Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice
Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice
County juvenile detention centers do NOT fall under the jurisdiction of the State of Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice. LEARN MORE
Statement regarding Director Mueller’s appointment as director of DCFS
Director Mueller’s exceptional leadership of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) spans nearly a decade. Under her guidance, DJJ has become nationally recognized as a leader in juvenile justice reform. She has led DJJ’s response to a federal consent decree from the beginning of her tenure in 2014 to the cusp of successfully exiting it in 2024, and developed DJJ from a young department dependent on other agencies to having a robust infrastructure and exceptionally strong leadership team.
Robert Vickery, Deputy Director of Programs at DJJ, transitioned into the role of Interim Director on February 1. Vickery stated, "I'm truly and deeply confident about DJJ's path forward, and I am also excited for children and families across the state of Illinois touched by the child welfare system who will now benefit from Director Mueller's leadership.” Interim Director Vickery has been a leader in Illinois’ juvenile justice reform efforts throughout his 20 year career. Read full statement
Mission
The mission of the Illinois Dept. of Juvenile Justice is to build youth skills and strengthen families to promote community safety and positive youth outcomes.
Transformation
The Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice is transitioning to a new, evidence-based model designed to reduce the harm of incarceration. To learn more about the changes coming to IDJJ, visit our Transformation page.
IDJJ Director Mueller and her team presented an update on the Transformation on Nov. 1, 2023.
Barbara Allen-Hagen 2023 Award Recipient
The Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) announced August 21st that the Illinois Youth Center (IYC) Pere Marquette in Grafton was awarded the 2023 PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen (BAH) Award. The BAH award is a national award presented annually to one juvenile corrections facility and one juvenile detention facility. BAH recipients must show exceptional progress in their achievement of a self-identified area of growth.
This year’s BAH Award for a corrections facility was presented to IYC Pere Marquette for their exemplary work in connecting families with their youth who are currently under the care of IDJJ. Officials from IDJJ accepted the award at the Performance based Standards (PbS) awards gala held in Philadelphia on August 11, 2023. READ MORE
The PbS Barbara Allen-Hagen Award was established in 2007 to honor Barbara Allen-Hagen and her retirement from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The award is given annually to one correction, detention/assessment and community residential program that "best exemplifies PbS’ commitment to treating all youths as one of our own and used the PbS improvement model to achieve positive outcomes for youths, staff and families."
IDJJ's Pere Marquette facility was selected as the 2023 winner of the award for work in family engagement. (see above)
IDJJ's Warrenville facility was selected as the 2021 winner of the award for comprehensive work to implement best practices to ensure the facility is a safe and healthy environment for youths and staff.
DJJ Chief Legal Counsel Jullian Brevard Receives Distinguished Public Service Award from Catholic University Columbus School of Law
IDJJ's Chief Legal Counsel Jullian Brevard recently received Catholic University Law School's Distinguished Public Service Award. Read more.
Community Partners
The Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice is grateful to the many wonderful community partner organizations and individuals that provide educational, recreational and therapeutic services and opportunities to our youth. The below organizations provide services such as art therapy, restorative justice programs, literacy training, mentoring, tutoring, animal therapy, violence prevention, vocational training, musical theater, peer mentoring, substance abuse prevention, oral communication skills, recreational and athletic activities, higher education opportunities, and more. Click on the logos to learn more about our community partners.
*Partner organizations are still being updated. Email dominique.newman@illinois.gov if your organization is missing from this list.