Changes in juvenile justice are working

Thank you for your recent editorial on the juvenile justice system in Illinois. We wholeheartedly agree with your call for an approach to youth that builds on what the research clearly shows: Youth do better and communities are safer when we work with youth to address their individual challenges and help them re-enter their communities as productive, healthy citizens.

While it will always be true that some youth must be detained for their own safety and the safety of their communities, Judge George Timberlake of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission said it well in your recent article: “We can make the public safer. We can improve the outcomes for kids ... and we can do it at a lower cost.”

At the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, we are doing just that. Working with the commission, the MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change program, and our partners in both public and private agencies, we have made significant progress. We have reduced the use of confinement by over 11 percent from the past year. We’ve established a comprehensive pilot program of aftercare to link youth being released from detention to services and supports in their home communities, helping to reduce recidivism. Enhanced staffing and training now help us better assess and treat the mental health challenges of these traumatized youth. Funders have also responded to this progress.

We still have much to accomplish. We welcome the support of the public as we work with the General Assembly to continue this transformation of juvenile justice in Illinois. Budget and policy priorities must continue to change, and that effort can only benefit from greater public attention. Please work with us, throughout the state, to make communities safer and help our kids succeed.

Arthur Bishop

Director, Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice