Illinois

Sept. 2023 ARJE Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice Team

Contacts:

Denzel Burke, Director of REAL Youth Initiative, Illinois Collaboration on Youth

Omar Jamil, Senior Policy Advisor, Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Kendle Jones, Assistant Superintendent of Operations, Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Christine Logan, Medical Assistant, Genesis Health System (Parent Representative)

Michelle Martin, Regional Administrator, State of Illinois

Eva Moore, Deputy Director, State of Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Cecilia Ruffin, Juvenile Justice Youth & Family Specialist Supervisor, Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Capstone Description:

The Illinois team seeks to identify and address barriers to service utilization, for those services offered in our secure facilities and in the community. To this end, the department will solicit guidance and feedback from all parties involved in service delivery, including service providers, department staff, youth participants, and their families. The department recognizes the family's right as a decision-making partner in the care of their youth, and as a result, the Illinois team will first work to increase family engagement in the department, to increase family participation in family support meetings, family engagement committees, and in other opportunities.

2022 LGBTQ Illinois DJJ Team

Contacts: 

Jakki Alexander, Senior Public Service Administrator, Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Latricia Bynum, Juvenile Justice Youth and Family Specialist, State of Illinois

Michael Byrd, Asst. Sup. of Program, Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Bridgette Carter, Treatment Unit Administrator, Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Thomas DeBetta, Regional Administrator, Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Tyrie Fluker, Program and Services Contract Manager, State of Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Rayeshundra Henderson, Assistant Superintendent of Program, Illinois Youth Center St. Charles

Bryce Reno-Gibson, Assistant Superintendent, Department of Juvenile Justice

Robert Vickery, Deputy Director of Programs, Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Capstone Description:

The IDJJ Team seeks to foster organizational culture change through a multipronged effort to include gathering additional data about its LGBTQI population, forging stronger partnerships with supportive community organizations, enhancing staff training, promoting family support for LGBTQI youth, revising how they gather SOGIE data at intake, and rewriting internal policies to ensure youth have access to accommodations that match their gender identity.

2018 YIC Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Contacts: 

John Albright, Assistant Superintendent of Programs Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice - IYC St. Charles

Regina Anderson, Chief of Security Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Kendle Jones, Training Coordinator/ Shift Supervisor Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Ernesto Mota, Youth and Family Specialist Supervisor Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Christine Rothwell, Superintendent Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Mike Zarco, High School Principal Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice - Education Dept.

Capstone Description:

To improve conditions of confinement for youth in custody at the St. Charles facility by working with the IDJJ Executive team, union leadership, the school district, and external programming groups to 1) reduce the use of confinement,  2) increase family engagement, 3) increase youth access to educational services, 4) improve interdisciplinary communication, 5) scale up staff training, and 6) improve the quality of data collection.

Capstone Update (2020):

Overall, the averaging youth population at St. Charles has decreased from 100 youth in 2018 to 45 in 2020. This drop in population allows the team to make organizational improvements and overcome operational barriers. As part of their Capstone reform efforts, the team has made significant changes to their education, family engagement, and communication. Education: Youth are now assigned to classes based on educational needs, rather than housing assignment. The team is also focused on increasing and expanding educational programs available, particularly for youth who already graduated high school or obtained a GED. In 2018, youth receive on average half day of school per week. As of January 2020, youth have been receiving a full day of school every day. Family Engagement: The clinical and casework staff have started consistently doing family visits via video conferencing. The IDJJ executive team also established a partnership with the New Life Center of Chicago to provide community- and facility- based services to youth, such as circles, arts, and music programming. Staff at the facility also created quarterly "family fun days" so staff, youth, and their families can participate in activities together. Bi-weekly transformation between the facility and Chicago has also been bolstered and streamlined. Staff Communication and Organization: Facility staff has been broken down into smaller units to enable better coordination. As next steps, the team is establishing partners and services to focus on reentry.

2013 YIC Illinois Team (State-wide)

Contacts:

Jeff Bradley, Illinois State JDAI Coordinator - Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission

Era Laudermilk, Chief of Staff - Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice *Note: Era Laudermilk is no longer with the Illinois Department of juvenile Justice

Mary Reynolds, Chief of Intergovernmental Relations - Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Capstone Description:

Develop an action plan to addressed youth assessments and needs, staff capacity, safety, and outcome measures.

Capstone Update (2015):

In April 2014, the IDJJ and ACLU agreed-upon remedial plan was approved by the federal court in the RJ v Jones consent decree. The lawsuit challenged IDJJ's provision of services across mental health, education, and safety and security. IDJJ is in the process of updating policies and practices to improve services in these areas. IDJJ is moving forward with the implementation of YASI and is working to provide more extensive educational programming, which allow teachers and staff to utilize online education in addition to direct instructional strategies. 

2014 ISCP Participant (Chicago, IL)

Contact:

Marvin Savage, CEO, Accutron Systems, Inc.

Capstone Description:

Utilize a software database, the Juvenile Diversion System, to improve information sharing and support youth diversion services in Cook County, IL.

2014 Diversion Lawrence Hall Youth Services Team (Chicago, IL)

Contacts:

Kara Teeple, Chief Operating Officer - Lawrence Hall Youth Services

Mitchell Sandy, Vice President of Support Services - Lawrence Hall Youth Services

Sean McGinnis, Vice President of Specialized Services - Lawrence Hall Youth Services

Capstone Description:

Collaborating with the City of Chicago to develop and implement grant-funded diversion programs for justice-involved youth. The diversion programs include components such as mentoring, Civic Leadership Curriculum, and other support services to better prepare older adolescents for the transition into adulthood.

Capstone Update (2024):

Though many of the programs originally contemplated in the Capstone are no longer being offered by the City of Chicago, in late 2015, the team moved their community-based and prevention operations to the South Shore neighborhood. Since then, the team has expanded their services in line with their Capstone. This includes the development of a full continuum of workforce development programs, which serve 350 youth annually. For justice-involved youth, they also offer case management, mentoring, therapy, cultural immersion activities, civic engagement, and therapy. Additionally, the team runs a Juvenile Reporting Center through Cook County Juvenile Courts as an alternative to incarceration. The teams serves over 550 youth in South Shore each year.

2022 TJP Cook County, IL Team 

Contacts:

Adam Alonso; CEO; BUILD, Inc.

Craig Engebretson, Chief, Juvenile Justice Bureau, Cook County State's Attorney's Office

Miquel Lewis, Acting Director of Juvenile Probation and Court Services, Circuit Court of Cook County

Andrea Lubelfeld, Chief, Law Offices of the Cook County Public Defender

Anthony Montoya, Mentor, New Life Centers

Michael Muhammad, Supervising Probation Officer, Cook County Juvenile Court

Linda Perez, Judge, State of Illinois

Yvonne Pulido, Juvenile Probation Officer, Cook County 

Jarrod Smith, Commander, City of Chicago/Chicago Police Department

Melissa Spooner, Section Chief Chicago Field, Cook County Juvenile Probation and Court Services

Robert Wright, Juvenile Probation Officer, Cook County Juvenile Court

Capstone Description:  

The Cook County team seeks to create a culturally competent and trauma-informed probation system based within impacted communities and rooted in adolescent development principles. To do so, the team will shift probation practices to those that are child- and parent-driven, strength-based, and rooted in community connection. Two main short-term strategies of the team’s Capstone Project are to hire family navigators to help youth and families better understand juvenile justice system processes and to amend the existing approach to probation orders (including the conditions contained therein) to better position youth for success.

Capstone Update (2024):

Family Navigators: In October 2023, the Cook County Probation Department hired three Family Navigators with lived experience. Each Navigator is assigned to a community-based organization that receive a significant number of referrals from Juvenile Court. Since April 2024, the Family Navigators have had 111 interactions with youth and families (including escorting families to departments in the court building), completed 46 Spanish translations, made 57 connections to resources, and led 10 de-escalations with families on average per month. The Navigators also recently released a survey to get direct feedback from youth and families about their services.

Probation Conditions: Two calendar judges have committed to reducing the standard probation conditions to one to two goals aligned with a youth's case plan (e.g., enrolling in specific programming/counseling, staying connected to programs they are already involved with, enrolling in a prosocial activity). These judges have also decreased the length of time on probation, terminating 65% of youth successfully at 8.5 months.

Family-Engaged Case Planning: A group of staff received training in this area from the Annie E. Casey Foundation in October 2024, with a pilot planned for January 2025.

Communication: Youth and families can now provide feedback to probation in English or Spanish through surveys, interviews, or email. In these surveys, 97% of parents/guardians reported that probation helped their child and that they had a say in their child's probation. A majority of youth reported that they trusted their probation officer and always knew what was expected of them while on probation. Additionally, the department has established a communication team and is contracting with a communications expert to message their goals and initiatives to various audiences.

Equity: In 2025, a staff survey and focus group will be released regarding equity. The team plans to implement a tool to examine current policies and practices related to equity.

School Partnerships: Probation staff screen education needs during intake and work with Educational Advocates to ensure links to supportive systems.

2017 SJP Evanston

Contact:

Diona Lewis, Assistant Principal, Evanston Skokie School District 65

Capstone Description: 

1. Develop and execute a community symposium to education stakeholders on the interconnected components of discipline, justice, community outcomes, and the school-to-prison pipeline, which will lead to a dialogue and change process around school discipline and suspension policies.

2. Pilot a middle school to high school transition program, the Chesapeake Project, which will provide a continuation of services for at-risk students.

2016 YIC Cook County Team

Contacts:

Virginia (Ginny) Caulfield, Deputy Chief Probation Officer, Cook County Juvenile Court

David Flores, Deputy Chief Probation Officer, Cook County Circuit Court

Amanda Halawa-Mahdi, LCSW, Cook County Juvenile Probation

Dwayne Johnson, Deputy Chief Probation Officer, Cook County Juvenile Court

Donna Neal, Assistant Administrator, Department of Human Resources, Cook County Juvenile Probation

William Patterson, Director of Human Resources, Cook County Circuit Court Juvenile Probation

Capstone Description:

Improve outcomes for youth held in custody on technical Violations of Probation (VOP) by adopting a multi-disciplinary approach to work with targeted youth, focusing on strength-based interventions, introducing the Effective Case Works (ECW) Case Management Model, and training probational staff on family engagement and cultural competency.

March 2013 ISCP Cook County Team 

Contact:

Juliana Stratton, Executive Director, Justice Advisory Council - Cook County

Capstone Description:

Early identification of crossover youth through MOUs

July 2012 MSI (Public) Cook County Team

Contacts:

Teretha Lewis, Supervising Probation Officer - Cook County Probation Department

Mark Werner, Deputy Chief Probation Officer - Circuit Court of Cook County, Juvenile Probation and Court Services

Capstone Description:

Reengage standing, but traditionally underutilized, dually-involved youth steering committee.

Capstone Update (2015):

The team revitalized the Cook County Dually Involved Steering Committee by adding additional members and agencies, formed subcommittees to focus on training, best practices, and arrest/identification. Due to the success of this Steering Committee, DCFS established a statewide dually involved committee. A 2015 pilot project developed jointly by DCFS, juvenile probation, and the university of Illinois expedited CIPP staffing with intensive wraparound services in community-based settings. The pilot project reduced the number of crossover youth in detention center by 50% and reduced the number of youth in detention and congregate care. The Capstone Project has also encouraged the utilization of multi-disciplinary teams.

2010 MSI (Public) Cook County Team

Contacts:

Beth Compton, Chief Legal Advisor - Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice James R. Thompson Center

Debra Ferguson, Assoc. Deputy Director for Forensics - Juvenile Forensics, DHS Division of Mental Health

Denice Murray, Executive Deputy Director - Illinois Department of Children and Familiy Services James R. Thompson Center

Lorrie Rickman Jones, Director - DHS Division of Mental Health 

George Timberlake, Policy Consultant, Retired Chief Circuit Judge - Jefferson Policy Consultants

Capstone Description:

Implement assessment to identify crossover youth (under broadest definition) and modify current multi-disciplinary services to be specifically targeted for these youth.

2009 MSI DuPage County Team

Contacts:

Kathleen (Kathy) McNamara, Community Placement Manager - Department of Probation and Court Servicea 18th Judicial Circuit, DuPage County

Wendy Nussbaum, Executive Director - Northeast DuPage Family and Youth Services Models for Change 

Robert Vickery, Program Manager - Department of Probation and Court Services 18th Judicial Circuit Court, DuPage County, Illinois

Capstone Description:

Diversion counseling program in order to help youth perpetrators of domestic violence break the pattern of violent behavior and divert them from further juvenile justice system involvement.

2010 MSI (Private) Manteno Team

Contacts:

Michael Chavers, Executive Director - Indian Oaks Academy, Nexus

Lisa Jacobs, Program Manager, Illinois Models for Change Initiative - Loyola University School of Law, Civitas Child Law Center

Capstone Description:

Improved services and policies for crossover youth (male and female) for the targeted organization (a residential service provider). 

Capstone Update (2014):

A program, The Journey Home, was created locally for transitioning older youth from residential agencies and juvenile prisons into a community with integrated and well-rounded support. The team have also been working with the local probation office to provide services at the Journey Home.

2018 SJPD Peoria County, IL Team

Contacts: 

Mark Bronke, Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Peoria County

Brian Brown, Juvenile Detention Superintendent Peoria County

Lynne Fehr, Social-Emotional Specialist Peoria Public Schools

Kathleen (Katie) Kelly, Management Analyst--Grant Manager City of Peoria Police Department

Shawn Wetzel, Professional Standards Peoria Police Department

Capstone Description: 

The team will implement a restorative justice program, Peace Conferencing, for eligible youth, focusing on community engagement, restorative practices, and collaborative strategies with key partnering agencies.

2021 EIYF Winnebago County, IL Team

Contacts:

Kamisha Garrett, Detention Officer, Winnebago County Juvenile Detention Center

Debbie Jarvis, Director Court Services, 17th Judicial Circuit / Winnebago County

The Honorable John Lowry, Circuit Judge, State of Illinois

Julie McCray-Grotto, Assistant Superintendent, Winnebago County Juvenile Detention Center/Court Services

Jacob Morsch, Judicial Detention Officer, Winnebago County Juvenile Detention Center

Erin O'Gorman, Winnebago County Juvenile Detention Center

Bill Vedra, Superintendent, Winnebago County Juvenile Detention

Jason Waak, Supervisor/PREA Coordinator, Winnebago County Juvenile Detention

Capstone Description: 

The Winnebago County Team seeks to reduce the use of isolation in the Winnebago County Juvenile Detention Center by amending their behavioral incentives system (or “points system”) to be more strength-based, adjusting their responses to minor rule infractions, increasing incentives for youth, and expanding mental health services, all of which will be achieved in partnership with multiple levels of staff.

Capstone Update (2024):

To reduce the use of isolation, the Winnebago County Team has increased its number of staff, implemented 15-minute time-outs with staff follow-ups to help reintegrate youth as soon as possible, and reduced room time in general. When a youth receives a major rule infraction, they must complete a packet and write a letter about who their actions may have wronged. Additionally, the team has revised its behavior and incentives programs so youth can earn points for positive behavior during every aspect of the day, and points are not taken away. They have also started a "3,000 Point Group" that allows residents with 3,000 points to have a special meal and extra recreation time each week.

In 2022, the team received a grant from the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board to fund three full-time therapists in their facility. These therapists work alongside staff to reintegrate residents with major rule infractions as quickly as possible. The therapists also perform check-ins, follow-ups, and one-one-one counseling with residents and run groups four days a week. This include CBT groups, DBT groups, and Seeking Safety Trauma groups. Outside agencies also provide programming such as therapy dogs, Social Emotional Learning and Ready to Work Curricula, and an anger management group.

Lastly, the team has received a grant from BJA to implement the corrective actions needed to receive their PREA Compliance letter. The team is also working with the County Board to conduct a Space Needs Study to determine what physical changes they could make to their facility.

2019 RED Winnebago County, IL Team 

Contacts:

Patrick Bruce, Assistant State's Attorney, Winnebago County State's Attorney's Office

Jennifer Cacciapaglia, Manager, Mayor's Office of Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking Prevention, City of Rockford

Angela Hite-Carter, Executive Director of Student Services & Alternative Learning, Rockford Public Schools

John Johnson, Juvenile Justice Coordinator, 17th Judicial Circuit

John Lowry, Judge, Winnebago County

Lynette Pangburn, Assistant Superintendent of Programs, Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

John Papiernik, Juvenile Probation Supervisor, Winnebago County

Diana Taylor, Assistant Public Defender, Winnebago County

William (Bill) Vedra, Superintendent of Detention, Winnebago County

Olivia Wilks, Director of Juvenile Justice Programs/DMC Coordinator, Illinois Collaboration on Youth

Capstone Description:

The Winnebago County team seeks to address the “school-to-prison pipeline” and lower racial and ethnic disparities in school discipline through a tiered approach. First, in support of their overarching efforts, the team will provide cross-agency training such as trauma- and culturally-responsive techniques and family engagement approaches to organizations and community groups providing services to youth. Second, the team will revise and develop relevant policies and protocols to implement trauma screenings, an early warning system, and other diversionary programs to reduce the use of exclusionary discipline in schools. Third, the team will examine service gaps and bolster the county’s capacity to provide equitable, quality intervention services to students and their families