New Juvenile Justice Law Aims To Keep Young Offenders Out Of Prison

Legislation signed Monday will require juvenile court judges to review additional factors before issuing sentences in Illinois, in the hopes sending fewer young people to state prison.

Signed by Governor Pat Quinn, HB 83 amends the Illinois Juvenile Court Act by directing judges to review several additional factors, like a youth’s mental health and educational needs, before determining whether secure confinement is necessary, Illinois Models for Change reports in a news release. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2012 and advocates for correctional treatment in a youth’s community whenever possible. It does not constrain the ability of judges to commit youth to the Illinois Department of Justice when necessary to protect public safety.

“Removing children from their homes and committing them to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice is a serious decision with far-reaching ramifications, which is why it is critical that our justice system better examine other alternatives,” said Rep. Karen D. Yarbrough, D-Maywood, who was the chief sponsor of the bill, according to the news release. “The way we address and punish delinquent minors has a lasting effect on the life of the child, and extends into adulthood. If we can make it easier for them to better their lives and avoid creating a lifelong criminal, we should exhaust every other alternative before confinement.”

The law arms judges with a standardized assessment tool to evaluate behavioral traits in conjunction with a juvenile’s criminal record, physical, mental and emotional health, and educational background (including an assessment of any learning disabilities), among other factors. It also calls for a strict examination of DJJ services beyond incarceration that could better meet the individualized needs of the youth.

The Juvenile Justice Initiative, a statewide advocacy coalition that backed the legislation, posits that the new law will save tax dollars and possibly the futures of Illinois’ troubled youth.

“This change maximizes limited juvenile justice dollars,” said Elizabeth Clarke, President of the initiative, according to the news release. “It ensures costly juvenile prisons are utilized only as a last resort by requiring juvenile courts to review all available alternatives to incarceration. In addition, by mandating that juvenile courts make all reasonable efforts to keep youth at home, it will help Illinois access federal funding for treatment for youth in the justice system.”

A long-term MacArthur study called Pathways that informed the legislation found that in a group of more than 1,300 juvenile offenders, institutional placement appears to have no advantage over probation in reducing rates of re-arrest or self-reported offending.

“Not only is incarceration expensive – it doesn’t work,” said Sen. Annazette Collins, D-Chicago, who was chief sponsor of HB 83 in the Senate. “Community programs that follow nationally recognized best practices and focus on improving family and educational functioning have far better success at turning youth away from delinquency and keeping them involved in productive activities. Thus, we hope this change will remind juvenile courts to review all available options and exhaust every possible alternative prior to giving up on the youth.”

Flickr photo by renee.hawk.

Comments

[dbrett480]

07:27 PM on 08/19/2011

Let's not knock incarceration. Most of the "kids" who are incarcerated are in prison for violent crimes and are also gang members.

[vobox3343]

12:16 PM on 08/17/2011

The per year cost to incarcerate is more than the combined average salary of minorities. Sad commentary. Sadder still, few care. Republicans continue to allocate funds for incarceration as they make deeper cuts to education and lobby for lower paying jobs. Something is very wrong with this picture. You have some major crimes being committed just so that a person gets health care attention, a roof over their head (horrors) and food to eat, with a license to escape all human and moral responsibilty to take care of self and those you bring into the world. Pathetic

[kpingzing]

12:14 PM on 08/17/2011

This plan should work just like the rest of the liberals plans. Quit trying to invent new laws and use the ones we have on the books. Are these lawmakers really trying to say these kids dont know right from wrong. I was taught right from wrong from my parents and then in school. Since schools can no longer punish bad behavior it will definitely go on.

[Jacob Black]

02:19 PM on 08/17/2011

"Quit trying to invent new laws and use the ones we have on the books"

And if the old laws are counter-productive and lead to an enormous waste of limited resources, should we just keep plugging away and hope something changes?

"Are these lawmakers really trying to say these kids dont know right from wrong."

I missed that part of the legislation. Could you point it out for me?

[AMlegion]

10:33 AM on 08/17/2011

lock em up with their uncaring parents.

[vobox3343]

12:41 PM on 08/17/2011

Can't do that. We've had a government allowing discriminatory practice of hiring illegals. Certainly you remember the lies. Illegals do the jobs that we don't want. You have any idea how many of these youngsters apply for jobs and are given every excuse imaginable and then they see illegals doing the jobs they applied for but were denied or told they're not qualified enough? It's happening all across America. These young people aren't as stupid as we make them out to be. You think African-Americans can't see what's taking place? Tell me, what other signs might one need to see? African-Americans have been accused (on a regular basis) of sitting on their duffs having babies, when the facts present an uglier story. The population of African-Americans has been in decline for some time, while America has been looking for replacements (if no more for political votes). How else do you explain to the descendants of former slaves, builders of America and her wealth, that America's legislative decisions have given them a lesser voice, while adding to their economic woes. Of course they're angry. A reminder, slaves were a majority in America at one time.

[AMlegion]

09:08 AM on 08/18/2011

so you want the troubled youth to be like slaves. Make them work. I didn't make this a racial arguement. I didn't think the article did either. I don't understand a point that you are trying to make.

[errorsandlag]

01:44 PM on 08/17/2011

You sound like that"Cash for Kids" judge. Perhaps you two are related.

[mvdiaz9]

09:09 AM on 08/17/2011

I was a Cook Cty orosecutor in juvenile court many years- this new law is a joke. Back when parents cared and kids didn't commit the same offenses as adults, the juvenile system made sense. Now, the law makes it impossible to hold kids accountable. People don't have a sense of who these kids are, they think that because they're minors, they're somehow innocent or salvageable. They're NOT. Even as minors, by the time they got to the system, they were already drop outs or getting kicked out, violent, no respect for others, impulsive, willful, with no work ethic. They come from neighborhoods where it's not cool to be smart, to study or work a menial job for honest pay. Easy drug money-now THAT'S cool. They also have no respect for the rights of others...and "snitches wind up in ditches." I once prosecuted a kid who shot a homeless man's eye out with a BB gun (on purpose) and just got PROBATION because he was 15. He's now 19 and was in the news recently arrested for murder. I remembered his name well, he had one of those unfortunate names that guarantees he'll never get a job interview. In sum, the juvenile system is a joke. If the parents failed, the state needs to take care of these "children" before they graduate. Oh, and I am a liberal, dyed in the wool, but on this point, my mind was forever changed.

[nomandoethgood]

04:34 AM on 08/17/2011

This has the stench of liberal.A dirty,rotten,dying-body smell.The sooner you can remove them from society,the better.I can only hope,after the new rehabilitation,the teen becomes an adult and rapes and kills you or your loved ones.A just end for you.

[Leon Engelun]

07:57 PM on 08/16/2011

19 years and 364 days still makes that gang member a teen. If he commits a crime he walks with just a tap on the hand. Good Grief.

[JacinFlag]

09:26 PM on 08/16/2011

Actually, at 18 or even younger in many states, teens are charged and prosecuted as adults.

[darkwaterz29]

07:24 PM on 08/16/2011

Incarceration doesn't work? Are you kidding me? It's the ONLY THING that works. Other than execution, it's the only thing GUARANTEED to ensure that people don't commit crimes or engage in recidivistic behavior. The only thing you can do to help messed up kids that are facing prison time is REMOVE THEM from their parents and environment, put them in a structured program which they must meet educational and behavioral guidelines--or else they face prison time. Period. Young adults for too long have crushed our justice system and literally destroyed our communities. Identify the troublemakers, remove them from the community, attempt to treat them--and if they aren't cooperative, put them in prison. There must be consequences for any negative behavior--and even the smallest child knows the difference between right and wrong. Just because a kid can't write or can't tell you what the square root of 16 is, doesn't mean that he/she should get a pass on committing violent crimes, crimes of a sexual nature, or drug-related offenses. Give them one shot and put the responsibility to be a better person squarely on their shoulders.