When juveniles commit crimes in McHenry County, Ill., the judge may just send them home -- wearing an electronic monitoring device, that is.

For McHenry County juvenile justice officials, home detention has become an effective alternative to sending delinquents to juvenile detention centers, especially since the county has no juvenile correctional facility of its own.

Having to send juvenile delinquents to other counties for detention is not only costly for the county, but also problematic because of the lack of available space in those jurisdictions.

"There was a point in the early to mid-90's when detention bed space had become extremely scarce," said Phillip Dailing, Chief Managing Officer for McHenry County's Court Services' Juvenile Division.  "We had limited beds available in the state."

With more juvenile delinquents than facilities to accommodate them, the county was in a bind.

"There were times when the kids just had to be released," said Dailing.  "[They] would be returned back to the community without any structure or supervision."

This situation was beneficial to neither the juveniles nor the county, so, in 1996, juvenile home detention became an alternative sentencing option for judges who hear juvenile cases. 

Either pre-adjudication or as part of a sentence, judges can place juveniles on home detention, which has three different tiers of supervision.  Juveniles on level one, the most restrictive, are only allowed to leave home to go to school or to attend court-ordered treatment programs.  As juveniles progress to levels two and three, however, conditions become less restrictive and they are permitted to leave home to participate in approved activities, such as family gatherings.

"We evaluate them every two weeks," Dailing said.  "If everything went smoothly, a minor could earn his or her way out of the program in six weeks."

Who Gets to Stay Home

According to Dailing, home detention is a way to ensure that certain juvenile offenders are supervised without the burden and cost of incarceration.

"The criminal justice system usually consists of a continuum of sanctions and interventions," said Dailing.  "We have kids that need some structure and some heightened supervision, but we'd just as soon not [have them] spend time in detention."

While home detention is appropriate for juveniles with safe living environments and cooperative parents, it may not be the most effective type of sentence to impose on others.

"We have kind-of an eligibility criteria, so to speak," said Dailing.  "Just the general nature of the offense itself [is a consideration]," he added.  "[Juveniles do not qualify for home detention] if they have a history of violent crimes or running away."

Another main concern in placing juveniles on home detention is the nature of their home environment.  If the juvenile feels threatened by someone who lives there or is exposed to violence there, home detention is not a logical option.  A supportive family is necessary to make this option work.

"We rely on the parents to assist us in reporting violations," said Dailing.  "We want parents to take responsibility for [their children]." 

One of the most important factors in determining if a juvenile is a viable candidate for home detention is whether or not their house has a phone. 

"It wouldn't make sense to put a kid on detention who doesn't have a phone," Dailing said, because the electronic monitors that track the juveniles operate via the telephone line.

When a juvenile's ankle bracelet goes out of range, the signal is broken and the juvenile's probation officer is notified.

"It could be any number of things [that trigger an alert]," Dailing said, citing equipment issues and family emergencies as examples.  "We do [a] follow-up [investigation] to determine what's going on."

If a juvenile goes out of range and has no acceptable excuse, he or she will be reprimanded.

"There's a [variety] of internal sanctions that we can use," Dailing said.

Internal sanctions include verbal warnings, curfews and weekend lockdowns.  For severe infractions, juveniles may be removed from home detention altogether and ordered to a detention facility by a judge.

Everybody Wins

The ultimate goal of juvenile home detention, however, is for juveniles to avoid detention centers altogether, a move that saves McHenry County a significant amount of money.

"It's obviously cheaper than having kids incarcerated in detention," said Dailing.  It costs the county $90 per day to detain a juvenile in nearby Kane County while it costs about $50 per juvenile per day to have them on home detention, he said.

Another advantage to home detention, according to Dailing, is that is provides the court with some flexibility because judges have another sentencing option.

Aside from the county and the judges, the juveniles can also benefit from a home detention situation.

"It allows them to participate in school, to go to counseling, to do community service, to do positive things that will lead to their rehabilitation," Dailing said.  "Not everyone needs the severest form of incarceration."

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To learn more about juvenile home detention in McHenry County, contact the Department of Probation and Court Services (815) 334-4400