Bill Text: IL HR0693 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urges legislators, municipalities, law enforcement officials, judicial system decision makers, legal professionals, school systems, and key stakeholders to achieve more fair, just, equitable, and effective outcomes by embracing a developmental approach to the treatment of children and emerging adults in the justice system.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-06-23 - Rule 19(b) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HR0693 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-HR0693-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The current youth justice system is not applied
fairly or equitably and can thus not provide the best possible
outcomes for our nation's children, families, or public safety;
and
WHEREAS, 2015 Bureau of Justice statistics show that more
than 5,000 youth are incarcerated in jails and adult prisons on
any given day in the U.S.; and
WHEREAS, According to the NAACP, 2019 statistics show that
African American children represent 52% of children whose cases
are judicially waived to the criminal court, though they
comprise only 16% of youth in the U.S.; and
WHEREAS, The justice system as currently designed does not
adequately recognize the different developmental stages of
young people and the opportunities that these stages offer for
their life trajectories; and
WHEREAS, There is considerable ambiguity around the
appropriateness and involvement of younger children as there is
no age limit for entry into our delinquency system; and
WHEREAS, There is a growing understanding of how trauma can

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materially impact brain growth and behavior and how punitive
responses to behavior often do not result in desired behavior
or the well-being of children and families; and
WHEREAS, Youth are more likely than adults to be
permanently traumatized by the harsh realities of the adult
prison system; according to the National Prison Rape
Elimination, "more than any other group of incarcerated
persons, youth incarcerated with adults are probably at the
highest risk of sexual abuse"; and
WHEREAS, As of 2016, there are more than 3,700 youth still
in adult prisons; youth convicted in the adult system receive
little or no rehabilitative programming, which is mandated in
the juvenile system; and
WHEREAS, A study by the Department of Justice found that 76
percent of prisoners under the age of 25 when released were
rearrested within three years, and 84 percent were rearrested
within five years; and
WHEREAS, A 2015 study by the Campaign for Youth Justice
found that incarcerated youth are at the highest risk for
sexual abuse, and to protect them in adult facilities, children
are often placed in solitary confinement, where they are kept
in their cells for 22-23 hours a day; and

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WHEREAS, The current system arranges individuals into two
categories, juveniles and adults, and it does not recognize the
"emerging adults", individuals 18-25 years old who have
distinct needs; and
WHEREAS, According to a study by the U.S. Department of
Justice, black male emerging adults comprised nearly 40% of all
emerging adults admitted to state and federal prisons in the
U.S. in 2012, and they are 7-9 times more likely to end up in
prison compared to their white peers; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we urge legislators, municipalities, law enforcement
officials, judicial system decision makers, legal
professionals, school systems, and key stakeholders to achieve
more fair, just, equitable, and effective outcomes by embracing
a developmental approach to the treatment of children and
emerging adults in the justice system through:
(1) Reducing disproportionality and disparities based
on race, ethnicity, gender, ability status, and sexual
orientation or gender identity and expression among
children and emerging adults in the justice system;
(2) Ensuring youth and emerging adults in the justice
system maintain supportive relationships and have

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appropriate guidance and counsel from legal professionals
and caregivers;
(3) Implementing policies and practices to reduce harm
and improve outcomes for justice-involved youth in
accordance with knowledge from developmental science;
(4) Ensuring that for those youth and young adults in
the justice system, policies and practices prioritize the
health and educational needs and avoid causing harm;
(5) Ensuring that through all developmental stages of
young people, including emerging adult, our justice system
provides age and developmentally appropriate services and
supports, life skills development, rigorous education, and
fresh starts so young people have the best opportunity to
successfully transition into law abiding and productive
adulthood; and
(6) Promoting a strong collaboration among impacted
communities, governmental agencies and the non-profit
sector, along with partnerships with diverse community
stakeholders who will provide technical assistance,
support, and engagement with decision-making; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That we urge Congress to enact legislation that
supports and ensures the justice system utilizes a culturally
responsive and trauma-informed developmental approach to youth
justice; and be it further

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RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
delivered to the President of the United States, the Vice
President of the United States, members of the United States
House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and
other federal and state government officials as appropriate.