Quinn’s Proposal Could Close Juvenile Detention Center in Joliet

Photo courtesy of ChrisEaves.com via Flickr

On Wednesday, April 4 a hearing regarding Governor Pat Quinn’s plan to close the Joliet Illinois Youth Center (IYC) took place at the Renaissance Center in downtown Joliet. The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the closure of the facility.

Last month, Gov. Quinn announced his plans to close the 53-year-old facility as well as other facilities across the state.

“The state can better use our tax dollars on community based alternatives to incarceration rather than detention centers for juveniles,” stated Michael D. Rodríguez, executive director of Enlace Chicago.

The John Howard Association, as Rodriguez explained in a press statement earlier this week, estimates that the Joliet Illinois Youth Center costs taxpayers on average $67,655 per year per youth.

According to state Sen. Pat McGuire (D-Joliet), the Illinois Youth Center is the state’s only maximum corrections facility for young men. However, he argues that before closing the facility, there needs to be a plan to deal with the consequences such as the loss of over 235 jobs and overall community safety.

“The Quinn administration’s reasoning for closing it, is that it is the ‘most like an adult prison.’ But, the young men at IYC are behind bars for a reason,” said McGuire in a statement issued soon after Gov. Quinn announced his plans. “They need to pay their debt to society, be held securely, and receive services to turn them away from a life of crime.”

Other groups disagree with McGuire arguing that youth are being more successful if they seek treatment within their own communities while keeping them from incarceration.

“Community based alternatives can cost a tenth of this amount and are shown to be more effective at reducing recidivism,” said Rodríguez. “The Juvenile Justice Institute states there are 1,754 juvenile detention beds in the state of Illinois for a population of 1,000 detained youth and this number is decreasing.”

According to Elizabeth Clarke, president of the Juvenile Justice Initiative, Quinn’s closure plan is part of a national trend to shift state financial investment from costly and ineffective institutional care to individualized community based care.

“For too long we have invested scarce state resources in institutional confinement, spending over $100 million annually to confine youth, but less than $3 million at the front end to keep youth out through Redeploy Illinois – and providing virtually no state resources to keep youth from returning through juvenile aftercare services,” stated Clarke on a letter to Senator Jeffrey M. Schoenberg and Representative Patricia R. Bellock, Co-Chairs of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. “Despite the miniscule state investment to keep youth out of confinement, we have seen dramatic reductions in the number of youth committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice.”

Propuesta de Quinn Podría Cerrar el Centro de Detención de Jovenes en Joliet 

El miércoles 4 de abril, una audiencia referente al plan del gobernador Pat Quinn de cerrar el Centro Juvenil de Joliet (IYC) se realizó en el Centro Renaisance del centro de Joliet. El propósito de la audiencia fue discutir el cierre de la instalación.

El mes pasado, el gobernador Quinn dio a conocer sus planes de cerrar las instalaciones de 53 años de antigüedad además de otras instalaciones por todo el estado.

“El estado puede usar mejor el dinero de los impuestos en alternativas al encarcelamiento basadas en la comunidad en lugar de centros de detención juvenil”, declaró Michael D. Rodríguez, director ejecutivo de Enlace Chicago.

La Asociación John Howard, como explicó Rodríguez en un comunicado de prensa a principios de esta semana, estima que el Centro Juvenil de Joliet Illinois cuesta a los contribuyentes un promedio de $67,655 al año por cada joven.

Según el senador estatal Pat McGuire (D-Joliet), el Centro Juvenil de Illinois es la única instalación correccional de máxima seguridad para jóvenes. Sin embargo, él argumenta que antes del cierre de las instalaciones, necesita haber un plan para lidiar con las consecuencias tales como la pérdida de más de 235 empleos y la seguridad de la comunidad en general.

“El razonamiento de la administración de Quinn para el cierre, es que es lo” más parecido a una prisión para adultos’. Pero los jóvenes que están en el IYC están tras las rejas por una razón”, dijo McGuire en un comunicado dado a conocer después de que el gobernador Quinn anunciara sus planes. “Necesitan pagar su deuda con la sociedad, ser asegurados, y recibir servicios para alejarlos de una vida de delincuencia”.

Otros grupos no están de acuerdo con McGuire argumentando que los jóvenes están teniendo más éxito si buscan tratamiento dentro de sus propias comunidades mientras evitan ser encarcelados.

“Las alternativas con base en la comunidad pueden costar una décima parte de esta cantidad y se ha comprobado que son más efectivas para reducir el reincidencia”, dijo Rodríguez. “El Instituto de Justicia Juvenil declara que hay 1,754 camas de detención en el estado de Illinois para una población de 1,000 jóvenes detenidos y esta cifra se está reduciendo.

Según Elizabeth Clarke, presidenta de la Iniciativa de Justicia Juvenil, el plan de cierre de Quinn es parte de una tendencia nacional de cambiar la inversión financiera estatal de los costosos e ineficaces cuidados institucionales a los cuidados individualizados basados en la comunidad.

“Por mucho tiempo hemos invertido escasos recursos estales en el confinamiento institucional, gastando más de $100 millones anualmente para confinar a los jóvenes, pero menos de $3 millones al frente para mantener a los jóvenes fuera a través del programa Redeploy Illinois—y proporcionando virtualmente nada de recursos estatales para evitar que los jóvenes regresen por medio de los servicios de atención juvenil”, declaró Clarke en una carta al senador Jeffrey M. Schoenberg y la representante Patricia R. Bellock, los copresidentes de la Comisión de Previsión Gubernamental y Responsabilidad. “A pesar de la minúscula inversión estatal para mantener a los jóvenes fuera del confinamiento, hemos visto dramáticas reducciones en el número de jóvenes comprometidos con el Departamento de Justicia Juvenil”.

On Wednesday, April 4 a hearing regarding Governor Pat Quinn’s plan to close the Joliet Illinois Youth Center (IYC) took place at the Renaissance Center in downtown Joliet. The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the closure of the facility.

Last month, Gov. Quinn announced his plans to close the 53-year-old facility as well as other facilities across the state.

“The state can better use our tax dollars on community based alternatives to incarceration rather than detention centers for juveniles,” stated Michael D. Rodríguez, executive director of Enlace Chicago.

The John Howard Association, as Rodriguez explained in a press statement earlier this week, estimates that the Joliet Illinois Youth Center costs taxpayers on average $67,655 per year per youth.

According to state Sen. Pat McGuire (D-Joliet), the Illinois Youth Center is the state’s only maximum corrections facility for young men. However, he argues that before closing the facility, there needs to be a plan to deal with the consequences such as the loss of over 235 jobs and overall community safety.

“The Quinn administration’s reasoning for closing it, is that it is the ‘most like an adult prison.’ But, the young men at IYC are behind bars for a reason,” said McGuire in a statement issued soon after Gov. Quinn announced his plans. “They need to pay their debt to society, be held securely, and receive services to turn them away from a life of crime.”

Other groups disagree with McGuire arguing that youth are being more successful if they seek treatment within their own communities while keeping them from incarceration.

“Community based alternatives can cost a tenth of this amount and are shown to be more effective at reducing recidivism,” said Rodríguez. “The Juvenile Justice Institute states there are 1,754 juvenile detention beds in the state of Illinois for a population of 1,000 detained youth and this number is decreasing.”

According to Elizabeth Clarke, president of the Juvenile Justice Initiative, Quinn’s closure plan is part of a national trend to shift state financial investment from costly and ineffective institutional care to individualized community based care.

“For too long we have invested scarce state resources in institutional confinement, spending over $100 million annually to confine youth, but less than $3 million at the front end to keep youth out through Redeploy Illinois – and providing virtually no state resources to keep youth from returning through juvenile aftercare services,” stated Clarke on a letter to Senator Jeffrey M. Schoenberg and Representative Patricia R. Bellock, Co-Chairs of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. “Despite the miniscule state investment to keep youth out of confinement, we have seen dramatic reductions in the number of youth committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice.”