NCJ Number
162232
Date Published
1995
Length
76 pages
Annotation
The Juvenile Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, is under siege due to unprecedented caseloads, an escalation in the severity and complexity of cases coming before the court, public focus on a series of tragic cases reflecting the court's limitations, and a deficient and fragmented information management system.
Abstract
Information collection about juvenile court clients is inadequate, and the lack of information impedes the task of strategic judicial planning and the ability of judges to make appropriate juvenile dispositions. Information management in Cook County's juvenile court is plagued by fragmentation, inaccuracy, and unreliability. Currently, computerized information about young people consists of a costly patchwork of discrete and unconnected systems that largely fail to accomplish even limited tasks for which they were designed. Various institutional actors involved with the juvenile court each maintain separate systems, gathering information that is frequently duplicative and unreliable. Both hardware and software have become largely updated, and systems used to track information about juvenile court cases are often inappropriate. The need to implement a fully integrated information management system to meet the unique needs of the juvenile court is emphasized, and a complete overhaul of the juvenile court information system in Cook County is recommended. Appendixes contain a list of persons contacted during the investigation of juvenile court information management and data on juvenile court activity in Cook County.