PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chief Judge Evans announces improvements for Juvenile Temporary Detention Center

Released On 10/25/2022

Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today a number of improvements that are ongoing at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC). 

These changes are being implemented by an Implementation Committee chaired by Bryan Samuels, Executive Director of Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.  

The JTDC has completed Northwestern University’s Trauma Informed Juvenile Court Self-Assessment, produced by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. 

This process began in October 2020, and was completed in September 2022. Beginning in 2018, staff at the JTDC have been trained in “Think Trauma” trauma-informed care training through Northwestern University. Cook County Health mental health staff are implementing Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS) group treatment to address and improve the emotional, social, academic, and behavioral functioning of adolescents exposed to trauma. 

Young people released from the facility will benefit from Juvenile Redeploy Hubs providing targeted areas in Cook County with evidence-based community programs that maintain public safety and promote positive outcomes for youth, supported by a $5.8 million annual grant from the State of Illinois. In addition, the JTDC is currently pursuing full accreditation as a Trauma Informed Facility from Starr Commonwealth, a social services agency based in Michigan that provides programs and services to heal trauma and build resilience in all children, adolescents, and the professionals that serve them. 

Additional improvements that will be implemented include: 

• All disciplinary confinement in the youth’s room will be limited to 30 minutes, followed by 30 minutes during which the youth will work with a counselor to complete a rational self-analysis of the behavior that led to the confinement. 
• In response to the concerns expressed regarding room confinement, bedtimes have been moved back by one hour, with the earliest bedtime now at 8 pm.  As soon as practicable, the bedtime of all youth will be moved back to 9:45 pm, further reducing the total time youth spend in their rooms. 
• Cook County Health mental health staff will partner with consultants to create culturally relevant, trauma-informed evening programming that will help youth transition to bedtime at 9:45. The programming will include simple movement and breathing techniques that can benefit even residents with short stays at the facility. Dr. Obari Cartman, president of the Chicago chapter of the Association of Black Psychologists, will lead development of programming for boys, and Dr. Keeshawna Brooks, associate professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, will develop programming for girls. 
• Maryville Center for Children Residences has offered to house youth involved in the child welfare system who would otherwise have prolonged stays at the JTDC, as well as LGBTQ youth. 
• The JTDC will provide the chief judge and the Implementation Committee with a monthly report containing statistics on the number of times each confined resident was confined in his or her room, the number of minutes each resident was confined during each confinement, a description of the programs or services received, and the number of disciplinary incidents in which each resident was involved, including those not resulting in confinement. 
• The JTDC will post on the court’s website a daily report of its total resident population, including a breakdown of the population by age, gender, race, and whether the cases are in juvenile or criminal court.  The report can be found here.  

 “We are grateful for the assistance from the many experts who are assisting us in bringing about these improvements at the JTDC, to help the children who must be confined there,” Judge Evans said. 

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