BARJ in Illinois - Cook County

Girls Link
1100 S. Hamilton
Chicago, IL 60612

Phone: 312-433-6627
Email: vicaulf@cookcountygov.com
Contact: Ginny Caulfield

What RJ practice/s do you use?
Using the Foundations curriculum developed by the National Institute of Corrections, trainers encourage agencies to incorporate the five values of relationship, restorative, social impact, multi-level and inclusiveness when implementing female-responsive programming.     

Specific services offered:
Foundations training and technical assistance for agencies interested in providing female-responsive services to girls. Female-responsiveness is defined as creating an environment through site selection, staff selection, program development, content and material that reflects an understanding of the realities of the lives of girls and that addresses and responds to their strengths and challenges.

What population do you serve?
Girls, aged 10-17, in a variety of settings.

How/where do you get referrals?
Foundations trainers represent various stakeholders in the juvenile justice system.

Does your process, program or activity show equal concern for victims, offenders and the community of those affected?
Female-responsive services recognize the importance of giving girls the opportunity to repair the harm and earn their way back into the community.

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?
Foundations curriculum supports the creation of opportunities for meaningful accountability for girls to make amends.

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?
D/N/A

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?
Foundations curriculum assists agencies to be the bridge that helps girls maintain and re-establish healthy connections with their communities.

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?
Foundations training increases the capacity of agencies to provide female-responsive services in various settings.

In what ways are you evaluating your program?
The Foundations curriculum was developed by Rebecca Maniglia, Ph.D., and Linda Albrecht for the National Institute of Corrections.  The Girls Link trainers were trained by the authors.