Full Text of HR0693 101st General Assembly
HR0693 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The current youth justice system is not applied | 3 | | fairly or equitably and can thus not
provide the best possible | 4 | | outcomes for our nation's children, families, or public safety; | 5 | | and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, 2015 Bureau of Justice statistics show that more | 7 | | than 5,000 youth are
incarcerated in jails and adult prisons on | 8 | | any given day in the U.S.; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, According to the NAACP, 2019 statistics show that | 10 | | African American children represent
52% of children whose cases | 11 | | are judicially waived to the criminal court, though they | 12 | | comprise
only 16% of youth in the U.S.; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, The justice system as currently designed does not | 14 | | adequately recognize the
different developmental stages of | 15 | | young people and the opportunities that these stages offer for
| 16 | | their life trajectories; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, There is considerable ambiguity around the | 18 | | appropriateness and involvement of
younger children as there is | 19 | | no age limit for entry into our delinquency system; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, There is a growing understanding of how trauma can |
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| 1 | | materially impact brain
growth and behavior and how punitive | 2 | | responses to behavior often do not result in desired
behavior | 3 | | or the well-being of children and families; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Youth are more likely than adults to be | 5 | | permanently traumatized by the harsh
realities of the adult | 6 | | prison system; according to the National Prison Rape | 7 | | Elimination, "more
than any other group of incarcerated | 8 | | persons, youth incarcerated with adults are probably at the
| 9 | | highest risk of sexual abuse"; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, As of 2016, there are more than 3,700 youth still | 11 | | in adult prisons; youth convicted
in the adult system receive | 12 | | little or no rehabilitative programming, which is mandated in | 13 | | the
juvenile system; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, A study by the Department of Justice found that 76 | 15 | | percent of prisoners under the
age of 25 when released were | 16 | | rearrested within three years, and 84 percent were rearrested
| 17 | | within five years; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, A 2015 study by the Campaign for Youth Justice | 19 | | found that incarcerated youth are at
the highest risk for | 20 | | sexual abuse, and to protect them in adult facilities, children | 21 | | are often
placed in solitary confinement, where they are kept | 22 | | in their cells for 22-23 hours a day; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The current system arranges individuals into two | 2 | | categories, juveniles and adults,
and it does not recognize the | 3 | | "emerging adults", individuals 18-25 years old who have | 4 | | distinct
needs; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, According to a study by the U.S. Department of | 6 | | Justice, black male emerging
adults comprised nearly 40% of all | 7 | | emerging adults admitted to state and federal prisons in the
| 8 | | U.S. in 2012, and they are 7-9 times more likely to end up in | 9 | | prison compared to their white
peers; therefore, be it
| 10 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 11 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 12 | | we urge legislators, municipalities, law enforcement | 13 | | officials, judicial system decision
makers, legal | 14 | | professionals, school systems, and key stakeholders to achieve | 15 | | more fair, just,
equitable, and effective outcomes by embracing | 16 | | a developmental approach to the treatment of
children and | 17 | | emerging adults in the justice system through: | 18 | | (1) Reducing disproportionality and disparities based | 19 | | on race, ethnicity, gender, ability
status, and sexual | 20 | | orientation or gender identity and expression among | 21 | | children and
emerging adults in the justice system; | 22 | | (2) Ensuring youth and emerging adults in the justice | 23 | | system maintain supportive
relationships and have |
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| 1 | | appropriate guidance and counsel from legal professionals | 2 | | and
caregivers; | 3 | | (3) Implementing policies and practices to reduce harm | 4 | | and improve outcomes for justice-involved
youth in | 5 | | accordance with knowledge from developmental science; | 6 | | (4) Ensuring that for those youth and young adults in | 7 | | the justice system, policies and
practices prioritize the | 8 | | health and educational needs and avoid causing harm; | 9 | | (5) Ensuring that through all developmental stages of | 10 | | young people, including emerging
adult, our justice system | 11 | | provides age and developmentally appropriate services and
| 12 | | supports, life skills development, rigorous education, and | 13 | | fresh starts so young people
have the best opportunity to | 14 | | successfully transition into law abiding and productive
| 15 | | adulthood; and | 16 | | (6) Promoting a strong collaboration among impacted | 17 | | communities, governmental agencies
and the non-profit | 18 | | sector, along with partnerships with diverse community | 19 | | stakeholders
who will provide technical assistance, | 20 | | support, and engagement with decision-making; and be it | 21 | | further | 22 | | RESOLVED, That we urge Congress to enact legislation that | 23 | | supports and ensures the justice system utilizes a culturally | 24 | | responsive and trauma-informed
developmental approach to youth | 25 | | justice; and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 2 | | delivered to the President of
the United States, the Vice | 3 | | President of the United States, members of the United States | 4 | | House
of Representatives and the United States Senate, and | 5 | | other federal and state government
officials as appropriate.
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