“An essential measurement of any juvenile ‘reentry’ system is whether youth returning from incarceration remain safe and successful within their communities. By this fundamental measure, Illinois is failing.” – Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission’s Youth Reentry Improvement Report
The Commission’s focus on reentry began when a legislative task force directed it to make recommendations to ensure the effective reintegration of youth offenders into their communities following incarceration in a Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facility.
After a year of intensive data analysis and file review, the Commission released a comprehensive report.
In its report, the Commission made the following recommendations:
- The Department of Juvenile Justice must prepare youth for timely release and qualified members of the Prisoner Review Board must increase the frequency and quality of release hearings.
- The current Department of Corrections adult parole surveillance model for juveniles should be replaced by a statewide extension of DJJ’s Aftercare Specialist pilot program.
- A court must make parole revocation determinations; Prisoner Review Board revocation hearings do not afford youth constitutional due process protections.
- The Department of Juvenile Justice must develop and implement an integrated case management system to facilitate necessary information sharing, which will allow effective youth case planning and monitoring.