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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Research has found that non-violent youth are less
3likely to become further involved in criminal behavior if they
4remain in their home communities and if appropriate services
5are available that address underlying needs such as mental
6illness, substance abuse, learning disabilities, unstable
7living arrangements, and dysfunctional parenting; it has also
8been demonstrated that it is less expensive than a sentence to
9the Department of Juvenile Justice; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Redeploy Illinois is designed to provide services
11to youth between the ages of 13 and 18 who are at high risk of
12being committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice; a fiscal
13incentive is provided to counties to provide services to youth
14within their home communities by building a continuum of care
15for youth who are in the juvenile justice system; counties link
16youth to a wide array of needed services and supports within
17the home community, as indicated through an individualized
18needs assessment; services are provided in the least
19restrictive manner possible, and can include case management,
20court advocacy, education assistance, individual/family/group
21counseling, and crisis intervention; and
 
22    WHEREAS, The average annual cost to serve a youth in the
23Redeploy program in 2013 was approximately 6% of the annual

 

 

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1cost to house a youth in the Department of Juvenile Justice; in
22013, the average per capita cost to house a youth at the
3Department of Juvenile Justice was a reported $111,000; in
42013, 352 youth received full Redeploy Illinois program
5services with an appropriation of $2,385,100; this equates to
6an annual Redeploy program cost per youth of $6,776; in 2012,
7238 fewer youth were committed to the Department of Juvenile
8Justice because of the Redeploy Illinois program, saving
9Illinois taxpayers nearly $11.7 million in unnecessary
10incarceration costs for 2012; the Redeploy Illinois program
11reduced overall Department of Juvenile Justice commitments in
12the 4 pilot sites by nearly 50% (599 fewer youth) over the 5
13years relative to the 3-year baseline average; research found
14that court evaluation commitments to the Department of Juvenile
15Justice in these sites were reduced by 87% over the 5 years
16relative to the 3-year baseline average; in the first 8 years
17of the program, participating counties sent 1,036 juveniles to
18the Department of Juvenile Justice; this was a steep decline
19from the projected 2,268 youth that were likely to have been
20sent based on the previous 3-year commitment trend; it
21represents a 54% reduction in Department of Juvenile Justice
22commitments over the life of the program; through 2012, the
23Redeploy program diverted 1,232 youth saving the State a
24conservative $60,000,000 in unnecessary incarceration costs;
25each funded Redeploy Illinois program site is required by
26statute and contract to reduce its commitments to the

 

 

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1Department of Juvenile Justice by a minimum of 25% compared to
2their baseline; in 2012, compared to the 3-year baseline, the 8
3Redeploy Illinois program sites in operation combined to reduce
4eligible Department of Juvenile Justice commitments in their
5counties by 64%; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Based on its success, the Redeploy Illinois
7program was expanded from 4 sites to 8 in January 2009; serving
8nearly 25% of all Illinois counties, the Redeploy sites
9continued to effectively reduce the incarceration of hundreds
10of youth while also holding the line on the use of local
11detention; many counties in Illinois lack the resources to
12effectively serve delinquent youth locally; a lack of local
13programs and services plays a significant role in the court's
14decision to commit a youth to a correctional facility; and
 
15    WHEREAS, The funds provided to the Redeploy sites fills the
16gaps in their continuum of services, allowing them to
17cost-effectively serve youth in their home communities and
18reduce the system's reliance on corrections; this progressive
19effort to build on the work done in other states such as Ohio
20and Pennsylvania, which successfully reduced juvenile
21incarceration rates through similarly structured programs, is
22paying off; 2010 cost benefit analysis indicated that on
23average, the 8 Redeploy sites reduced their commitments in 2010
24by 53% from their baselines; according to the per capita cost

 

 

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1of incarcerating one juvenile in Department of Juvenile
2Justice, this decrease in commitments translates to a
3$9,038,927 cost avoidance for the State; youth are being
4successfully treated in their own communities and kept from the
5devastation of incarceration, saving the State money, reducing
6the number of crime victims, and creating safer communities
7across Illinois; and
 
8    WHEREAS, P.A. 98-0060 provides that in a county with a
9population exceeding 2,000,000, the Redeploy Illinois
10Oversight Board may authorize the Department of Human Services
11to enter into an agreement with that county to reduce the
12number of commitments of juvenile offenders, except that the
13agreement may encompass a clearly identifiable geographical
14subdivision of that county; the geographical subdivision may
15include, but is not limited to, a police district or group of
16police districts, a geographical area making up a court
17calendar or group of court calendars, a municipal district or
18group of municipal districts, or a municipality or group of
19municipalities; therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
22we urge the Department of Human Services and Cook County to
23enter into all Redeploy Illinois agreements allowable pursuant
24to P.A. 98-0060; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
2presented to the Redeploy Illinois Oversight Board, the Cook
3County Board President, the Director of the Illinois Department
4of Human Services, and the General Assembly.