Chapin Hall

Chapin Hall experts are leading a three-year evaluation of a new Cook County Redeploy Illinois pilot program. Redeploy Illinois is a program offered statewide that decreases youth incarceration in the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ). Youth in the program receive tailored community services and supports to strengthen them and their families, aiming to prevent further involvement in the juvenile justice system.

The evaluation will take a developmental approach to inform stakeholders on the program implementation and guide adaptations as needed. The Chapin Hall team will determine if the program faces any barriers, reaches the intended youth, and provides appropriate and effective services.

The outcomes evaluation will assess if the program improves community capacity to serve court-involved youth, connects providers, and improves identified outcomes for participating youth and their families compared to a matched group. The team will monitor outcomes including school enrollment, overall wellbeing, and recidivism rates.

The aim is to carry out an assessment that respects cultural context, steering away from perspectives that emphasize what could be perceived as shortcomings or failures. Instead, the team will incorporate insights from people with lived experience. Engaging these groups can help shape a definition of success grounded in their realities and needs, including identifying how participating youth and their families view health and well-being. Additionally, the evaluation team wants to engage members of the community to find out what program outcomes they would like to see.

Juvenile justice is a strong focus area at Chapin Hall, with researchers examining various intersections of the system. This includes studying the links between foster care, youth homelessness, and juvenile detention, as well as evaluating youth deferred prosecution programs.

For more information on the evaluation of the Redeploy Illinois pilot program, contact Olivia Wilks.