Juvenile Justice
Illinois Collaboration on Youth (ICOY) provides direct assistance to juvenile justice agencies, community-based providers, and communities as a whole to support and strengthen juvenile justice reform and systems improvement efforts across Illinois. Through a partnership with the Illinois Department of Human Services and the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, ICOY provides training and technical assistance such as policy analysis, coalition development/support, training, and more to the following juvenile justice-focused entities and programs:
A federally mandated State Advisory Group that helps the Illinois General Assembly, Executive Branch, and local jurisdictions decrease youth involvement with the juvenile justice system and increase positive youth outcomes for juvenile justice-involved youth by ensuring compliance with federal/state laws, crafting policy and practice recommendations, and empowering local solutions, collaboration, and accountability.
A state program designed to decrease the commitment of youth to secure juvenile facilities by changing fiscal incentives. Redeploy Illinois works with community-based providers to offer services to youth involved with the juvenile justice system in their home communities, reducing reliance on secure confinement. ICOY provides training and technical assistance to the 46 counties and judicial circuits that are host to 13 Redeploy Illinois program sites. See a list of trainings we offer to Redeploy Illinois Program providers.
A state program providing upstream prevention to keep kids out of the juvenile justice system. See our Runaway & Homeless Youth page for more information.
These are some examples of systems-level technical assistance ICOY provides in efforts to reform the juvenile justice system:
- Compliance monitoring: To ensure the core requirements of the U.S. Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act is upheld, ICOY houses a compliance monitor who works closely with law enforcement and the Illinois Department of Corrections to visit and assess jails, municipal lockups, and juvenile detention centers to ensure they meet or exceed standards for holding young people.
- Racial and Ethnic Disparities (RED) reduction strategies: ICOY supports statewide activities relating to the reduction of RED, a core requirement of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. RED reduction strategies include consistent data collection and assessment, the funding and implementation of evidence-based programming, and evaluation of programs to ensure that they address racial bias and racial impact.
If you’re interested in learning about how to get involved in your community’s juvenile justice diversion and reform please reach out to ICOY Juvenile Justice Manager Maribel Gonzalez.
