An agreement has been reached between the American Civil Liberties Union and the Department of Juvenile Justice over conditions at juvenile detention facilities.
After a lawsuit was filed by the ACLU citing poor conditions and services at Illinois juvenile facilities, an agreement was made with the department and a proposed consent decree filed with the court. ACLU lead counsel Adam Schwartz says the Department of Juvenile Justice agreed to work with the ACLU on identifying areas that need fixing in juvenile facilities. The proposal calls for independent court-appointed experts to review and recommend solutions to improve conditions in five areas at the facilities. Those include Mental health services, Educational services, the use of room confinement, the safety of young people inside the facilities from violence by staff and other youth, and continued commitment of youth beyond their release dates solely for lack of a community placement.
The plan will ultimately be implemented by the department, and monitored by the court-appointed experts and the ACLU. The agreement comes after the ACLU investigated conditions at juvenile detention facilities across the state.
