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 ...
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