In News & Research

Stay informed on the latest in juvenile justice news and research*

June 24, 2024

Illinois bill creating emerging adult program for young prisoners heads to Pritzker- WAND TV Springfield

The Illinois House passed a bill Friday morning to help provide more educational opportunities for young people serving time in the Department of Corrections. This legislation calls on the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice to establish an emerging adults program for 18 to 21-year-olds in prisons. These individuals could be transported to a juvenile justice center in Harrisburg, Illinois to participate in therapy sessions, case management, vocational training and higher education opportunities.

Cook County plans to replace juvenile detention center with smaller ‘centers of care’- Injustice Watch

Cook County officials plan to drastically reduce the size of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, the nation’s largest juvenile jail, long criticized for its inhumane treatment and ineffective care of vulnerable kids, and replace it with community-based treatment centers. The plans, which have the backing of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Evans, call for downsizing the five-story detention center on Chicago’s West Side and replacing it with “centers of care,” which would be semi-secure facilities to house youths who judges deem can’t be released to their homes, according to a proposal submitted for a federal grant to support the effort.

6327eec5-7a45-499a-bca7-ef385b62df50-JUVENILEDETENTIONCENTER image

It’s been eight months since the Sangamon County Juvenile Center was closed, and before a court allows it to reopen, multiple changes will be made.

Director of Sangamon Court Services Kent Holsopple says there is no timetable for when the detention will reopen. But local officials are trying to meet the demands for that to happen.

After a September shooting at the center, police say an inmate fired multiple gunshots. The remaining inmates were transferred elsewhere and the location was closed indefinitely.

Delinquent: Our System, Our Kids - 30 stories of life inside Cuyahoga County’s juvenile justice system - Cleveland.com

“Delinquent: Our System, Our Kids” is a special series examining Cuyahoga County’s juvenile justice system through the eyes of the kids who go through it.

Reporters Kaitlin Durbin and John Tucker spoke to over 50 juvenile offenders about their recent experiences within the Cuyahoga County juvenile justice system, which puts more children behind bars than any other county in Ohio, to better understand how the system works to rehabilitate youth. Throughout the series, we ask: Is the system working?

How Can I Be Free When My Child Is Incarcerated?

-Time Magazine

It began during the COVID-19 pandemic. LA was shut down, and I got a phone call from my mother telling me that my son, Damiani, had done something he shouldn't have. It was Mother’s Day, and my son called me from a burner phone saying he was going to be on the run for a while. Towards the end of 2020, he got caught for a home invasion. Everything was virtual, so I couldn’t go into the courtroom, and he eventually got transferred to a maximum prison, sentenced to 9 years and 9 months.

That's where my journey began.

Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Law, Brain & Behavior Advances Juvenile Justice in Launching First-of-its-Kind Cutting-Edge Brain Science “NeuroLaw Library"- Mass. General Hospital

In an effort to make the legal system more effective and just for all those affected by the law, today, the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior (CLBB), one of the nation’s leading institutes committed to providing the most accurate and actionable neuroscience for judges, lawyers, policymakers and journalists, is launching the NeuroLaw Library, the nation’s first information resource dedicated to fairer, more effective science-informed judicial outcomes.

The NeuroLaw Library is a free, open access repository for those involved in the juvenile and adult criminal justice system in need of accurate and applicable neuroscience resources. The CLBB is based out of Massachusetts General Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham health system.”

*Opinions and viewpoints shared in the above articles do not necessarily represent views and policies of the Illinois Dept. of Juvenile Justice.

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE

IDJJ's mission is to build youth skills and strengthen families to promote community safety and positive youth outcomes.

Cook County plans to replace juvenile detention center with smaller ‘centers of care’- Injustice Watch

Sangamon County juvenile center revamp underway, reopening date remains uncertain-ABC News Channel 20

Delinquent: Our System, Our Kids - 30 stories of life inside Cuyahoga County’s juvenile justice system - Cleveland.com

How Can I Be Free When My Child Is Incarcerated?

Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Law, Brain & Behavior Advances Juvenile Justice in Launching First-of-its-Kind Cutting-Edge Brain Science “NeuroLaw Library"- Mass. General Hospital