Cook County Juvenile Detention Center: Heading in the right direction, but still a long road ahead

On October 26, 2010, John Howard Association staff and volunteers conducted a monitoring visit of the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (CCJTDC). JHA met with CCJTDC’s top administrators and visited the school, mental health unit, and living areas.

Generally JHA’s visit revealed progress in the overhaul of CCJTDC; however, there is much work to do. The population of the facility is still inappropriately high in both John Howard Association’s and CCJTDC’s administration’s opinion. The volunteer programs at the facility also lack coordination, a problem the new deputy director will be tasked with solving; there is still a lack of a “continuum of care,” meaning links to the community for youth when released; finally, some staff remain untrained and under-qualified for the positions they hold.

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