Over 100 years ago, Chicago was the first city in America to open a juvenile court, putting the spotlight on Illinois as a state leading the way in juvenile justice programming. 

Now, the windy city is in the spotlight once again.

With the opening of the Juvenile Intervention Support Center (JISC) in May, officials are hoping to circumvent a life of crime for young offenders. A pilot program, the JISC was developed for juveniles in the court system that needed more support. Focusing on diversion, counseling and treatment programs, the JISC will be open 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

“We want to build a firewall for kids entering the juvenile justice system,” says Azim Ramelize, the Assistant Commissioner of Chicago's Children and Youth Services and Head Case Manager at JISC. “The theory is that juvenile detention is the gateway to incarceration. Many times, you see programs giving kids what they want, or what [the state] is required to give them, rather than what they need. As a city, we need to create a solid system that gets to the issues – and helps kids become productive citizens.”

JISC staff will include two supervisors, five case managers, and 10 advocates. And if the pilot program is successful, three to four other similar facilities could be opened throughout Illinois. The JISC will provide legal counseling, as well as drug and substance abuse therapy, for first and second-time juvenile offenders. The center will also provide family counseling for youths who might have unhealthy relationships at home.

According to Ramelize, the innovative first step in helping these youths is involving their communities and families – and showing that someone cares about them.

“In the past, these centers have failed because they were based on systems,” Ramelize says. “Systems cannot care, but communities can care. We want to get the community involved in developing services for these kids and we want to build family support.”

Creating JISC: A Focus on Family, Community and Treatment

The premise behind creating JISC was simple – officials saw a problem during the processing of juvenile offenders. Once a juvenile was arrested, they were usually taken to a police station, and a youth officer would decide whether or not their case should go to court. But for the juveniles sentenced to court, there was a time discrepancy. There was often a lengthy period of waiting between juvenile sentencing and when they actually received treatment.

“Usually, there is a gap between a kid going to court and getting services,” Ramelize says. “You set a court date – but there's a period of time between the sentencing and the kid actually getting the help they need. We wanted to fill that gap. That is a critical time for these juveniles, and it needs to be addressed.”

Rather than allowing juveniles to wait for treatment, many young offenders can be diverted to the JISC. At the center, they will be screened for any issues they might have, and staff will decide whether or not they need further assessment. After screening and assessment, juveniles with substance abuse issues or family problems will have access to family counselors and treatment.

“The way we can help these kids is to bring everyone to the table,” Ramelize says. “We need to bring in their families; what's happening within that family? If the problem is within that family, how can we help them? We want to look at the strengths of each family, not the weaknesses. If we can help the families, we're looking at a new approach to the way we help juveniles.”

By offering family counseling, officials hope to create a more stable environment for young offenders. But the focus isn't limited to young offenders with family issues. Ramelize says juveniles with mental health issues will be screened at the JISC, and most of them will be diverted to other programs and facilities that can help them with their specific needs.

“Mental health has really stood out as an important issue for me,” Ramelize says. “If you look at the number of kids in the juvenile justice system with mental health problems, you will see that number has continued to grow. We have other agencies coming in to help set up a screening process for kids with mental health issues – because they shouldn't be here at all. I'm not talking about murderers or kids with weapons – I'm talking about kids who end up here because they haven't been diagnosed properly. There are other options for kids with mental health issues besides incarceration.”

An Integrated, Holistic Approach to Case Management

The JISC started as the brainchild of the Chicago Police Department. Realizing that juveniles needed access to treatment programs and case managers much earlier in the legal process, the department teamed up with the Chicago Department of Children and Youth Services, Chicago Public Schools System, and the Cook County State's Attorney Office, among many others to create the JISC.

“This is an issue that affects all of us,” Ramelize explains. “Collaboration on such large scale isn't always easy, but we are dedicated. All of us had to come together to create this.”

The approach of case managers at the facility is also a crucial part of helping the youths and another innovative aspect of the JISC. By combining integrated case management with a holistic approach for each offender, Ramelize says youths have a chance to make a real change in their lives by creating positive relationships with their case managers. By looking at every aspect of a juvenile's life, case managers can offer new options and treatment plans.

“I have seen great case workers and I have seen bad case workers in the system,” Ramelize says. “We wanted to bring people in that enjoy working with these kids. There are a lot of bitter people in the world – we wanted to focus on the positive people. And we're not just going to focus on the juveniles; we want to focus on the big picture. The trick is to hire people that can really talk to these kids.”

Hiring case managers with innovative philosophies is an important part of the center. According to Ramelize, it was just common sense to hire staff that could relate to juvenile offenders.

“There are people who know how to talk to the system, who know how to talk to the courts and the lawyers,” Ramelize says. “There are people like juvenile probation officers who know the technicalities. But we have to think outside the box – who knows how to talk to the kids? We've had people that could talk to systems, but we didn't have people from the community that could talk to the kids that need the help.”

With an eye on juvenile diversion, the windy city is once again feeling the warm glow of a spotlight – and with Ramelize's passion for juvenile justice, the future looks very promising.

“We're making headway,” Ramelize says. “And we're very excited about the opportunities we're going to provide to these kids.”