CHICAGO (AP) — A national organization that advocates keeping youth under 18 out of the adult court system is applauding Illinois for recent legislative changes.
The
Campaign for Youth Justice tracked state trends in juvenile justice from 2005
to 2010 for a new report.
Illinois
is praised in the report as one of three states that no longer automatically
filters 17-year-olds charged with misdemeanors into the adult system. The
change became effective Jan. 1, 2010. Connecticut and Mississippi also raised
the age of juvenile court jurisdiction for misdemeanors.
The
campaign said the new policy allows teens accused of minor crimes to have
access to mental health and drug treatment in the juvenile system that isn't
available in what it calls the "punitive adult system."
"The
success in Illinois is a terrific example of the importance of education in
juvenile justice reform movements," the report said, noting that advocacy
groups and reform organizations focused on educating lawmakers after initial
efforts to pass the measure failed.
The
Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission is also studying what it would take for
the juvenile justice system to accommodate 17-year-olds who are charged with
felonies, the report said. A final study is due to the Illinois General
Assembly on Dec. 31.
Illinois
also ended its policy of automatically transferring youth charged with drug
offenses to adult court under a law signed in 2005.
An
estimated 250,000 youth are prosecuted, sentenced or incarcerated as adults in
the United States every year, according to the campaign. The organization
maintains that separate systems for youth can prevent crime, save money and
keep youth safer.
"As
a society, we still have a long way to go to meet the original promise of the
juvenile court which was founded in Chicago over 100 years ago," CEO Liz
Ryan wrote in the report.
Copyright
2011 The Associated Press.
