John Roe, Illinois State Attorney for Ogle County, has brought a new twist to his job. He’s gathered a team of legal and social work professional and, with funding from the MacArthur Foundation of Chicago, started a new program aimed at keeping juvenile offenders out of jail.
Every juvenile case police report is assessed promptly by mental health and counseling specialists. And if, for example, diversion from the court system is seen as the best course in a vandalism case, the ideal first step in the diversion process is victim-offender counseling. [Source: The Times (Ottawa, Illinois)]
And the end of the counseling session, a mediator helps determine an appropriate punishment – which is agreed upon by both the offender and the victim. In a vandalism case, the offender might have to fix what was broken, or pay to have it fixed. In the past two year, seventy percent of all minor-related cases in the county have been placed on this alternative track, keeping numerous kids out of jail and giving them a chance to turn over a new leaf.
Labels: prevention program, jail
Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton