SYCAMORE – The DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office has been awarded $40,000 by the State of Illinois to relaunch its Juvenile Justice Council for 2021, according to a news release.
The grant will aid the state’s attorney’s office to proactively assure a better outcome for DeKalb County juveniles and their families, the release states.
“This award is a unique opportunity for me and for this office to have the freedom to make a positive impact on the community,” DeKalb County State’s Attorney Rick Amato said. “I’m grateful to all in DeKalb County who worked to create our proposed plan for FY2021, and to the state commission for awarding us this grant. I’m excited to get the council up and running for the benefit of all DeKalb County youths and their families.”
The grant program will especially benefit young people affected by trauma, because it can be used for programming to reach more kids and remediate certain behavior by connecting them with local service providers before they end up part of the criminal justice system, the release states.
“This is part of the State of Illinois’ goal to end the schools to jails pipeline,” the release states.
The award, which comes from the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission, is to be used in fiscal year 2021 to help the justice council identify priorities for juvenile justice policy and practice change.
DeKalb County’s JJC will work with the state commission in the first quarter to craft a strategy to build on the council’s previous work for future goals, review data to determine how best to use resources and develop programs that manage trauma and assure better outcomes.
In the short term, the council must create and submit its plan for FY2021 by Nov. 1, participate in training and technical assistance and implement its program plan for Jan. 1 to June 30 of 2021.
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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