BARJ in Illinois - Cook County

Cook County Juvenile Probation and Court Services Department.
1100 S. Hamilton Avenue
Chicago, IL 60612-4207

Phone: (312) 433-6906
Email: slthrow@cookcountygov.com
Contact: Sharon L. Throw-Koc

What RJ practice/s do you use?
Victim Awareness, Community Service, Restitution, Mediation

Specific services offered:
Community Impact Panels, Retail Theft School, Community Service, Restitution/Project Repay, Peer Conferencing

What population do you serve?
Pre- and Post-Adjudicated minors in Chicago and Suburban Cook County.

How/where do you get referrals?
Judges, Chicago and Suburban Cook County Police Departments, Probation Officers

Does your process, program or activity show equal concern for victims, offenders and the community of those affected?
Efforts are made to include victims, offenders, and community partners as part of the intervention processes when possible.  Networking with community members and agencies is emphasized and every effort is made to educate youth about the consequences of their actions on the victims, the community (which often includes family, friends, neighbors, etc.), as well as themselves. Also, probation staff work with the State’s Attorney’s victim-witness assistance coordinators who interview victims.  More specific examples include the following:

Community Impact Panels—Volunteer victim speakers share their victimization experience with youth to increase youths’ level of empathy.  Panels are held in a variety of locations including churches, police stations, social service agencies, Evening Reporting Centers and courthouses to bring the victims, offenders, and the community together.

Retail Theft School—Youth arrested for this offense attend a Saturday morning program with their parents to learn about the consequences of retail theft on the many victims of their crime. Probation staff, a representative from the State’s Attorney’s Office, and a retail loss prevention specialist from a store in the community participate in this program.  As part of a signed contract, youth are expected to write an apology letter, perform community service and/or write an essay about what they learned from attending the program.

Community Service—Youth placed on probation or supervision are required to repay the community by performing work tasks that benefit the community and teach positive skills to the offender.  Churches, social service agencies, not-for-profit organizations, parks, etc. are part of a large network of volunteer community work sites.

Project Repay—The goal of Project Repay is to create an opportunity for juvenile probationers to simultaneously perform community service while earning monetary restitution credit to compensate victims of their crime.  The program expedites payment of restitution to victims (up to a maximum of $200) by encouraging offenders to take responsibility for repaying the victim for harm caused by their offense. Payment to the victim is made possible through funding provided by the Jane Addams Juvenile Court Foundation.

Peer Conferencing—The Juvenile Advisory Council (J.A.C.) is a unique partnership between juvenile justice professionals and former probationers.  The purpose of the J.A.C. is to reexamine the probation experience through the eyes of the  clients.  With this in mind, the J.A.C. began a Peer Conference Program to serve minors that have been arrested and referred to court but who the State’s Attorney’s Office have diverted from legal action.  The Peer Conferencing goal is to provide short-term assessment, intervention and supervision for a minimum of ninety (90) days to help these minors remain free of further delinquent activity.

Does the process, program or activity encourage the offender to feel accountable for his conduct, and be willing to repair the harm caused to the victim and the community of those affected, in a way that focuses on the competency development of the offender?
Yes.

Does the process, program or activity provide opportunities for dialogue, direct and/or indirect, between all of the community of those affected, including the victim and offender?
When and if possible.

Does the process, program or activity encourage collaboration to restore and develop positive relationships among the members of the community of those affected, including the victim and the offender?
Yes

Does the process, program or activity empower the community of those affected to increase its capacity to recognize and respond to harm and crime in a restorative justice way?
Yes

In what ways are you evaluating your program?
Feedback from the community service agencies and program participants is encouraged. 
Pre- and Post-Testing and feedback surveys are utilized.