Rising Phoenix Re-Entry Program
(Spring 2014 - Winter 2014)
Alternatives, Inc. and Howard Area Community Center partnered to provide an intensive, coordinated, and trauma informed community approach to working with high-risk youth and young adults (up to age 24) who have been detained at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) and/or have been adjudicated to an Illinois Youth Center/IDOC placement and are now re-entering their communities.
This program is based in Rogers Park and focuses on youth from that community as well as Uptown, but will take in high‑risk youth from communities on the North side of Chicago, from Lake Michigan to the city limits west and from Diversey Road to the city limits north. The goal of the program is to reduce recidivism and maximize positive outcomes for youth and young adults having experienced detainment in the juvenile or adult corrections system. Outcomes will be improved for these high‑risk youth and young adults through the provision of individualized, youth-tailored service planning that has family and community input and service provision by staff trained in trauma-informed care and restorative justice practices.
To better understand and evaluate the impact of our programming and staffing model on our program participants, Alternatives and Howard Area worked collaboratively with The Center for Urban Research and Learning (CURL) at Loyola University Chicago on outcome measures and program impact.
Through both quantitative and qualitative methods, data was collected on the following goals. Every young person in the program received a baseline assessment and then follow-up assessments at three, six, and nine months post-baseline. In addition, focus groups were conducted with the young people to gather more specific and face-to-face feedback on the program’s structure, goals, and impact.
The overarching goals for this program are:
1. Reduce recidivism in previously detained youth and young adults in the communities on the North side of Chicago with a particular emphasis on Rogers Park and Uptown therefore reducing the incidence of violence and crime in these communities.
2. Increase community-based opportunities for previously detained youth to experience a comprehensive and coordinated system of care within their community.
Research Team:
C. George, CURL
D. Van Zytveld, CURL
J. Cossyleon, Graduate Fellow
E. Chong, Undergraduate Fellow
L. Durst-Lee, Undergraduate Fellow
Z. McNealy, Undergraduate Fellow
Community Partners: