Who we are
The Illinois Juvenile Defender Resource Institute (hereinafter “Resource Institute”) is a collaboration of the Illinois Office of the State Appellate Defender, the National Juvenile Defender Center, and the Children and Family Justice Center of Northwestern University School of Law. The Resource Institute’s primary goal is to provide litigation support for Illinois juvenile defenders and the youth they represent. To further that objective, the Resource Institute will focus on supporting juvenile court practice, providing training opportunities for defenders, reforming juvenile justice policy, enhancing outcomes for juvenile offenders, challenging the disproportionate involvement of youth of color in the juvenile justice system, reducing the detention and incarceration of youth, promoting post-dispositional advocacy and expanding community justice alternatives.
An Advisory Council comprised of defenders, judges, policy makers, and academics will provide critical support and advice in the establishment and maintenance of the Resource Institute.Grantor
Generous support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Models for Change Systems Reform in Juvenile Justice led to the creation of the Illinois Juvenile Defender Resource Institute and website.
Models for Change is an effort to create successful and replicable models of juvenile justice reform through targeted investments in key states, with core support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Models for Change seeks to accelerate progress toward a more effective, fair, and developmentally sound juvenile justice system that holds young people accountable for their actions, provides for their rehabilitation, protects them from harm, increases their life chances, and manages the risk they pose to themselves and to the public. The initiative is underway in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Washington and, through action networks focusing on key issues, in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin.
