Meet The Candidate - Jennifer Staley McCrady

[Note: This is second in a series of blog posts regarding the candidates running for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas.  I've reached out to each campaign (via each campaign's website) and offered the same interview set-up.]

Yesterday, I had the good fortune to chat with Jennifer Staley McCrady, candidate for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas:


Right now, McCrady is the "Supervisor/Program & Policy Coordinator" for KidsVoice, an organization that, according to it's website:

...represents nearly 3,000 children involved in the child-welfare system in Allegheny County’s Juvenile Court.

And:

Child advocacy at KidsVoice goes beyond the traditional child welfare and juvenile court arenas. Our staff advocate for clients in educational, medical, mental health and social security matters as well as providing representation for minor criminal citations and for expungement of delinquency records. We also assist our older clients as they pursue college or vocational training opportunities and transition to living independently.

And in Fall 2013, the Pennsylvania Bar Association Children’s Rights Committee named her "Child Advocate of the Year" for 2013, writing:

McCrady is described as a prime mover-and-shaper of most of the ground-breaking KidsVoice initiatives. Many of the initiatives include a significant focus and provision of specialty advocacy to older youths, a focus on the needs of the medically fragile youths, representation of dually adjudicated youths and a focus on educational quality and stability for youths in a residential setting.

And she is among those named "highly recommended" by the Judicial Excellence Committee of the Allegheny County Bar Association.

In our interview, she came across as solidly knowledgeable and completely committed to being an advocate for kids - something she said she's always wanted to be and something she's done for more than a decade.  And in doing that job, she's become well-versed in the workings of the Family Division of the Court of Common Pleas - where new judges are typically assigned.

She's also been endorsed by the P-G and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, the latter saying:

Jennifer Staley McCrady’s passion for protecting children is undeniable. She has dedicated her career to advocating for children both inside and outside the courtroom. Jennifer Staley McCrady understands that the court plays an important role in identifying and remedying the underlying issues that often accompany the delinquency and truancy offenses that disrupt learning in our schools.