Are Illinois’ Juvenile Detention Centers Abusing Children?

Disturbing reports are coming out of an audit of the Juvenile Detention Centers in the Land of Lincoln, the reports are shedding light on excessive abuse claims, injuries, and horrible conditions. Here is what we know...

Get our free mobile app

According to an article on propublica.org, a recent state audit was done on the juvenile detention centers in the Land of Lincoln, and they found some disturbing things. Among the discoveries found, there are reports of excessive punishments, neglect of serious injuries, and denial of mental health services. In the article, they go on to say...

"The records show that youth have been Tased, pepper sprayed and roughed up by staff and law enforcement officers; forced into isolation for days at a time; denied access to their psychotropic medications and mental health treatment; and received little or no schooling, despite state and federal laws mandating that the youth receive educational services while incarcerated. Nearly two-thirds of those who are detained are Black teens."

The article also mentions the story of a young teen boy who had suffered a broken arm and was left in his room for over 2 hours to sit with the pain, all while the staff knew of his serious injury, and went about their daily activities. To read more about the discoveries from the audit of the juvenile detention centers in Illinois, click here!

This report is extremely troubling in my opinion, we aren't talking about these kids complaining that the food is bad or they can't be on their iPhones. We are reading about serious injuries, excessive abuse, and more. These are kids, the goal of these facilities should be to aid in reforming them into productive adults and members of society, and I understand that not every kid is going to take to the programs and become a superstar, but not giving them access to mental health tools as a punishment seems like the OPPOSITE of what these facilities should be doing. How do these reports land for you?