Illinois Juvenile Prosecutors Institute

The FY 2019 Addressing the Training Needs of Juvenile Prosecutors program will fund state agencies responsible for administering, managing, or overseeing the training, education, and professional development needs of juvenile prosecutors and their support staff. This funding will allow states to develop or expand training and/or professional development tailored to the unique needs and challenges related to the highly specialized practice of juvenile prosecution. This program is authorized pursuant to Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2019, Pub. L. No. 116–6, 133 Stat. 13, 114-116, 119.

The Office of the Illinois Attorney General (IL-OAG) plans to increase Illinois juvenile prosecutors' access to quality training that will allow them to have a thorough understanding of the most current information to be ethical and effective juvenile prosecutors. This will be accomplished by: (1) establishing the Illinois Juvenile Prosecutors Institute (IJPI), an Illinois statewide training academy for juvenile prosecutors and (2) increasing senior juvenile prosecutors' or supervisors' knowledge of the unique needs and challenges related to juvenile prosecution. The IJPI will provide free training to all prosecutors in Illinois who work in the juvenile justice system. The IJPI will offer training twice a year and feature a two-tier curriculum focusing on issues involving juvenile justice and child protection. They will measure their performance through (1) training materials developed, (2) planning meetings, (3) training events held, (4) people trained, (5) out-of-state conference training attended, (6) personnel trained at out-of-state conference training, (7) the percentage of people exhibiting increased knowledge of the program area after a training, and (8) the number of trainers within Illinois available to provide training to Illinois juvenile prosecutors. IL-OAG and the Cook County State Attorney's Office will be jointly responsible for the development and implementation of the grant program. Grant funds will support senior juvenile prosecutors' and supervisors' attendance at national juvenile justice conferences and the development and maintenance of a training website for the IJPI, which will be used to register attendees for training, distribute e-materials, and conduct pre/post-training surveying of the attendees.

CA/NCF