§ 17a-5

The Department of Human Services shall be successor to the Department of Children and Family Services in the latter Department's capacity as successor to the Illinois Law Enforcement Commission in the functions of that Commission relating to juvenile justice and the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 as amended, and shall have the powers, duties and functions specified in this Section relating to juvenile justice and the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended. (1) Definitions. As used in this Section: (a) "juvenile justice system" means all activities by public or private agencies or persons pertaining to the handling of youth involved or having contact with the police, courts or corrections; (b) "unit of general local government" means any county, municipality or other general purpose political subdivision of this State; (c) "Commission" means the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission provided for in Section 17a-9 of this Act. (2) Powers and Duties of Department. The Department of Human Services shall serve as the official State Planning Agency for juvenile justice for the State of Illinois and in that capacity is authorized and empowered to discharge any and all responsibilities imposed on such bodies by the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, specifically the deinstitutionalization of status offenders, separation of juveniles and adults in municipal and county jails, removal of juveniles from county and municipal jails and monitoring of compliance with these mandates. In furtherance thereof, the Department has the powers and duties set forth in paragraphs 3 through 15 of this Section: (3) To develop annual comprehensive plans based on analysis of juvenile crime problems and juvenile justice and delinquency prevention needs in the State, for the improvement of juvenile justice throughout the State, such plans to be in accordance with the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended; (4) To define, develop and correlate programs and projects relating to administration of juvenile justice for the State and units of general local government within the State or for combinations of such units for improvement in law enforcement; (5) To advise, assist and make recommendations to the Governor as to how to achieve a more efficient and effective juvenile justice system; (5.1) To develop recommendations to ensure the effective reintegration of youth offenders into communities to which they are returning. The Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission, utilizing available information provided by the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Prisoner Review Board, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, and any other relevant State agency, shall develop by September 30, 2010, a report on juveniles who have been the subject of a parole revocation within the past year in Illinois. The report shall provide information on the number of youth confined in the Department of Juvenile Justice for revocation based on a technical parole violation, the length of time the youth spent on parole prior to the revocation, the nature of the committing offense that served as the basis for the original commitment, demographic information including age, race, sex, and zip code of the underlying offense and the conduct leading to revocation. In addition, the Juvenile Justice Commission shall develop recommendations to: (A) recommend the development of a tracking system to provide quarterly statewide reports on youth released from the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice including lengths of stay in the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice prior to release, length of monitoring post-release, pre-release services provided to each youth, violations of release conditions including length of release prior to violation, nature of violation, and intermediate sanctions offered prior to violation; (B) recommend outcome measures of educational attainment, employment, homelessness, recidivism, and other appropriate measures that can be used to assess the performance of the State of Illinois in operating youth offender reentry programs; (C) recommend due process protections for youth during release decision-making processes including, but not limited to, parole revocation proceedings and release on parole. The Commission shall study and make recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly to ensure the effective treatment and supervision of the specialized population of juvenile offenders who are adjudicated delinquent for a sex offense. The Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission shall utilize available information and research on best practices within the State and across the nation including, but not limited to research and recommendations from the U.S. Department of Justice. Among other relevant options, the Commission shall: consider requiring specially trained probation, parole or aftercare officers to supervise juveniles adjudicated as sex offenders; explore the development of individualized probation or parole orders which would include, but is not limited to, supervision and treatment options for juveniles adjudicated as sex offenders; and consider the appropriateness and feasibility of restricting juveniles adjudicated as sex offenders from certain locations including schools and parks. The Juvenile Justice Commission shall include information and recommendations on the effectiveness of the State's juvenile reentry programming, including progress on the recommendations in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph (5.1), in its annual submission of recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on matters relative to its function, and in its annual juvenile justice plan. This paragraph (5.1) may be cited as the Youth Reentry Improvement Law of 2009; (6) To act as a central repository for federal, State, regional and local research studies, plans, projects, and proposals relating to the improvement of the juvenile justice system; (7) To act as a clearing house for information relating to all aspects of juvenile justice system improvement; (8) To undertake research studies to aid in accomplishing its purposes; (9) To establish priorities for the expenditure of funds made available by the United States for the improvement of the juvenile justice system throughout the State; (10) To apply for, receive, allocate, disburse, and account for grants of funds made available by the United States pursuant to the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended; and such other similar legislation as may be enacted from time to time in order to plan, establish, operate, coordinate, and evaluate projects directly or through grants and contracts with public and private agencies for the development of more effective education, training, research, prevention, diversion, treatment and rehabilitation programs in the area of juvenile delinquency and programs to improve the juvenile justice system; (11) To insure that no more than the maximum percentage of the total annual State allotment of juvenile justice funds be utilized for the administration of such funds; (12) To provide at least 66-2/3 per centum of funds received by the State under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, are expended through: (a) programs of units of general local government or combinations thereof, to the extent such programs are consistent with the State plan; and (b) programs of local private agencies, to the extent such programs are consistent with the State plan; (13) To enter into agreements with the United States government which may be required as a condition of obtaining federal funds; (14) To enter into contracts and cooperate with units of general local government or combinations of such units, State agencies, and private organizations of all types, for the purpose of carrying out the duties of the Department imposed by this Section or by federal law or regulations; (15) To exercise all other powers that are reasonable and necessary to fulfill its functions under applicable federal law or to further the purposes of this Section.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 96-853, eff. 12-23-09; 96-1271, eff. 1-1-11; 97-163, eff. 1-1-12.)