SCY is convening youth service providers and government stakeholders in Cook County and leading the development of a care coordination model for justice-involved youth. The Probation Department, Juvenile Court judges and others will be able to refer youth to a Centralized Intake and Referral Home, which will assess the youth's needs and risk level and place him/her with the appropriate community-based provider for care coordination and other services. The mission of the Juvenile Justice Collaborative is to minimize further involvement of arrested youth in the justice system and reduce racial disparities by facilitating and coordinating access to comprehensive support services that meet adolescents' developmental needs. We are committed to youth and their families because youth are our community's most valuable resource.
The Collaborative plans to offer services that provide alternatives to detention at four steps in the juvenile justice system in Cook County:
- Detention screening by Probation Department
- Screening by the State's Attorney
- Juvenile Court judge's detention decision
- Post-sentencing, as an alternative to detention or to prevent probation violations
In partnership with Juvenile Probation, the Juvenile Justice Collaborative is engaged in a demonstration project that engages partners in delivering coordinated services for justice-involved youth. Services will be provided to 100 youth and their families throughout 2017.
The Juvenile Justice Collaborative partners currently include centralized intake and referral home TASC, the Illinois Collaboration on Youth (ICOY) and 10 community-based youth service providers:
- Aunt Martha's Youth Service Center
- BUILD, Inc.
- Heartland (Human Care Services)
- Lawrence Hall Youth Services
- Maryville Academy
- New Life/Urban Life Skills
- SGA Youth & Family Services
- UCAN
- Youth Guidance
- Youth Outreach Services
As gaps in service level and location are quantified, targeted youth service providers will be recruited to join the Collaborative. Capacity-building support will be offered to potential partners that can address an identified service gap but that do not meet the Collaborative’s programmatic or administrative standards. The model will fill a real need in Cook County to coordinate service providers’ efforts by centralizing intake, assessment and referrals so that youth can be efficiently and effectively connected to needed services.
The Juvenile Justice Collaborative is or has been supported by the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation; the Illinois Department of Human Services, in part by a grant from the Cook County Justice Advisory Council; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois; Michael Reese Health Trust; The Crown Family; The Albert Pick, Jr. Fund; and Polk Bros. Foundation.