Research suggests that non-violent youth offenders are less likely to be involved in subsequent delinquent behavior if they remain in their home communities and receive appropriate services that address their underlying needs. Community-based services for juvenile offenders are generally less costly and more effective in returning youth to productive citizenship than institutional care in correctional facilities.
In 2005, Redeploy Illinois began four pilot programs with a goal of reducing juvenile commitments by 25 percent. These sites were provided with financial support to deliver community-based services to youth in their home communities who might otherwise have been sent to the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ).
In its first three years of providing services, Redeploy Illinois has demonstrated success. Approximately, 400 youth residing in the pilot site communities were diverted from commitment to the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice. Compared to the number of commitments occurring in the pilot sites prior to Redeploy Illinois, the reported diversions represented a 51 percent reduction in commitments. Although cost was examined in this report, the most significant success of Redeploy is the mobilization of communities to provide services to youth offenders so that they may thrive and become productive citizens.