Illinois Wraparound Services for Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth
In Illinois, approximately 700 youth per year become simultaneously involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. These dually-involved youth experience very poor outcomes; on average 1,300 arrests per year and 230,000 days spent in congregate care. With pro-bono technical assistance from the GPL, the state tested a new model for supporting families involved with multiple agencies and has re-engineered data systems to improve performance management and referral processes. It now takes the state child welfare agency less than three days to identify a dually-involved youth, down from over 90 days on average. Once flagged as dually-involved, youth are matched to a wraparound facilitator who serves as their primary contact for support and refers them to appropriate services in a coordinated manner. As part of the project, Illinois is also expanding the clinical and social services available to dually-involved youth (including family therapy and community-based placement), with the goals of reducing days spent incarcerated and in congregate care and improving child well-being.