SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The current juvenile-justice system in this country doesn't work as well as it should, according to a new report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation that calls for changes to ensure that young people are being helped, not hampered.
The research showed that young people respond more positively to rewards and opportunities than they do to punishment. Avik Das, acting director and chief probation officer of Juvenile Probation and Court Services for Cook County, said young people need to be allowed to stay in school, and probation officers are better able to guide them in the right direction if they're in their own communities.
"Juvenile probation officers are supposed to come alongside kids, see them where they're at, give them opportunity and encouragement, help develop supportive systems around them that will stay with them," he said, "so that they don't fall deeper into the system or that we don't or lose them to something more tragic like violence."
The report called for a dramatic reduction in the size of the juvenile-probation population and noted that evidence shows most kids will outgrow their delinquent phase without police intervention.
Steve Bishop, senior associate with the Casey Foundation's Juvenile Justice Strategy Group, said there has to be a shift in the mindset, because simply being on probation doesn't "fix" kids - but it can mobilize the necessary resources to support them for the long term.
"A lot of these youth are the youth we can least afford to kind of get it wrong with," he said. "They're young people who've often endured a good bit of trauma in their own lives and been working through a lot of crisis and issues. These are the young people we should really be reserving our most effective and innovative interventions for."
Cook County was the home of the nation's first juvenile court in 1899, and Das said it's been one of the country's model sites to offer alternatives to incarceration.
"For over a century," he said, "the idea is how do we help young people enter successfully into adulthood, adopt behaviors that are law abiding, essentially rehabilitate them, and give them the kind of competency that we would hope for all children and young people?"
The report is online at aecf.org.
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Online conferencing was a lifeline for school lessons and business meetings during the pandemic. However, there is concern about the effects of virtual court hearings on Illinois' juvenile offenders.
The "Justice For Children Policy Brief" said minors reported feeling frustrated and anxious during their hearings because they could not understand court procedures. They also said there was a lack of privacy when speaking with their attorneys.
Angie Vigil, a Miami-based attorney specializing in children's rights, opposes digital proceedings for any substantive hearings for children.
"Judges are people and decision-makers are people and when you're in the presence of other people, you make a humanity-based decision," Vigil argued. "When you're looking at a screen you might not make as much of a humanity-based decision."
In 2022, the Illinois House of Representatives passed House Resolution 616, urging the Illinois Supreme Court to require courts to responsibly transition juvenile delinquency proceedings back to in-person hearings, with priority given to those hearings where the interests of liberty are at stake.
Supporters of virtual hearings pointed to no commute time, traffic jams, or courthouse parking fees as reasons to keep them. Parents who rely on public transportation or worry about missing work can just sign on to attend their child's case. Vigil noted a family law attorney often juggles many foster care, child welfare, and juvenile offender cases, and said virtual hearings can ease their workload.
"They are spending less time sitting in court waiting for their cases to be called and more time out in the community meeting the needs of kids," Vigil contended. "It sounds like I'm saying efficiency, but I'm actually talking about more work done for all of the children."
Vigil called the current status of digital hearings a mixed bag. Some courts have returned to in-person proceedings, others use technology for some, but not all, cases. Still other courtrooms use virtual meetings if all involved parties agree. According to the policy brief report, digital hearings will continue to thrive because of funding constraints.
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There is growing concern over what happens to young offenders in Illinois as they await their first court hearing.
A report by European juvenile-justice groups suggests many children worldwide are kept in solitary confinement, and argued the arrangement has the potential for long-term harm. It defined solitary confinement as physical and social isolation more than 22 hours a day, and said detainment should be a last resort and for as short a time as possible.
Elizabeth Clarke, founder of the Evanston-based Juvenile Justice Initiative, said children as young as 10 are regularly locked up and left alone.
"Shockingly, Illinois has no minimum age for prosecution of children in our juvenile court," Clarke pointed out. "Often, they're held in their cell because there simply isn't adequate programming. There's nothing to do with them, and it's very troubling."
Clarke noted there is reason to believe the situation will improve. Last year, the Illinois Legislature passed House Bill 3140, which prohibits the use of room confinement as juvenile punishment unless the youth poses an immediate and serious risk of self-harm or harm to others. It took effect Jan. 1, and Clarke acknowledged it will take time to build up resources under the new law.
An Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice report said the state has 16 detention centers housing an average of 160 youths. A judge closed a Franklin County center last month, citing excessive use of solitary confinement.
Another bill would raise the age to imprison kids for felony convictions. Clarke called it a start, and it is supported by juvenile rights advocates and the Illinois Probation and Court Services Association.
"We do not believe young children ever belong in detention. It's not an appropriate place for them," Clarke asserted. "We want to see this House Bill 2347 pass."
The bill was filed one year ago this week. It said the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission should review and make recommendations to the General Assembly on raising the minimum detention age to 14.
Disclosure: The Juvenile Justice Initiative contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Civic Engagement, Criminal Justice, and Juvenile Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
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Youth incarceration rates have declined in Indiana and nationwide since 2014. But a new study shows young people of color are more likely to be jailed than their white counterparts - and Indiana is no exception.
The Indiana Juvenile Justice Racial and Ethnic Disparities Plan says almost 30% of Black youths are placed in pretrial facilities, compared to almost 16% of white youths.
Nationally, the figures are even higher. According to The Sentencing Project, Black youths are almost five times more likely to be placed in juvenile detention than their white peers.
But Josh Rovner, director of youth justice at The Sentencing Project, said detention is neither the best nor the only answer.
"I think that we need to find ways to address those misbehaviors outside of the justice system," said Rovner, "because the justice system is so likely to do damage to these kids, where what we really need from them is true accountability and not punishment."
Youth incarceration in Indiana has been on a steady decline for years due to fewer arrests, and an emphasis on diversion programs.
A Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative is now in 31 Indiana counties, to redirect public resources from mass incarceration to investing in youth, families and communities.
The Sentencing Project study says 15% of young people in the U.S. are Black, but they make up 42% of those in detention.
Rovner asserted that incarceration isn't about the level or kinds of offenses - it's the result of a justice system that treats youth of color more harshly than whites.
He added that it can't be fixed overnight, and includes many players who bear a collective responsibility.
"There are police, and there are prosecutors, judges; there are sheriffs and wardens," said Rovner. "These are public employees, who are responding to laws that our nation, or our states or counties, have passed and implemented those laws."
Rovner said he hopes lawmakers will examine their own state's progress in the New Year, and notes that poverty and inequality lead to kids being locked up in the first place.
In 2022, Indiana's Legislature passed House Enrolled Act 1359 - which required the state to develop a juvenile diversion plan and community alternatives grant programs.
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