC spearheads and supports statewide and local strategies reducing the number of justice-involved individuals with behavioral health, co-occurring substance use disorders, and intellectual disabilities/developmental disabilities from the justice system through comprehensive and appropriate diversion, treatment, and reentry services.

Jennifer Lopez joined the Friends Association for Care and Protection of Children, as the CEO, in January 2019.

Before joining Friends Association, Lopez served the Chester County community as the Deputy Chief of Probation, Parole, and Pretrial Services where she administered programs serving over 10,000 justice-involved individuals.  

Lopez spearheaded the creation of the Women’s Reentry Assessment and Programming Initiative (WRAP), which earned the Top 25 Program Award at Harvard University’s John F Kennedy School of Government.  During her tenure at Friends, Lopez opened the County’s first S.A.F.E. Home for women impacted by incarceration. 

“I am honored to receive this appointment and thankful for the trust placed in me to serve among the wide range of experts on the commission. I look forward to working with my colleagues on initiatives that will continue the important work being done in Pennsylvania” Lopez said.

About PCCD:

PCCD serves as the justice planning and policy-making agency for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by bringing together a wide range of experts in the fields of criminal and juvenile justice, victim services, and related professions, PCCD coordinates the collective examination of problems, proposes solutions and evaluates the impact of those solutions.

About Friends Association:

Friends Association has administered housing-related programs in the Southeast region of Pennsylvania since 1822. It has operated continuously as a non-profit in Pennsylvania for over 200 years,