Chapin Hall

Bryan Samuels Named to Blue Ribbon Committee on Juvenile Justice

Cook County (Illinois) Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans has established a blue ribbon committee of experts to examine current Juvenile Temporary Detention Center procedures and outcomes. Bryan Samuels, M.P.P., the executive director of Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, was named to the committee.

“We want the best possible results for the young people who are detained at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center while awaiting the outcome of their cases. We want juveniles at the facility to have an opportunity to become better educated, better adjusted, and better able to become healthy and productive members of society once they leave the facility,” said Judge Evans. “To this end, we have asked esteemed members of our medical and justice communities to examine procedures at the JTDC and figure out what is being done right and what can be done better.”

Samuels brings national and local experience to this committee. During the Obama Administration, Samuels was the commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Samuels has also served as chief of staff at Chicago Public Schools and as director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, the nation’s third-largest child welfare agency.

Since taking the helm of Chapin Hall, Samuels has focused on matching the organization’s rigorous research with in-house policy and practice expertise to further the organization’s impact. Samuels’ experience as a decision maker himself—and his lifelong work in partnership with policymakers and practitioners—undergirds his successful approach to shaping actionable and sustainable solutions based on evidence.

The committee will be chaired by Dr. Gene Griffin, a clinical psychologist and expert on childhood trauma with extensive experience working with children involved in the criminal justice system. A former Cook County assistant public defender, Dr. Griffin is a retired assistant professor with the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Other committee members include:

James D. Montgomery, Sr., J.D., committee co-chair, Assistant United States Attorney, Northern Dist. of Ill. (ret.), Corporation Counsel, City of Chicago (ret.).

Paula Wolff, M.A., Ph.D., committee co-chair, Policy Advisor, Illinois Justice Project, Former Senior Executive, Chicago Metropolis 2020 and Metropolis Strategies (leader of the Justice and Violence Group), Former President, Governors State University

Honorable Larry Suffredin, J.D., Commissioner, Cook County Board of Commissioners, 13th District, Chair, Legislation and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee and Rules and Administration Committee, Cook Co. Bd. of Commissioners

Honorable Richard R. Boykin, J.D., Former Commissioner, Cook County Board of Commissioners, 1st District, Bridge Builders Consulting & Legal Services, LLC, Former Equity Partner, Barnes & Thornburg, LLP, Former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Danny Davis

Beverly J. Butler, Ed.D., Special Assistant for JTDC Transition, Office of the Chief Judge, Chicago Public Schools, Teacher and Administrator (ret.)

Frances G. Carroll, Ed.D., Chicago Public Schools, Teacher and Administrator (ret.), Member, Board of Trustees at the University of Illinois (ret.)

Marisel A. Hernandez, J.D., Chairwoman, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, Attorney, Jacobs, Burns, Orlove and Hernandez

Samuel V. Jones, J.D., Professor, UIC John Marshall Law School, Police Officer and Judge Advocate, U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps (ret.), U.S. Marines (ret.)

Dr. Barbara Radner, Ph.D., M.S.T., Educational Consultant, Former Executive Director, Polk Bros. Foundation Center for Urban Education, DePaul University Chicago

Michael J. Rohan, M.A., M.S., Director, Juvenile Probation and Court Services Department, Circuit Court of Cook County (ret.), Interim Director, Juvenile Court Clinic for Forensic Clinical Services, Circuit Court of Cook County (ret.), Instructor/lecturer, Loyola University, Chicago Police Academy, University of Illinois at Chicago and the Annie E. Casey Foundation

Dr. Robert T. Starks, Professor Emeritus, Founder, Harold Washington Institute for Research and Policy Studies, Northeastern Illinois University’s Jacob Carruthers Center for, Inner City Studies, Politics and Economic Development, Chairman, Black United Fund of Illinois