Joint Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight, Committee on Budget and Government Operations, and Committee on Public Safety
RESOLUTION CALLING FOR A HEARING ON THE JUVENILE INTERVENTION AND SUPPORT CENTER'S OPERATIONS
WHEREAS, Youth arrested for minor offenses, if processed into the criminal justice system, create an arrest and prosecution record that makes it difficult to secure future employment, pursue higher education, or serve in the military; and
WHEREAS, In recognition of the impact an arrest record can have on our youth's future, the Illinois Juvenile Court Act of 1987 authorized police departments to pursue alternatives to traditional criminal processing through an intervention strategy known as "juvenile diversion"; and
WHEREAS, Juvenile diversion is a strategy that intervenes in the criminal justice process to redirect youth who may have engaged in certain defined categories of minor criminal activities away from formal processing in the juvenile justice system, and attempts to interrupt the cycle that can ultimately spur further criminal behavior; and
WHEREAS, In March 2006, the City launched the Juvenile Intervention and Support Center (JISC), a partnership between the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS), to divert low-risk and medium-risk youth away from the criminal justice system in an effort to reduce recidivism; and
WHEREAS, While a youth is being held at JISC, a CPD processing detective is assigned to their case to perform a risk screening and select one of three arrest dispositions: (1) referring the youth to court for possible prosecution, (2) offering them a referral to case management services with SGA Youth and Family Services (SGA), the contracted case management agency overseen by DFSS, or (3) sending them home; and
WHEREAS, As part of JISC's $5 million operation, over 3,000 youths arrested every year are taken to the JISC facility, located at 3900 S. California Ave., for processing and consideration for juvenile diversion; and
WHEREAS, JISC serves only 10 ofthe City's 22 police districts (Districts 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 15), and covers a "catchment area" comprising most of the West and near South Sides, which are primarily lower-income communities of color; and
WHEREAS, From 2017 to 2018, approximately 90% of all JlSC-eligible arrests were processed at the JISC facility, but in the same 12-month period, JISC processed only 43% of all booked juvenile arrests citywide; and
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Joint Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight, Committee on Budget and Government Operations, and Committee on Public Safety
WHEREAS, While JISC diverts many youth from court, there are apparent inequities and deficiencies in the process for determining which JISC arrestees are diverted from further interaction with thejustice system; and
WHEREAS, JISC was intended to be a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary approach that draws upon the resources of both CPD and DFSS to make JISC's mission successful, but, in practice, JISC activities are almost entirely conducted by CPD until a youth is referred for services; and
WHEREAS, In February 2020, the Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) publicly released a full audit of the administration of JISC's operations and found multiple deficiencies, including:
The lack of a guiding charter or memorandum of understanding between CPD and DFSS concerning JISC's goals, accountability measures, and data sharing agreements;
The inability of JISC and its partners to reliably determine whether JISC is reducing recidivism after its 14 years in operation;
The lack of uniform recordkeeping standards for CPD and DFSS, which hinders a comprehensive program assessment of JISC;
A pattern of CPD destroying screening records in violation of the Local Records Act;
The failure of JISC's facility and procedures to meet best-practices for trauma-informed youth diversion programs;
The lack of a sufficient connection between CPD's selection process for JISC positions and the selected officers' experience or aptitude for working with youth, and the lack of any specialized training for JISC officers; and
(G) Inconsistent and inequitable results for the youth processed through JISC; and
WHEREAS, City Council recognizes and applauds the Mayor's convening of an advisory council to oversee JISC reform efforts, as well as the voluntary changes CPD and DFSS have already implemented to improve the program, such as engaging the University of Chicago Crime Lab to assist with data management, but more must be done to ensure JISC accomplishes its mission and successfully reduces youth recidivism; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and members ofthe City Council ofthe City of Chicago, gathered here this twenty-second day of April, 2020, do hereby call for the Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight, the Committee on Budget and Government Operations, and the Committee on Public Safety to convene a joint hearing concerning JISC's operations, the OIG's February 2020 report on JISC, the OIG's recommendations to improve JISC's operations,
|1010|Joint Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight, Committee on Budget and Government Operations, and Committee on Public Safety
the changes implemented to improve the program following the OIG's audit, appropriate funding level required and other steps necessary to make JISC more effective; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we call upon Inspector General Joe Ferguson or his designee, Chicago Police Acting Superintendent David Brown or his designee, Commissioner of Family and Support Services Lisa Morrison Butler or her designee, SGA Youth and Family Services President and CEO Susana Marotta or her designee, and members of the Juvenile Intervention Support Center Advisory Council convened by the Mayor's Office to testify at the hearing.
MICHELE SMITH Alderman, 43rd Ward
PAT DOWELL Alderman, 3rd Ward
CHRIS TALIAFERRO Alderman, 29th Ward
|1010|The following legislation is being introduced by Aldermen Michele Smith, Pat Dowell, and Ch Taliaferro regarding JISC hearings co-sponsored by
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Alderman Ward 12
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Alderman Ward 13
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Alderman Ward 14
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Alderman Ward 15
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Alderman Ward 16
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Alderman Ward 17
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Alderman Ward 18
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Alderman Ward 19
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Alderman Ward 20
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Alderman Ward 21
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Alderman Ward 22
1 | P a g e
The following legislation is being introduced by Aldermen Michele Smith, Pat Dowell, and Chris Taliaferro regardingJISC hearings co-sponsored by
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Alderman Ward 34
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Alderman Ward 35
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Alderman Ward 36
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Alderman Ward 37
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Alderman Ward 38
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Alderman Ward 39
Andre Vasquez
Alderman Ward 40
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Alderman Ward 41
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Alderman Ward 42
Scott Waguespack
Alderman Ward 43
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Alderman Ward 44
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The following legislation is being introduced by Aldermen Michele Smith, Pat Dowell, and Chris Taliaferro regardingJISC hearings co-sponsored by
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Alderman Ward 45 Mayor Lightfoot
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Alderman Ward 46 Clerk Valencia
Matt Martin
Alderman Ward 47
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Alderman Ward 48
Maria Hadden
Alderman Ward 49
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Alderman Ward 50
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