As lawmakers in Illinois and across the nation consider reforms to the nation's juvenile-justice system, one country across the Atlantic could serve as a model.

Northern Ireland's Youth Justice Agency places an emphasis on early diversion, community involvement and restorative justice.

Kelvin Doherty, assistant director of the Agency, said the goal is to keep kids out of police custody and prevent them from building a criminal record.

"Let's address these concerns and these issues before the police are called, and before they get into a court setting," Doherty urged.

Doherty pointed out the restorative-justice process can take one of several paths: including a simple apology, community service or mental-health treatment. According to data from the Youth Justice Agency, more than 97% of victims said they are satisfied with the restorative-justice process.

The Youth Justice Agency was established in 2002, and was born out of the Good Friday Agreement. Doherty explained the program was part of a multipronged effort to modernize Northern Ireland's justice system.

"And the modernization process said, well, for a new justice system in Northern Ireland, it has to be not just about children and reducing reoffending," Doherty explained. "But it also has to be for victims and for communities as well."

From April 2020 to April 2021, Northern Ireland's Justice Department saw a nearly 17% decline in cases where kids came into contact with the criminal-justice system.

Doherty noted early diversion and support programs, typically used when the child is between 10 and 12 years old, can help prevent kids from coming into contact with the criminal-justice system down the line.

"Problems can be resolved in the child's life before they get worse," Doherty asserted. "And it has a better outcome for agencies and service providers, because it often involves less effort and more success, the earlier you are intervening or diverting children within the justice system."

According to the Children's Defense Fund, nearly 2,000 children are arrested in America every day. While the organization noted the overall number of kids in the juvenile-justice system was halved from 2007 to 2020, severe racial disparities persist, as children of color are nearly two times more likely to be arrested than white children.

The number of children locked behind bars in Alabama has declined, but their advocates said more needs to be done to create alternatives to incarceration.

A one-day count of detained youths in 2021 was nearly 25,000 nationwide, which is a 60% decline over the past decade, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Josh Rovner, director of youth justice for The Sentencing Project, said while the trend is positive, he does not expect it to continue. He pointed out at least part of the decrease was because of the pandemic.

"When you think about the things that kids get arrested for, it's often school-based referrals," Rovner observed. "And if virtual school is happening, then kids aren't going to be referred by their school resource officers. They're not going to be shoplifting if all the stores are closed; they're not going to be getting into fights f they're all staying at home."

In Alabama, a one-day count of young people behind bars in 2019 saw almost 800 detained. By 2021, the number had dropped to 678. Data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation's study showed young people released from correctional confinement have high rates of rearrest and new convictions.

Research has shown children who are incarcerated often experience significant long-term consequences, which Rovner noted persist into adulthood.

"Whether there's one child who is locked up -- or 10,000 or 100,000 -- it's important to realize just how toxic these facilities are for kids," Rovner contended. "They have much worse outcomes, not only on their education and career achievements, but also much more likely to reoffend."

Recognizing the adverse effects, experts and activists are asking for a more compassionate approach to juvenile justice. Reforms focusing on rehabilitation and community-based support systems have proven to be more effective in addressing the underlying issues than locking juveniles up.

Minnesota is about to implement several juvenile justice system reforms that are being cheered by advocates.

The public-safety omnibus bill approved by lawmakers this spring includes several changes. A key provision puts strict limits on the use of solitary confinement in juvenile detention centers.

Sarah Davis, director of the children and families division at the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, said it means the practice can't be used as a form of punishment, and called it a critically important move in seeking improvements.

"Solitary confinement -- in particular, solitary confinement of youths -- is a fundamental human-rights violation," she said, "and many other states have already banned or significantly limited the practice."

Other changes include limiting strip searches and prohibiting life sentences without parole for defendants who were minors at the time of the offense. Addressing these matters has sometimes resulted in tension in Minnesota, including a recent Hennepin County case that involved a controversial plea deal for two teens. But Davis said these reforms still leave plenty of room for meaningful accountability.

Davis said the timing of these reforms is also important because some law-enforcement agencies are handling cases involving defendants as young as 10 and 11 years old.

"The behaviors that they're engaging in are a form of communication about unmet needs," she said, "and we want to make sure that we are engaging in practices and that we have policies grounded in what we know to be evidence-based about supporting youth and positive youth development."

The public-safety bill also creates the Office of Restorative Practices for youths, which provides technical support and training for implementing these models. Restorative justice often involves participation from those harmed by the crime, family members and the community to determine a proper way for the young defendant to make amends. Defendants have to articulate how an agreement will deter them from getting in trouble again.


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Attorneys, state employees and juvenile justice reform advocates will gather virtually Friday to receive updates on county pretrial juvenile detention centers in Illinois, and discuss the findings.

In 2021, the Illinois Legislature authorized inspections at all 17 county-based detention centers across the state.

Luis Klein, executive director of the Juvenile Justice Initiative of Illinois, said the summit will, for the first time, evaluate the effectiveness of the state standards for the facilities.

"They're incredibly important because there's not a whole lot of oversight on these detention centers," Klein explained. "There are standards, which they are expected to meet, but there's no ombudsperson for these detention centers, and they really are allowed to police themselves."

John Albright with the Illinois Department of Justice will present the report on the inspections. Participants will also hear from Richard Mendel with The Sentencing Project, on his study of youth incarceration. And Lisa Jacobs with the Loyola University School of Law will lead a discussion of the report.

Klein pointed out each of the 17 detention centers is not run or managed directly by the Department of Juvenile Justice, but by the counties where they are located. He emphasized the study is critical because, in past years, there has been a lack of transparency and lack of oversight over conditions in the centers.

"These reports are really important because it's the first time that we really get a standard by which these detention centers are being judged," Klein noted. "And then, a look at how are they doing, based on these basic and rudimentary standards."