ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — 17th Judicial Circuit staff presented to Winnebago County board members the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice Report. There was much the detention center was doing well and other aspects they could improve on.
“We take those reports seriously. We look at that, we discuss, okay, this is their feedback. What do we need to be doing differently, if anything? And then we implement those changes,” said Debbie Jarvis the director of court services for the 17th Judicial Circuit.
The detention center was listed as logging more therapeutic hours than any center in the state. The Winnebago County Mental Health Board played a huge part in helping fund staff members for those roles.
“That really has been a game changer for us because what we’re able to do is to not only support those youth when they’re in crisis but also to give them programming, to help them learn how to think differently,” Jarvis said. “It’s called cognitive behavioral therapy, where you work on the thinking skills of those kids so that hopefully they can take those skills that they’ve learned in detention and apply them when they get out.”