The COVID-19 vaccination requirement for visitors to IDJJ facilities has been suspended as of 1/12/23. Visitors may be required to complete a rapid COVID-19 test when they arrive at the facility.

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

Independent Ombudsman

CBS 2 Chicago- IDJJ & Project Flex

Reporter Lauren Victory of CBS 2 Chicago reports on Project FLEX, a program by Northern Illinois University, which brings sports with a purpose to teens at Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice youth centers.

View Annual Report

VISIT OUR TRANSFORMATION PAGE

Mission

En Español

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.

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 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.

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.