JOSEPH M FERGUSON INSPECTOR GENERAL
RECEIVED
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2020 FEB 25 AM 26
OFFICE OF THE CITY H Ff?K
CITY OF CHICAGO OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 740 NORTH SEDGWICK STREET, SUITE 200 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60654 TELEPHONE (773) 478-7799 FAX (773) 478-3949
FEBRUARY 25, 2020
TO THE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, CITY CLERK, CITY TREASURER, AND RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO:
The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has completed an audit ofthe Juvenile Intervention and Support Center (DISC). JISC is a partnership between the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and Department of Family and Support Service (DFSS) implemented to divert youth away from the juvenile justice system. The objectives ofthis audit were to determine if 3 ISC is designed according to best practices for law enforcement-based youth diversion and if JISC's administration of diversion programming is consistent with its goal of reducing youth recidivism.
OIG concluded that, due to poor record-keeping and a lack of collaboration, program partners CPD and DFSS cannot reliably determine whether DISC is meeting its stated goal of reducing recidivism. As a result, the City cannot determine if it is creating positive or negative outcomes for the over 3,000 youth it processes each year, nor calculate the return-on its over $5 million annual investment in the program. Additionally, some components of DISC'S design do not align with best practices for youth diversion programs.
Our recommendations focus on improving DISC'S multidisciplinary strategy, recordkeeping, and data quality procedures in order to allow for proper review ofthe program. We also recommend bringing JISC's design into alignment with diversion program best practices—in particular, to apply a more trauma-informed approach— and implementing proper controls and review mechanisms to prevent inconsistent and inequitable outcomes for youth.
In response, CPD and DFSS said they mostly agree with the recommendations. However, CPD did not confirm whe...
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