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MCLEAN COUNTY JUVENILE JUSTICE COUNCIL DELINQUENCY PREVENTION PLAN Adopted December 2008 ---PAGE BREAK--- Youth Impact, Inc. Delinquency Prevention Plan - 1 - BACKGROUND Youth Impact Mission Statement To develop a strategy through community involvement to control existing gangs and future criminal activity; to serve as the Juvenile Justice Council for McLean County and to provide youth the opportunity to reach their full potential. History of Youth Impact In 1992 a group of community leaders were brought together to address a growing problem with gangs in McLean County. Since its inception the organization has continually evolved through the energies, talents and commitment of its members. Top-level representatives from multiple agencies, including all levels of government, schools, law enforcement, court services, social services, businesses, and faith based organizations focus on the mission. The group formally incorporated under the name Youth Impact in 1999. In 2002, Judge Charles Reynard formally convened the McLean County Juvenile Justice Council pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act (705 ILCS 405/6-12). The purpose of this action was to allow the Youth Impact directors to act as the Juvenile Justice Council for McLean County. Youth Impact board members continue to meet on a basis in order to pursue a more positive environment for the youth of our community. The Role of Juvenile Justice Councils in Illinois The Illinois Juvenile Court Act of 1998 authorized each county to establish a council for the purpose of encouraging the initiation of, or supporting ongoing, interagency cooperation and programs to address juvenile delinquency and juvenile crime. The statute was designed to give counties the flexibility to develop programs, or to enhance the already existing programs, that most effectively address each county’s unique needs and circumstances. Juvenile Justice Councils are charged with assessing community needs, evaluating existing services, planning, and making recommendations for the improvement of the juvenile justice continuum in their area. Each Juvenile Justice Council is required to have representatives appointed by the following officials: • Sheriff • State’s Attorney • Chief Probation Officer of the Judicial Circuit • County Board • Chief Judge of the Judicial Circuit ---PAGE BREAK--- Youth Impact, Inc. Delinquency Prevention Plan - 2 - Additional members may include, but are not limited to, representatives of local law enforcement agencies, court service agencies, schools, businesses, and community organizations. The explicit purpose of a County Juvenile Justice Council is: • To provide a forum for the development of a community-based interagency assessment of the local juvenile justice system; • To make recommendations to the county board for more effectively utilizing initiation of, or support ongoing, interagency cooperation and programs to address juvenile delinquency and the prevention, intervention, and diversion of juvenile offenders. The specific duties and functions of each council are outlined in 705 ILCS 406/6-12 of the Illinois Juvenile Court Act 1998 Edition. The key activities of the councils include: • Developing a comprehensive, local juvenile justice plan based upon the utilization of the resources of law enforcement, school systems, park programs, sports entities, and others in a cooperative and collaborative manner to prevent or discourage juvenile crime. • Entering into a written county interagency agreement specifying the nature and extent of contributions each signatory agency will make in achieving the goals of the county juvenile justice plan and their commitment to the sharing of information useful in carrying out the goals of the interagency agreement to the extent authorized by law. • Applying for and receiving public or private grants, to be administered by one of the community partners that support one or more components of the juvenile justice plan. • Providing a forum for the presentation of interagency recommendations and the resolution of disagreements relating to the contents of the county interagency agreement or the performance by the parties of their respective obligations under the agreement. • Assisting and directing the efforts of local community support organizations and volunteer groups in providing enrichment programs and other support services for clients of local juvenile detention centers. • Developing and making available a countywide resource guide for minors in need of prevention, intervention, educational support, or other services needed to prevent juvenile delinquency. By statue and nature, county juvenile justice councils should seek to ensure broad community participation. The membership of the county councils provides for broad participation and involvement of the stakeholders in the juvenile justice system, including the district school superintendents, local government officials, representatives of local law enforcement agencies, representatives of the judicial system, business community, children’s services, public or private providers of juvenile justice programs and services, students, advocates and other interested officials or individuals. ---PAGE BREAK--- Youth Impact, Inc. Delinquency Prevention Plan - 3 - Youth Impact Board of Directors Geoff Fruin, Chairperson Town of Normal Kent Crutcher, Vice Chairperson Normal Police Department Anthony Watson Small Business Owner Cathy Waltz Juvenile Detention Center Charla Cullen Western Avenue Community Center Dennis McGuire McLean County Court Services Doug Braun Catholic Charities Doug Crossman Community Member Evelyn Young Boys & Girls Club Gary Niehaus McLean County Unit District #5 Greg Cott United Way of McLean County Judge Charles Reynard McLean County Law & Justice Center Judge Elizabeth Robb McLean County Law & Justice Center Kim Campbell McLean County State’s Attorney Office Kim Q. Holman-Short Bloomington Housing Authority Lori McCormick McLean County Court Services Mark Jontry Regional Office of Education Mike Emery McLean County Sheriff’s Office Mychele Kenney Chestnut Health Systems Peter Rankaitis Project Oz Randy McKinley Bloomington Police Department Robert Nielsen District #87 Sue Bandy McLean County Compact Suzanne Fitzgerald YouthBuild McLean County Tari Renner McLean County Board Tim Moore Bloomington High School, District #87 Tom Barr Center for Human Services William Yoder McLean County State’s Attorney Willie Brown State Farm Insurance Youth Impact Committees Executive Prevention Education Intervention / Suppression Legislative Affairs* * In October 2008, Youth Impact created a Legislative Affairs Committee. The charge of this committee is to keep members informed of pertinent legislative proposals at the local, state and federal governments. The committee is also expected to recommend formal policy positions to the full Youth Impact board and facilitate communication on those positions with our elected representatives. ---PAGE BREAK--- Youth Impact, Inc. Delinquency Prevention Plan - 4 - Youth Impact, 2006-2008 The last update to Youth Impact’s Delinquency Prevention Plan was released in the spring of 2006. Since that time Youth Impact has undertaken several significant efforts that have aimed to further the mission of the organization. A few of those highlights are noted below. Various representatives of Youth Impact were instrumental in creating a Truancy Review Board that began operating in 2007. The board is currently operated under the direction of the Regional Office of Education. To date the Truancy Review Board has been successful in meeting its primary goal, which is to refer truants to available local social services instead of sending them through the juvenile court system. Youth Impact members continue to be engaged in the ongoing operation and evaluation of the board. Youth Impact has long been a strong advocate of summer jobs programs for local at-risk teenagers in the community. For many years Youth Impact operated Scoop Dreams, which was an ice cream parlor that employed and instructed approximately a half dozen young adults in the community each summer. In 2006, Youth Impact discontinued the Scoop Dreams operation and began searching for an alternative solution that would aid at-risk teenagers during the summer months. Following a United Way of McLean County summer jobs pilot program that was launched in 2007, Youth Impact teamed up with Project Oz to offer an intensive summer jobs program for local teenagers. In 2008 Project Oz successfully oversaw the employment of over twenty at-risk teenagers in the community. Project Oz served as a liaison between the employees and employers and also conducted training seminars with each of the youth participants. Youth Impact and Project Oz hope to enhance and expand the effort in the coming years. Gang outreach continues to be a high priority for the members of Youth Impact. Although the organization no longer oversees a street outreach program, it has continued to partner with social service and law enforcement agencies in an effort to prevent future and curb existing gang activity in the community. Youth Impact’s Intervention / Suppression committee holds regular meetings with law enforcement agencies, court services and social service providers. These meetings are designed to facilitate the exchange of information between all parties and also to promote social service programs in the community that may be of benefit for youth that the police or court services employees interact with throughout the year. The members of Youth Impact remain committed to the organization and the greater community. In the coming years, the board members will work diligently to implement the strategies and actions contained in the Delinquency Prevention Plan. Additionally, the board will continue its ongoing efforts to identify and promote collaboration among the many youth and family resources that are available in McLean County. ---PAGE BREAK--- Youth Impact, Inc. Delinquency Prevention Plan - 5 - DELINQUENCY PREVENTION PLAN Executive Summary The McLean County Juvenile Justice Council is committed to preventing and discouraging juvenile crime, as well as strengthening and expanding current community efforts as outlined in the Delinquency Prevention Plan. The plan is divided up into three distinct sections, including prevention, intervention and suppression. Youth Impact strongly believes that that this three- pronged approach is critical for success in the community. In the spring of 2008, the Youth Impact Prevention Plan committee completed a comprehensive resource assessment that resulted in a listing of services available to youth in the McLean County area. The Prevention Plan committee also developed a Key Informant Survey which focused on the causes and potential solutions of delinquency in McLean County. The survey was then administered by an Illinois State University sociology class. Although several issues were noted in the survey, the one receiving the vast majority of responses was the need for more parental involvement in a child’s life. This overriding opinion conveyed the need for Youth Impact to focus on parental engagement as a key prevention issue in the coming years. Youth Impact believes that if every child can have a parent supporting their emotional, physical, and intellectual development, then other problems such as truancy, alcohol/tobacco abuse, and gang involvement will be much less appealing to a young person. In addition to the parental involvement strategy, Youth Impact will continue to make education a key component of its prevention strategy. Youth Impact will work in cooperation with the local school districts and service agencies to ensure that all students obtain their high school degree or equivalent GED. Finally, Youth Impact will look to create a permanent scholarship fund that will aid local at-risk youth with financial needs, in their quest to pursue higher education beyond high school. The second component of the Delinquency Prevention Plan focuses on intervention efforts. These efforts directly target at-risk youth in the community that are on the verge of criminal behavior or perhaps may already be involved in such activities. Intervention strategies are crucial in steering these youth away from these negative activities toward a more positive and productive lifestyle. A major intervention strategy of Youth Impact will be to build upon a summer jobs program that has been piloted for the past two years in McLean County. Youth Impact strongly believes that a jobs program that is supplemented with personal development and job-training skills, provides an invaluable positive experience for the participating teens. Youth Impact also strongly supports ongoing efforts at the state level to encourage local governments to steer juvenile offenders away from detention when social services may be more beneficial and cost effective in the long run. Youth Impact believes that such services to be offered in lieu of detention must be evidence based and accountable. Thorough evaluation of ---PAGE BREAK--- Youth Impact, Inc. Delinquency Prevention Plan - 6 - such programs should be ongoing and reviewed by a non-providing organization. Youth Impact will take an active role in promoting and facilitating the concepts included in initiatives such as Redeploy Illinois, Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), and evidenced based practices. The final piece of the Delinquency Prevention Plan deals with suppression efforts. Youth Impact realizes the importance of our law enforcement agencies’ daily efforts to keep the streets of our community safe and free from criminal activity. One important role that Youth Impact can play in this effort is to assist in the free-flowing exchange of information between local agencies. The Intervention / Suppression committee of Youth Impact will continue to hold regular meetings involving police officers, school resource officers, probation officers, court services personnel and social service providers. Through cooperative efforts these parties can more effectively minimize criminal activity in our community. In summary, the Delinquency Prevention Plan aims to improve the environment for young people by taking measures to prevent, intervene and suppress criminal activity in McLean County. Through the strategies outlined in this plan, the community can effectively provide young adults a greater chance to succeed, while improving the quality of life in the greater community. Section I: Prevention Parental Engagement Promoting a supportive family structure and ensuring that appropriate services are available from conception through adolescence is a top priority for Youth Impact. A solid family foundation and access to available services is critical in ensuring a child can realize their full potential. Youth Impact will aim to increase the level of parental involvement in a child’s life. This includes activities such as attending parent teacher conferences, school activities and functions, facilitating their child’s involvement in pro-social activities and ensuring that they have adequate and age appropriate supervision at all times. Objective #1 – Youth Impact will conduct a Parent Forum that involves individuals from various agencies, businesses, schools and community organizations. This forum will serve as a means to identify firm strategies to increase parental involvement in the lives of youth and identify resources that are available to support these strategies. • Task #1 - Appoint a small ad-hoc committee to coordinate the forum and identify a facilitator. • Task #2 - Plan and conduct the parent forum as outlined by the ad-hoc committee, with necessary funding provided by Youth Impact. • Task #3 – Compile the results of the forum and put together a plan based on the information obtained. ---PAGE BREAK--- Youth Impact, Inc. Delinquency Prevention Plan - 7 - Objective #2 – Develop a marketing plan and campaign, “2009 - the Year of Parents”, to effectively advertise to the community the importance of parental engagement. • Task #1 – Solicit involvement of an Illinois State University marketing class, regarding a public relations and marketing campaign to help facilitate getting the message out to the community. • Task #2 – Explore funding to conduct the Parental Engagement Campaign. • Task #3 – Implement a community wide marketing campaign to promote parental involvement with their children. • Task #4 – Assess the effectiveness of the parental campaign. Education Youth Impact realizes the importance that education plays in the lives of all youth. Youth Impact will work in cooperation with the local school districts and service agencies to ensure that all students obtain their high school degree or equivalent GED. Youth Impact also supports the United Way of America’s goal to increase on-time graduation rates in our country. The board will support United Way of McLean County’s efforts to work with service providers and the school districts to ensure that our community is doing all we can to provide students the tools and support needed to graduate high school. At this time it is unclear what role Youth Impact may play in this community effort. Finally, Youth Impact will look to create a permanent scholarship fund to help at-risk students with financial need. The scholarships will target those students that have completed high school and that are considering pursuing further studies. This includes programs at colleges, universities and trade schools. Youth Impact strongly believes that these scholarships can be the impetus needed for many young adults to take the positive step of pursuing more education. Without such scholarships many students simply would not be able to pursue these goals and consequently struggle with personal and professional developmental needs. Section II: Intervention The intervention component to the prevention plan is a crucial piece of the puzzle that attempts to steer at-risk youth away from a path of destructive behavior towards a lifestyle that is positive and productive. A major intervention strategy of Youth Impact will be to expand the pilot summer jobs program that has been implemented the past two years in McLean County. This jobs program teaches at-risk youth critical job skills in a real world setting. Youth Impact’s role will be to continue to engage local employers in the program, while funding social service agencies that can help to provide support to both the employee and the employer. Furthermore, Youth Impact will ensure that the youth selected for the program will also receive personal development training aimed to give them the tools necessary to develop into productive adults. Youth Impact will also support McLean County with several initiatives designed to reduce juvenile offending and the resulting secure incarceration. These initiatives include Redeploy ---PAGE BREAK--- Youth Impact, Inc. Delinquency Prevention Plan - 8 - Illinois, and the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI). The McLean County Juvenile Justice System has also committed to utilizing Evidenced Based Practices in regard to working with juvenile offenders and their families. Youth Impact fully supports these efforts, all of which require a great deal of collaboration. Youth Impact has the key players in place to ensure these efforts have every opportunity to succeed. A summary of these efforts follows below. Redeploy Illinois Redeploy Illinois is designed to provide services to youth between the ages of 13 and 18 who are at high risk of being committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice. A fiscal incentive is provided to counties to provide services to youth within their home communities by building a continuum of care for youth who are in the juvenile justice system. Counties link youth to a wide array of needed services and supports within the home community, as indicated through an individualized needs assessment. Services are provided in the least restrictive manner possible, and can include case management, court advocacy, education assistance, individual/family/group counseling and crisis intervention. Every year, hundreds of Illinois teenagers enter the juvenile justice system by engaging in risk- taking and/or illegal behavior. The effect on the lives of these youth is frequently devastating and the cost to the State is enormous. With the creation of Redeploy Illinois in 2004, the Illinois General Assembly set Illinois on a new course of action in meeting the needs of delinquent youth. At this time, McLean County has received a grant from the Illinois Department of Human Services to evaluate the possibility of becoming a Redeploy Illinois Site. The county has contracted with Dr. Sesha Kethineni of the Illinois State University Department of Criminal Justice Sciences to conduct the necessary research. Even if not awarded the financial resources associated with Redeploy Illinois, Youth Impact is committed to embracing the concepts of the program and will work to see that they are utilized. It is expected that Youth Impact will play an oversight role in McLean County’s effort to divert youth from incarceration. A comprehensive study on this subject has been conducted by McLean County and is available as an attachment to this report. Illinois Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) was designed to support the Casey Foundation’s vision that all youth involved in the juvenile justice system have opportunities to develop into healthy, productive adults. After more than a decade of innovation and replication, JDAI is one of the nation’s most effective, influential, and widespread juvenile justice system reform initiatives. JDAI focuses on the juvenile detention component of the juvenile justice system because youth are often unnecessarily or inappropriately detained at great expense, with long-lasting negative ---PAGE BREAK--- Youth Impact, Inc. Delinquency Prevention Plan - 9 - consequences for both public safety and youth development. JDAI promotes changes to policies, practices, and programs to: • reduce reliance on secure confinement; • improve public safety; • reduce racial disparities and bias; • save taxpayers’ dollars; and • stimulate overall juvenile justice reforms Since its inception in 1992, JDAI has repeatedly demonstrated that jurisdictions can safely reduce reliance on secure detention. There are now approximately 100 JDAI sites in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Over the last year McLean County has undergone an evaluation process with JDAI. A full report is attached to this plan. Youth Impact will utilize this evaluation and the corresponding recommendations to ensure Best Practices are being utilized in regard to the usage of secure detention. Evidence Based Practices Youth Impact fully supports the usage of evidence based practices for the treatment of youthful offenders. In August 2007, McLean County Court Services in coordination with Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Peoria sponsored a training featuring Dr. Edward Latessa of The University of Cincinnati on utilization of evidenced based practice. Many service providers, law enforcement and court personnel attended the training. Evidence based programming is based on the principles that a continuum of local services should be available for offenders and that the services demonstrate effectiveness in improving behavior and emotional functioning. Youth Impact is committed to utilizing evidence based practices, and will be measuring the effectiveness of interventions on a regular basis. We will actively encourage the development and evaluation of best practices, to effectively meet the needs of youth in the juvenile justice system. Section III: Suppression Youth Impact fully realizes the importance of our law enforcement agencies’ daily efforts to keep the streets of our community safe and free from criminal activity. As a board Youth Impact will look to aid law enforcement officials in any appropriate manner. One important role that Youth Impact can play in this effort is to assist in the exchange of information. The Intervention / Suppression committee of Youth Impact will continue to hold regular meetings involving police officers, school resource officers, court services personnel and social service providers. The Board will seek out training opportunities to accomplish these goals. Through cooperative efforts these parties can more effectively respond to and minimize criminal activity in our community. ---PAGE BREAK--- Youth Impact, Inc. Delinquency Prevention Plan - 10 - IMPLEMENTATION The Youth Impact Board of Directors aims to move forward with a number of new initiatives over the next two years. These initiatives will help the community achieve the goals and ideals contained in this Prevention Plan. A summary of these initiatives are provided below: • Organize and conduct a parental engagement forum. • Implement a social marketing campaign focusing the community on the importance of parental engagement. • Develop an annual scholarship program for at-risk youth looking to pursue higher education or training opportunities. • Work with public, private and non-profit agencies to expand the summer jobs program for at-risk youth in the community. • Aid McLean County in evaluating opportunities associated with the Redeploy Illinois and Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI) programs. • Create a mini-grant program aimed to facilitate the expansion of existing social services, as well as the creation of new services in the community. The grant program is envisioned to provide seed money for agencies to experiment with evidenced based programs that serve the youth in this community in a manner that is reflective of the ideals contained in the Prevention Plan. In addition to the specific initiatives mentioned above, Youth Impact will continue to explore and pursue opportunities for inter-agency collaboration in our community. The board will continue to facilitate information sharing among stakeholders in the community with the understanding and spirit that all agencies have the same goals for the youth in our community. As new opportunities or issues arise in the community, Youth Impact will be proactive in evaluating those and recommending a course of action to appropriate officials. As has been the practice in past years, Youth Impact will look to update the community’s Delinquency Prevention Plan in two to three years. The regular updating of the plan helps to ensure that all community agencies are working in concert to improve the lives of the youth in our community. ---PAGE BREAK--- Youth Impact, Inc. Delinquency Prevention Plan - 11 - CONCLUSION To fulfill Youth Impact’s mission of “providing youth the opportunity to reach their full potential” it will take significant resources and interagency collaboration in our community. Youth Impact recognizes that a three-pronged approach is necessary in order to achieve our mission. For this reason the Delinquency Prevention Plan specifically targets prevention, intervention and suppression efforts. This Prevention Plan has received the full endorsement of our members and we are committed to helping young people steer clear of gang affiliation and other criminal activity. Youth Impact welcomes and encourages community input regarding our efforts. It is only through a community-wide collaboration that sustainable success can be achieved. ---PAGE BREAK--- Youth Impact, Inc. Delinquency Prevention Plan - 12 - APPENDIX Key Informant Interview Summary Redeploy Illinois Planning Grant Report Executive Summary McLean County Illinois Juvenile Detention Alternative Site Assessment ---PAGE BREAK--- KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEW SUMMARY The interviews completed by the students enrolled in the Introduction to Sociological Research Methods class in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Illinois State University proved insightful and invaluable into the potential causes of juvenile delinquency in the Bloomington-Normal area. As with any interview or survey process, success varied. The only significant issue students experienced was completing the interviews in the allotted time available; otherwise, there were few complications in contacting the assigned subjects and in completing the interviews. All students who participated in the process received valuable experience in a “real world” research project. In addition, Youth Impact will benefit from the gathering and compiling of data that the many dedicated students worked hard to provide. The following is the results from the interviews for the age group 10 and younger. Twenty-three subjects reported that children in low-income/low socio-economic families are most likely to experience trouble. Children from single-parent households received 10 mentions, and minorities, such as African-Americans and Mexican-Americans, received 9 mentions. Respondents also suggested boys girls children newly relocated and children of parents with low educational attainment are also likely to experience such troubles. There was a wide variety of opinions regarding the biggest problems facing our youth today as well as effective ways to address these problems. The following is the compiled data from the interviews regarding the biggest problems facing our youth, ages 10 and younger, in our community today. Lack of Supervision, Lack of Parenting, Single-Parent Households Number of mentions: 16 14 respondents believe the problem has become worse over the last few years while 2 have believed the problem has remained the same. No respondents reported the problem has improved. There were many suggestions on how to effectively address this issue. The most common was to provide parenting classes as well as to provide more after-school programs for children. Several suggested a greater involvement in by the community and churches in improving parent-child relations. Other suggestions included increasing funding for social services, funding for scholarships to reduce parental work hours, as well as reduced cost of after-school programs and community services. Lack of After-school Programs/Activities Number of mentions: 9 6 respondents believed the problem has become worse over the last few years, 1 believed the problem has stayed the same, and 1 believed the problem has improved. Suggestions to address this issue includes increasing the number of after-school programs, increasing the number of ---PAGE BREAK--- volunteers to create new and better programs, and more funding and state grants to allow schools to remain open longer. Poverty Number of mentions: 6 5 respondents reported the problem has become worse over the last few years, while 1 respondent could not state either way. The suggested solutions targeted both parents and children. For parents, effective measures included improving the economy and creating jobs for out-of- work parents, GED courses to improve attractiveness to an employer, and job coaching and teaching interview skills. For children, suggestions included after-school programs, more availability of community services, and a better method of teaching children to stay in school longer. Parental involvement in education Number of mentions: 6 3 respondents suggested this problem has remained the same in recent years, 2 stated the issue has become worse, and 1 suggested it has improved. Suggestions to address the problem of parental involvement in children’s education included better communication and more parent- teacher conferences to express the need for parents’ involvement in their child’s education, school activities that promote parent involvement, and offer incentives, such as free childcare, to induce more parental involvement. As previously mentioned, the interviews produced a large list of issues affecting this age group. The answers given were largely similar to other respondents of the same profession such as educators, social workers, and judges. Other problems reported include lack of healthcare exposure to violence or abuse peer pressure lack of a father or role model lack of fitness/obesity negative impact of media lack of respect drugs unstable families poor schooling lack of quality daycare poor sibling influence bullying uneducated parents insufficient sleep young parents lack of Hispanic teachers lack of funding for single mothers and homelessness The following are the results from the interviews for the age group 11 to 17. Sixteen respondents reported that children in low-income/low socio-economic families were most likely to experience problems. Children from single-parent households received 8 mentions, and minorities, such as African Americans and Mexican Americans, received 5 mentions. Respondents also suggested boys those with uneducated parents those living in urban areas and girls are also likely to experience problems. There was a wide variety of opinions regarding the biggest problems facing our youth today as well as effective ways to address these problems. The following is the compiled data from the ---PAGE BREAK--- interviews regarding the biggest problems facing our youth, ages 11 to 17, in our community today. Drugs Number of mentions: 12 9 respondents believe the problem has become worse over the last few years while 1 believed the problem has remained the same. Two2 respondents were unable to answer either way. There were many suggestions as to how to effectively address this issue. The suggestions included more family involvement, more outreach programs, more church programs, better drug education in school, better parental and school supervision, more after-school programs, more activities and options to turn to, and better substance abuse services. Gangs/Violence Number of mentions: 8 7 respondents believe the problem has become worse over the last few years while 1 believed the problem has remained the same. No respondents reported the problem has improved. Suggestions on how to effectively address this issue included more after-school programs, more funding for social services, increased funding for the judicial system, job programs, and improved relationships between parents and children. Lack of Supervision, Lack of Parenting, Single-Parent Households Number of mentions: 8 4 respondents believe the problem has become worse over the last few years, 3 believe the problem has remained the same, and 1 stated the problem has improved. Proposed plans to effectively address this problem include more extracurricular activities, more education programs, improved services and help for parents, and better teaching of values, priorities, and ethics. Teen Pregnancy Number of mentions: 6 4 respondents believe the problem has become worse over the last few years while 2 believed the problem has remained the same. No respondents reported the problem has improved. Suggested solutions to this issue include more sex education in schools, pregnancy education programs targeted towards teenage girls, improve parent-child relationships, interventions, small groups for teenagers to express and discuss issues, and free condoms in school. ---PAGE BREAK--- Similar to the 10 and younger age group, the interviews produced a large list of issues affecting this age group. Other problems reported include lack of after-school activities and/or boredom poverty poor education lack of fitness/obesity negative impact of media peer pressure unstable families lack of respect lack of healthcare/mental healthcare services lack of father/positive role model in life academic struggles availability of jobs lack of motivation/responsibility the undervaluing of education adolescents feeling burned out in school lack of guidance or direction after high school young parents feel inadequate or life does not matter and the negative influence of television, computer, and video games ---PAGE BREAK--- REDEPLOY ILLINOIS PLANNING GRANT REPORT Executive Summary (08/01/08) The planning grant was awarded to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority by the Illinois Department of Human Services [IDJ]. McLean County is one of the counties selected by the Authority to implement the planning project. Youth who are excluded are ineligible) are those who have committed murder and other forcible class X felonies. The county hired a research team consisting of Dr. Sesha Kethineni (a faculty member in the Department of Criminal Justice Sciences at Illinois State University) and Ms. Tracy Warner (an instructor from the same department) to handle data collection, analysis, and report writing. Several data sources were used in the data collection process, including a computerized risk assessment instrument (YASI), case files, focus groups, and a survey of individual probation officers. The following information pertains to the demographic characteristics of juveniles in the county and detentions by gender and race. • African-American males are consistently detained in higher percentage than Caucasians for the three-year period (2005–2007). In 2005, 88 out of 133 (66%) detentions involved African Americans. Likewise, 103 of 181 (57%) detentions in 2006 and 96 of 169 (56.8%) in 2007 were of African-American males. Overall, during the three-year period, there were 150 African-American males, who accounted for 287 detentions, whereas 137 Caucasian males accounted for 185 detentions. • For the same time period, the number of detentions of African-American females was consistently lower than that of Caucasian females. Overall, there were 27 African- American females involved in 38 detentions, compared to 46 Caucasian females who accounted for 67 detentions. Redeploy Data Demographic Characteristics • Of the Redeploy eligible youth (n=52), 78.8% (n=41) were male and 21.2% (n=11) were female. • African-American youth were overrepresented in the IDJJ commitments (n=25, 48.1%), compared to their representation (10.7%) in the McLean County population of African American youth between the ages of 10-17. • Most of the youths committed to IDJJ were in the 15–16 age group (n=31, 59.6%). YASI scores • Of the 52 youth, 46 (88.4%) had an overall risk rating of “high” or “medium.” • Forty youths (76.9%) were classified as “high” or “very high” on static risk, whereas 29 youth (55.8%) were rated “high” or “very high” on dynamic risk. ---PAGE BREAK--- • Of the 52 youths, 32 youths (61.5%) had no static protection factors. Probation Status • Out of 52 Redeploy eligible cases, 26 (50%) were placed on regular probation, 3 were placed on Intensive Probation Supervision (IPS), 12 (23.1%) were placed on Early Intervention Program [EIP], and 11 (21.2%) were sent to IDJJ. Types of IDJJ Commitments • In 2005, there were 11 (44%) court evaluations, 5 (20%) full commitments without evaluation, and 9 (36%) were discharge-and-recommitment cases. • In 2006, there were 13 (46.4%) court evaluations, 3 (10.7%) full commitment without evaluation, 2 court evaluation returns, and 10 (35.7%) were discharge-and- recommitment cases. • In 2007, there were 4 (21.1%) court evaluations, 2 (10.5%0) full commitments without evaluation, 1 court evaluation returns, and 12 (63.2%) were discharge-and- recommitment cases. Prior Criminal History • Of the 52 Redeploy cases, 18 (34.6%) had no prior criminal history. • Of the 34 youths with prior criminal history, a majority of them had committed primarily property offenses and/or personal offenses (excluding domestic violence, drugs, status, or technical offenses). Current Offenses • Concerning current offenses (that led to current probation), most offenders committed multiple offenses involving property and personal offenses. A few youth were involved in drug offenses. Offenses leading to IDJJ Evaluations • New offenses that led to IDJJ evaluation were primarily status offenses, property offenses, and technical offenses. • Types of post-evaluation offenses committed by the youth were primarily status and technical offenses. Petitions to Revoke Probation [PTRs] and Supplemental Petitions Filed • PTRs were filed in 75% (n=39) of the cases. • Supplemental petitions were filed in 64.5% (n=34) of the cases. • In 11.5% (n=6) of the cases, neither a PTR nor a supplemental petition was filed. ---PAGE BREAK--- Family data (from Social History files) • Fewer than 16% of the youths (n=8) were residing with both parents. Almost 60% (n=31) of the youth were living with their mother. Fewer than 6% (n=3) youths were living with their fathers and fewer than 20% (n=10) were living with others. • Over 75% (n=39) of the parents reported some form of employment. • Mothers had fewer mental health (10 out of 49), substance abuse (18 out of 47), or violence-related (12 out of 49) issues in comparison to the fathers. Seven out of 50 mothers had been incarcerated. • In those cases where the fathers’ personal information was known, 20 out of 37 had violent histories, 8 out of 33 had mental health issues, 18 out of 33 had alcohol issues, 12 out of 33 had drug issues, and 10 out of 39 were incarcerated. • Eighteen out of 49 siblings had violent histories, 9 out of 48 had mental health issues, 11 out of 48 had issues with alcohol, 10 out of 48 had issues with drugs, and 10 out of 50 had been incarcerated. Youth data (from Social History files) Truancy and school suspensions • Over 80% of the youth (n=44, 84.6%) committed truancy and received suspensions (n=35, 67.3%). Mental health, substance abuse, and gang involvement • Almost 70% of the youth had mental and emotional issues (n=36, 69.2%). • Over 92% (n=48, 92.3%) of the youths had drug problems. • Over 86% (n=45, 86.5%) had alcohol-related problems and 25% (n=13) had gang involvement. • Among the youth referred to mental health treatment (n=38), 11 successfully completed treatment, 19 were unsuccessful, 5 never attended a session, and 3 are currently attending. • Of the youth referred to alcohol treatment (n=37), 6 successfully completed the program, 22 were unsuccessful, 4 never attended the program, and 5 are currently attending. • Of the youth referred to drug treatment (n=41), only 5 successfully completed treatment, 27 were unsuccessful, 4 never attended the program, and 5 are currently attending. Agencies referred • Most youth were referred to multiple agencies. A majority of the youth (n=46) were referred to Chestnut for a mental health and substance abuse evaluation, followed by school (n=42), Center for Human Services (n=29), Catholic Charities (n=22), and Department of Child and Family Services [DCFS] (n=17). ---PAGE BREAK--- Service System Issues (from Survey of Probation Officers) The need for service and service gaps were identified in seven areas listed below 1. A need for evaluations. It was suggested that the probation department could partner with the Illinois State University department to conduct evaluations. 2. A need to include anger management to the existing Cognitive Intervention [COG] program. It was suggested that an outside agency spearhead the COG program and services AVERT or YWCA). 3. The effectiveness of existing truancy programs. A recommendation was made to use community advocates or develop a school advocacy program where volunteer advocates would transport and monitor students’ progress throughout the school year. 4. The location of GED services. A suggestion was made to offer GED classes and exams on site as well as using community centers and/or police substations. 5. The lack of local placement/shelters for runaways, those released from drug treatment, and those involved in DV situations. A recommendation was made to partner with Project Oz and create a half-way house for those released from IDJJ when the home environment is unsuitable. 6. The lack of affordable and available health care for minors whose parents cannot afford health insurance or are unwilling to take the juvenile for treatment. One recommendation was to use Franklin Avenue Health Department. 7. The lack of Family Functioning Therapy [FFT] services. The suggestion was to provide in-home meetings with youths and their families with a trained facilitator who would monitor progress of youths and their families. ---PAGE BREAK--- 1 MCLEAN COUNTY IJDAI SITE ASSESSMENT January 16 – 17, 2008 IJDAI Team Members: John Payne, IJDAI State Coordinator; Rich Ludolph, Field Coordinator, Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts; and Larry Edwards, Community Support Services Consultant, Illinois Department of Human Services McLean County JDAI Committee Members Who Participated in the Assessment: Hon. Elizabeth Robb, Chief Judge; Bill Yoder, State’s Attorney; Aaron Assistant State’s Attorney; Art Feldman, Assistant Public Defender; Roxanne Castleman, Director of Court Services; Dave Goldberg, Superintendent McLean County Detention Center; Cathy Waltz, Assistant Superintendent Detention Center; Lori McCormick, Deputy Director Court Services, Juvenile Division; Randy Macak, Deputy Director Court Services, Juvenile Division; Dennis McGuire, Intake Coordinator; Peter Rankaitis, Project Oz; Doug Braun and Laura Salander, Catholic Charities; Larry Daghe, Regional Office of Education; Kent Crutcher, Normal Police Chief The members of the Illinois Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (IJDAI) site visit team extend their sincere thanks to Judge Elizabeth Robb, Chief Judge of the 11th Judicial Circuit, and Roxanne Castleman, Director of the McLean County Court Services, for their request for and assistance in preparing for the site visit. In addition, the team extends its sincere thanks to the representatives of the County Offices of McLean County, social service agencies, education system detention facility and others who met with the team members during the visit. The assistance of the representatives from McLean County provided detailed information and history of detention and other issues within McLean County. The IJDAI Site Team Representatives present the following observations made during the site visit. It is the intent of the team to provide comment on the and challenges of McLean County as they fully implement system reform and to make the resources of the IJDAI Partners available to McLean County in this endeavor. The recommendations in this report are not intended to be prescriptive, but rather are provided in the spirit of developing an ongoing partnership with McLean County and to offer whatever assistance is requested as you move forward. Core Strategy: Collaboration/Governance - There is in place a collaborative group, representing all key stakeholders, which has been assigned responsibility and authority to plan, implement and evaluate improvements to the local juvenile justice system on an ongoing basis (community focused). Youth Impact, Inc./Juvenile Justice Council, consisting of 28-29 members and now chaired by the States Attorney, is defined as McLean County’s Juvenile Justice Council. Beginning in April 2008, Geoff Fruin will assume the role of chair. Youth Impact, Inc. is a 501{c}3 that is able to conduct fundraising, and it has a formal board, officers, by-laws and terms of office with formal authority under Illinois statute. Sub-groups exist for delinquency prevention, outreach ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 and membership. In addition, there is a justice committee of the McLean County Board, which oversees the budgets of the States Attorney, Probation Department, Detention Facility, and Judiciary. Regular communication occurs among the county’s committees and the subcommittees of the Council. Daily sharing of detention information is provided by the detention center. The State’s Attorney and Public Defender’s Office share information The Assistant State’s Attorney and Assistant Public Defender assigned to juvenile court have regular contact with one another. Representatives of the JDAI Committee meet regularly with other committees involved with juvenile justice. Observations/Recommendations: • While a JDAI committee currently exists, it is not yet an officially recognized sub- group of the Juvenile Justice Council. It is anticipated that Juvenile Justice Council will vote in favor of formal committee recognition. Critical to long term sustainability is a formal written memorandum of understanding/county resolution establishing and empowering this committee with development and implementation of strategies and practices which ensure that only youths who must be held in secure custody are so confined, and that this work is integrated into the Council’s Juvenile Justice Plan. • Representatives of the Council and the JDAI committee acknowledge the under- representation of racial/ethnic minority members and are currently working toward a membership that more accurately reflects community demographics. Other membership considerations include families and/or youth previously or currently system-involved as well as line staff from probation, detention and social service organizations. • During the visit representatives of the team and the JDAI committee identified other critical system stakeholders for involvement in the governance structure, including DCFS, representatives from the local community-based mental health system and broader representation from the school system and local law enforcement, particularly the Bloomington Police Department. • The JDAI Committee will need to explore the extent to which Council members share consensus on what constitutes necessary and appropriate circumstances which require secure custody of youth versus those which indicate alternative placements. This process should include identification of barriers to consensus, as well as exploration of the Council’s agreement upon viewing detention as but one point on a continuum of custody options with acceptance and endorsement of the principles of least restrictive sanctioning. • An individual should be designated to serve as McLean County’s JDAI Coordinator. Copies of model Position Descriptions for the JDAI Coordinator can be provided to the Council. The JDAI Committee will need to determine the nature of the duties of the coordinator but there will be certain duties required of this position, including regular reports to the JDAI committee and the full Juvenile Justice Council, preparation of a yearly work plan and submission of reports to the IJDAI Partners Group. The responsibilities and duties of the coordinator, of course, will be dependent upon the time that the coordinator is expected or assigned to dedicate to this role. The IJDAI Partners can assist with structuring the outline of duties and responsibilities of the coordinator. ---PAGE BREAK--- 3 Core Strategy: Using Data - Accurate and comprehensive juvenile justice system data is available and serves as the foundation for all systemic improvement recommendations and decision-making (community & offender focused). From the site team’s review of the data presented by McLean County, it is clear that McLean County does an excellent job in collecting data on delinquent youth. The intake coordinator for the probation department uses the Integrated Justice System as his main data source. Law enforcement agencies throughout the County use this system. The only exception is the Illinois State Police which submits paper reports. The Integrated Justice System report includes a narrative of the nature of the offense, the juvenile’s name, age, birth date, race, sex, address, and parental information. When a youth is diverted from prosecution, a YASI is performed. The information from the YASI is stored by the intake officer. An Excel program is used by Probation to monitor caseloads for minors. A second Excel program records delinquency information, including charges and dispositional information. An Access database is used for DJJ commitments. The State’s Attorney’s Office uses an Excel program to track all filed petitions to revoke. Project OZ and Catholic Charities use a web- based eCornerstone program. The Public Defender’s Office keeps a manual record of Public Defender appointments for delinquent minors. Daily detention information identifying the name of the minor detained and the number of days each minor has served in detention is disseminated by representatives of the detention center to various court personnel on a daily basis. The Probation Department provides a report of the caseload for probation officers to the County Board on a basis. Observations/Recommendations: • McLean County might consider investigating the web-based probation and detention case management system now under development in the Second Circuit to alleviate some of the data and data systems fragmentation which multiple non-interactive systems inevitably produce. • The JDAI Committee should consider the development of a format and process for presentation and regular discussion of juvenile justice system data to the Juvenile Justice Council and any other key system and community players on a regular basis. Discussions of the data at council meetings allows an opportunity for utilizing what the data is showing to make decisions as they relate to the development of alternatives to detention or decreasing of stay in detention. The shared data should include, among other matters, the following: 1) Number of minors admitted to detention and alternatives per month or quarter. Consider as “alternatives” those programs and services that, if they were “absent”, the only other option for youth would be secure custody (detention or a DJJ commitment). 2) The ethnicity, age and gender of minors admitted. 3) Offenses causing detention of minors. 4) Average length of stay of minors in detention. 5) Number of “failures to appear” in court ---PAGE BREAK--- 4 6) Program (any youth-serving program, not just detention alternatives) and placement expenditures and outcomes (successes vs. failures, i.e., did the program have the intended impact on the youth?) The information obtained might best be presented to the committee in the forms of graphs and charts to facilitate the recognition of trends, progress and issues. • The committee may consider the designation of a specific individual to obtain and further disseminate the data from various agencies to the committee. • The committee can use the data provided to help direct focus and decision-making as it relates to detention issues. Core Strategy: Detention Admissions Criteria - Objective screening instruments are employed in making detention and detention-alternative placements (offender focused). McLean County utilizes a risk assessment instrument that is based upon the model recommended by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts some years ago. The detention facility scores and applies the risk assessment as a detention screening tool with regard to all in-county youth brought to the detention facility by law enforcement officers. Observations/Recommendations • The risk assessment instrument (detention screening instrument) has not been reviewed for four or five years. The JDAI committee should consider a process to review the current instrument in light of the commitments, diversions and outcomes based upon the instrument. A “stratified” risk assessment instrument might be useful, either independently or in conjunction with the YASI, to direct youth to appropriate alternatives. A stratified instrument not only serves to screen youth in or out of secure custody, but also serves through scoring to direct youth to alternatives from least to most secure. For example, youths that score in the medium to low range for re-offense risk and high need for mental health services would be targeted for deflection from secure custody to fairly intensive, but community-based, treatment programming. It is also noted that this screening assessment is not the YASI (Youth Assessment Screening Instrument). • The representatives of the JDAI Committee identified the majority of overrides on the risk assessment instrument as being for domestic battery. The JDAI Committee might consider an in-depth review of these admissions as DHS may have service providers under contract in the area who might more effectively address issues of anger and violence. Some existing resources might potentially be amenable to “re-engineering” to develop needed programs for this population. • The JDAI Committee may want to review each month how many overrides of the risk assessment instrument are made, what the basis of the overrides were and what, if any, impact they may have on disproportionate minority contact and confinement. The information also would be valuable in identifying “service gaps” for specific populations such as a need for shelter care for lockouts and chronic failures-to-appear. Regular review of overrides, as well as requests for overrides (number granted vs. not granted), can assist in identifying if something is missing from the detention screening instrument. ---PAGE BREAK--- 5 Core Strategy: Responsive Detention Alternatives - There is in place a comprehensive continuum of community-based programs and services which adequately and appropriately address both public safety and the needs of youth (community, victim & offender focused). McLean County Probation operates an Extended Day Program. The program can be used in a number of ways. When youth are placed on probation and score out on their YASI as medium or high risk, they may be placed on the EDP Program. The program operates from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday in the McLean County Courthouse. During the program, two probation officers supervise the youth. A contract exists with Catholic Charities to transport youth to and from the program. Those that score out at medium risk on the YASI complete twelve (12) days in the program. Youth that score high on the YASI complete sixteen (16) days in the program. While at the Extended Day Program, the youth receive tutoring, cognitive life skills, community service and recreation. A meal is provided to the youth. On occasion, the EDP is used as an alternative to a detention disposition. In addition, in domestic battery situations, if the parents are willing to have the youth return home, the youth may be involved in the EDP Program. In order to reduce the number of youth failures to appear in court, a policy has been instituted of making phone calls to the youth in advance of the court date. The call acts as a reminder for the minor to appear. In addition, if the court or State believes that there may be a reason for the minor not appearing in court, a warrant can be ordered but stayed to give the Public Defender’s Office an opportunity to contact the minor. The court does enter pretrial orders which are agreed upon between the State and the Public Defender. The pretrial order requires the youth to comply with certain rules and regulations, including a curfew. This pretrial condition order is often used on minors coming out of detention to allow the minors to be released from detention. Home confinement can be ordered. In addition, minors are released from detention to treatment, if needed, in the areas of alcohol, substance abuse, or mental health issues. Observations/Recommendations: • The JDAI Committee should convene regular meetings with DHS to identify and evaluate service providers in the McLean County area that are, or could be, resources for alternatives to detention. All programs should be regularly reviewed for cultural and gender relevance. • The JDAI Committee should review the data that has been collected to determine the breakdown on detention admissions and detention placements based upon committing offense. • Based upon the information provided earlier that the majority of overrides involve domestic battery the JDAI Committee should consider alternatives for placement of minors in detention for these offenses. The JDAI Committee should regularly review any alternative to detention programs to assure that youth are appropriately placed based upon risk and need. For example, if a youth is low risk but high need then particular alternative programs might be developed to keep the minor out of ---PAGE BREAK--- 6 detention. If a youth is high risk/high need then alternative strategies with appropriate structure, but with perhaps less than secure custody, might be developed. • The long and short-term outcomes of youth held in secure custody and those referred to placement or deflected to alternatives should regularly be monitored and evaluated. Core Strategy: Case Processing – Case processing issues, written policies, operational procedures and practices are regularly reviewed to ensure that dispositions are as expeditious and as appropriate as possible (community, victim & offender focused) An intake officer receives all police reports. Upon his review, it is determined which cases should be diverted and which cases should be sent to the State’s Attorney. All diverted youth have a YASI completed by the intake officer. Within one to two (1-2) days after the State’s Attorney receives the information on non-diverted cases, a decision is made with regard to the filing of charges. Judge Robb has juvenile court on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and holds detention hearings on Thursdays and as needed. The Public Defender is appointed as needed on detention cases. When he is appointed, a social worker from his office speaks with the youth at the detention facility. The social worker gathers parent/relative information and contacts relatives and family members to advise them of the court hearing. The Probation office also makes contact with the parents of the minor. Statutory guidelines for hearing dates are complied with. The State’s Attorney and Public Defender have a clear understanding and appreciation for each others’ duties and responsibilities. Discovery is expedited by the State’s Attorney’s Office, in that materials germane to the case are turned over to the Public Defender on a voluntary basis. If the parents appear at the detention hearing, they are served in open court. If they are not present, they are summoned or, if need be, publication is made. Twenty to twenty-five percent (20%-25%) of the juvenile cases that are filed end up in a trial. Non-detention cases have initial appearances scheduled within three to four (3-4) weeks. The Public Defender sets an appointment with the youth and family after the initial appearance. A trial date is set. A social investigation is ordered on each minor who pleads guilty or is found guilty of a delinquency case. The social investigation takes four to six (4-6) weeks to complete. In cases where the minor is in detention, it is completed within thirty (30) calendar days. The parties waive the necessity of being provided with a copy of the social investigation within three days of the hearing to assist in the expediting of the dispositional hearing. The Assistant State’s Attorney and Assistant Public Defender indicated that the only time that cases are continued are when a sex offender evaluation is required or there is an issue of restitution on a property crime. Observations/Recommendations: • While actions have been taken to notify parties in advance of a court hearing date to avoid failures to appear, the Public Defender indicated that approximately one-third (1/3) of the youth and the parents miss a scheduled appointment with the Public Defender before a pretrial date. The reasons for this may need to be explored with the parents when they do appear so that remedial steps can be taken. The Public Defender may wish to explore the possibility of making a reminder contact with the minor and the parents shortly before the scheduled conference date to assure attendance at this conference. Failures of the parents to appear for the conference with the Public Defender may delay future hearings. ---PAGE BREAK--- 7 • The parties indicated that approximately one-third (1/3) to one-half (1/2) of the minors in detention are released from detention at or before the adjudicatory hearing. The JDAI Committee may wish to consider exploring alternative to detention programs to allow for youth to be released from detention earlier if programs could be developed which would assure community safety and the appearance of the minor in court. Accelerated release may also be facilitated by implementing formal (perhaps weekly) detention review conferences • The JDAI Committee may wish to review the policies of other jurisdictions which allow for detained minors to be released to an alternative program without the necessity of returning to court when appropriate. Peoria County has had experience with this process. • The JDAI Committee may wish to review the data on the average length of time that a case takes to be processed through the court system from arrest through disposition. The analysis should break down both detention and non-detention populations by offense and ethnicity. • The JDAI Committee may wish to review the policy of having a social investigation done on every delinquent youth before disposition. The committee may wish to explore alternatives that would allow for appropriate disposition recommendations to be made without the necessity of a full social history. Some jurisdictions have worked with a form of preliminary conference with the approval of the State and Public Defender as well as the court in advance of the adjudicatory hearing. While the preliminary conference may not provide as much information as a full social investigation, it may be appropriate for low risk youth processing through the system and might expedite their cases. Core Strategy: Special Detention Cases – Detention episodes generated within the juvenile justice system are reviewed/assessed for custodial necessity (offender focused). The Probation Department does have authority pursuant to the customary probation order to use Administrative Sanctions. Administrative Sanctions can be used in lieu of a petition to revoke probation. An alternative school is available for youths suspended from school. The Youth Impact Panel, which began in 1992 in response to issues of gang activities, is updating a delinquency prevention plan. The goal of this group is to look at a continuum of services and programs available as alternatives to incarceration. The sanctions grid in the probation department is regularly monitored. On failure to appear warrants, youth arrested are brought into court the very next day to determine whether detention is appropriate or whether the minor can be released with conditions. The State and court have agreed to warrant stays on failures to appear to determine if contact can be made to alleviate the necessity of an arrest. The probation officers go to schools regularly to check on probation clients and their attendance at school. Appropriate oversight of minors in the school setting to assure attendance can decrease petitions to revoke based upon failure to obey a court order, i.e. attend school. Judge Robb has entered an administrative order that status offenders will not be detained. Attempts have been made by the community to establish after school programs to deter minors from delinquent activities. Projects include those established by Project Oz, Boys and Girls Club, Catholic Charities and the United Way. The United Way has funded summer jobs for those youth identified as possible gang leaders. It is hopes that summer employment will keep these identified youth involved in ---PAGE BREAK--- 8 positive activities during the summer. Additionally, Youth Build works with dropouts to assist these youth to obtain their high school diploma or GED and develop work skills. A truancy board has been established. If the family is involved with an agency and is receiving a therapy (such as functional family therapy through the agency) the agency social worker or the school social worker (if one exists) may be present. As noted previously in this report, an effort is made to release minors from detention under pretrial conditions with specific requirements. Observations/Recommendations: • The JDAI Committee and Probation Department expressed an interest in reviewing what they have identified as a Request for Apprehension in lieu of obtaining an immediate arrest warrant. This is used by the Probation Department to allow for law enforcement to apprehend youth on probation for violations of probation. It is recommended that the JDAI Committee follow up with this issue. • Violation of Probation and Warrant/Contempt cases should be constantly reviewed and monitored for racial and gender bias. • As indicated earlier in this review, there are occasions when minors remain in detention while they are awaiting residential placement. The JDAI Committee should consider reviewing these cases to determine the reasons for the placement delays and to explore alternative placement strategies and needs. • Because of the dramatic increase in population, and in particular an increase of the African-American population in school settings, the JDAI Committee should consider an in-depth review of issues regarding this population and the need for possible new programs and services to deter delinquent activity and to decrease the high number of detention commitments from this population. It is recommended that the JDAI Committee consider working with the IJDAI Partners Group to develop access to assistance from the Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) resource pool. Core Strategy: Conditions of Confinement – Detention and alternatives facilities conditions are safe and healthy and incorporate programming focused on building competencies and successfully returning youth to the community (offender focused). The McLean County Detention Facility is the only facility in the State of Illinois accredited nationally by the American Correctional Association and the National Commission on Correctional Health. There is an audit done by these organizations every three years in order to continue certification. In addition, the detention facility undergoes annual inspections by the State of Illinois. The facility has a contract with the local hospital to provide a doctor who is available on a twenty-four (24) hours on-call basis. A nurse is available at the facility during the week. If a youth requires medical attention before being admitted, the officers are directed to take the youth to the emergency room before the minor is allowed to enter detention. There is a working relationship with Unit 5 School District to provide a regular education teacher, along with a part-time special education teacher. Teachers are available five days a week year- round. When a youth is placed in detention, he or she is enrolled in the Unit 5 School District. The facility places youths in groups. Youth who may be involved with rival gangs are separated, as well as minors who may have conflicts with each other. Visitation is allowed on a regular basis. Effective January 4, 2006, based upon an order from the court, status offenders are not held in the detention facility. A self-inspection of the facility was conducted in July 2006. A ---PAGE BREAK--- 9 contractual counselor conducts crisis intervention through two therapeutic groups each week. Individual counseling is also available. Minors are checked every fifteen (15) minutes while in their cell. They are checked more often if they are on suicide watch. The detention facility provides daily population lists to a number of groups. The facility has a Spanish-speaking staff member. The courts provide interpreters for language barriers. Observations/Recommendations: • While the detention facility clearly meets and exceeds state requirements for detention facilities based upon their voluntary seeking of national accreditation, the JDAI Committee should recognize that assuring appropriate conditions of confinement is an on-going process that should be based on both internal and external reviews of detention standards and practices. The JDAI Committee may want to consider the establishment of a local assessment team for regular periodic internal reviews of the detention facility. The detention facility already encourages outside review by consultants with expertise in detention areas. The Youth Law Center self-assessment model is available to the JDAI Committee as is assessment assistance from the IJDAI Partners Group. • The JDAI Committee should consider whether additional population and programming data should be provided by the facility to the Committee and the full Juvenile Justice Council on a regular basis. The JDAI Committee should use data provided by the detention facility to recognize trends and identify areas where alternative to detention programs can and should be developed. Core Strategy: Reducing Racial/Ethnic Disparities – Cultural responsivity and race, gender and ethnic neutrality are assessed and addressed at every stage of the juvenile justice system (community & offender focused) The JDAI Committee recognizes that there currently is a lack of minority representation on the committee. The committee appears committed to recruit and expand the committee to include representatives of racial minorities. The Safe From the Start Program at Children’s Foundation will be evaluating community dynamics. Observations/Recommendations: • Honestly recognizing and confronting racial, gender and ethnic bias is probably the most difficult, but most critical aspect of system reform. It must be prioritized at every step toward true reform. • The increase in population in the city of Bloomington in six years has been ten- thousand (10,000). A substantial portion of the increase has been persons of color, possibly due to the availability of subsidized housing. There has been a period of adjustment for those moving in as well as existing community groups. The JDAI Committee may wish to review changing community needs which have resulted from the burgeoning population. • The JDAI Committee should review data from the detention facility to determine if racial disparities exist. This data should be used to inform decisions about alternative programs. ---PAGE BREAK--- 10 • The JDAI Committee should consider comparing the number of juvenile arrests and delinquency petitions filed by race and gender with a similar breakdown of warrants, requests for apprehension, and detentions on a regular basis. • As noted earlier in the report, the JDAI Committee should consider adding members to the committee from the community who are representative of minorities in the community. • The JDAI Committee should consider the establishment of a group within their committee to work on reducing racial and ethnic disparities in detention. This group should prepare an articulated strategy for reducing any disproportionate confinement of minority youth. The JDAI Committee should view the design, implementation, and impact of policy, practice and program reforms through a racial equity lens. The JDAI Committee should consider the building of coalitions and partnerships with communities and people of color. Demographic info on McLean County Probation admits into Residential Treatment - Chestnut Health Systems (1/2004 – 1/2008) Males (74 total) Age upon admission: Caucasian African American Hispanic Totals 13 0 1 0 1 14 5 1 0 6 15 8 5 2 15 16 22 8 1 31 17 14 5 0 19 18 1 1 0 2 Totals 50 21 3 74 Females (29 total) Age upon admission: Caucasian African American Hispanic Totals 13 0 1 0 1 14 1 1 0 2 15 6 1 0 7 16 8 1 0 9 17 5 2 0 7 18 2 1 0 3 Totals 22 7 0 29