Attend a rally to support the DuPage Youth Home sponsored by labor and community groups on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 9 am at 421 N County Farm Road, Wheaton, IL 60187, and attend to make public comment (3 min) at County Board meeting, 10 am, Administration Bldg., same address as rally.
(message forwarded from Siobhan Kolar...)
If you're in DuPage there is a rally tomorrow Tuesday at 9 am to Save the DuPage Youth Home. Their programs do turn kids around. They are working to get rid of detention (since it doesn't work). In Kane they treat the kids in a very dehumanizing way, with harsh punishments, wearing underwear only, strip searches--it's a jail for 10-17 year olds.
We need to close the facility, but for now we need to stop would be Gov. Dan Cronin from pulling his own mini- Scott Walker act in DuPage.
READ ON for how you can help.
Dear DuPage County Activists,
The DuPage County Board's recent vote to move our county's juvenile offenders to a more punitive setting, away from their families in Kane County.
Aproximately 400 families will be directly impacted when the doors are shut at the DuPage County Youth facility. And the rest of us will lose when they do. Please read and act. Faith leaders speaking out in any capacity will make a difference.
This is time critical. A November 22 vote on the county board budget will seal this issue.
Situation: The County Board voted to close the DuPage County Youth Home, located at the county government complex in Wheaton. The action was intended to share services and save money. The youngsters served at the youth home will be sent to a detention center in Kane County that is very different in terms of those served, and their approach to working with juveniles.
a.. The DuPage County Youth Home is viewed as a model program and "is widely acclaimed for it's programming and its documented success in guiding teens away from the criminal justice system." The Kane County program does not check for recidivism.
b.. A broad base of support for keeping the home open includes judges, prosecutors, and public defenders. Former County State's Attorney, Joe Birkett, "implored the board to keep the center open."
c.. "Also of concern ... varying policies at the two county facilities regarding education, security and discipline. Kane County provides no routine assistance for detainees working toward their GED, and its behavioral philosophy leans more heavily on punishment than does the DuPage center. The Kane center also practices strip searches of detainees on admission and after visits."
d.. The proposed budget for county board is $434.4 million for 2012. That amount does not include the $630 thousand for the youth home. "Opponents note that the county's $49 million cash reserve includes enough to cover the expense" of the youth home.
The issue was received by County Board members late November 4 and the vote was taken November 8.
How to Help:
Pass the word on this situation. Email others, share this as an announcement at meetings, write a letter to the editor, contact your County Board Representative, and/or talk it up.
Attend a rally to support the DuPage Youth Home sponsored by labor and community groups on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 9 am at 421 N County Farm Road, Wheaton, IL 60187, and attend to make public comment (3 min) at County Board meeting, 10 am, Administration Bldg., same address as rally.
The message/goal is;
1. Reverse the action to close the DuPage County Youth Home, and
2. Take no action to close the youth home for one year. One year would allow time for a thorough review of this proposed change.
Links for More Information and Action:
Please follow the link below to the Naperville Sun and read the entire article on the DuPage County Youth Home. http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/<http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/> Articles are also in the Beacon News, Daily Herald and the Batavia Patch.
The link below provided by The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) can connect the user to the correct representative. Enter your zip code and the software guides you from there.
http://action.afscme.org/c/293/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3035<http://action.afscme.org/c/293/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3035>
The next link is a google.com<http://google.com/> document with a brief summary and more, including information on a rally Tuesday, November 22.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10jifeoRpxL3VqEstohJ5BqLWUMjZ8EuXdd3vNVgXW8w/edit<https://docs.google.com/document/d/10jifeoRpxL3VqEstohJ5BqLWUMjZ8EuXdd3vNVgXW8w/edit>
Thanks for your consideration on this matter. Please join me and take up this issue to keep the DuPage County Youth Home open.
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