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Board Membership and Committees Programs Offered
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Judge Kathleen Kauffmann
In subsequent messages, I plan to touch on other aspects of the juvenile justice system. The workings of the juvenile court are governed by the Juvenile Court Act. 705 ILCS 405/5-101 states that "It is the intent of the General Assembly to promote a juvenile justice system capable of dealing with the problem of juvenile delinquency, a system that will protect the community, impose accountability for violations of the law and equip juvenile offenders with competencies to live reasonable and productively". The goals as outlined in the statute, therefore, are as follows: 1) to protect the community from the harmful effects of juvenile crime; 2) to hold the juvenile offender responsible for his or her actions; and 3) to provide individualized assessments of each juvenile offender for the purposes of both rehabilitation and prevention of further delinquent behavior; and 4) to ensure and provide due process so that accused juvenile offenders have a fair hearing at which their individual rights are recognized and protected. Critical to the achievement of these purposes is the existence and implementation of community-based programming. Close proximity to the minor's home allows the minor to remain with his or her own family and to attend his or her community school, while cooperating in court-ordered services, performing public service work, or perhaps serving an alternative to secure detention. It is critical from both a rehabilitative and accountability perspective for the minor's family to be able to participate in the areas of assessment, therapy and service coordination. The minor's family can also often provide the required court-ordered supervision of the minor. Community-based programs, such as victim-offender conferencing, can also assist the juvenile offender in understanding his or her responsibility for the consequences of delinquent behavior. Collaboration is critical to the ongoing success of community-based programming. It's important that all the participants in the juvenile justice system, including the prosecution, defense attorney, probation, police, social service agency or therapist, and school, with the guidance of the juvenile court judge, work together to achieve all of the goals set forth in the Juvenile Court Act. For it is the community which benefits when a juvenile offender has been held accountable and received assistance and treatment, just as it is the community that suffers if this does not occur. Thank you for your interest and attention. Judge Kathleen Kauffmann March 2007 |
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With this introductory message, I will briefly touch on the policy and purpose
of the Juvenile Court as it has developed in Illinois.
