​County of Iroquois/Iroquois County State's Attorney Office

​Juvenile Justice Council of Iroquois County

The County of Iroquois, through the Iroquois County State’s Attorney Office, has been awarded fiscal agent status of a Drug Free Communities grant from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) DFC Support Program, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce underage drug and alcohol use in Iroquois County.  The Juvenile Justice Council of Iroquois County (JJC), under the direction of the State’s Attorney, Michael Quinlan, is the driving force behind this initiative focusing their efforts on underage alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco use (including vaping).
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Through numerous county-wide community partnerships and collaborations with schools, civic organizations, government entities, the military, law enforcement, media outlets, healthcare facilities, businesses, religious entities, parents and teens, the JJC has made great strides in their efforts to thwart this epidemic through the TIP the Scale parent communication campaign and youth prevention education for kindergarten through 12th grade students in all Iroquois County schools.  (The JJC had previously received the Strategic Prevention Framework-Partnership for Success grant in 2014 when they began their quest.)  The County of Iroquois is excited to grow prevention in Iroquois County.

Grant Information:

This campaign was developed under a grant from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) DFC Support Program, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The views, policies, and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the ONDCP, HHS, or CDC.

Juvenile Justice Councils were created in Illinois to bring stakeholders together promoting interagency communication and cooperation. These Councils are also tasked with assessing county juvenile delinquency issues and providing direction, guidance, and programming to fill service gaps whenever necessary.

Under the direction of former State's Attorney Jim Devine, the Juvenile Justice Council (JJC) of Iroquois County began in 2004 with a mission to work collaboratively to solve problems related to Iroquois County youth and their families with an emphasis on prevention, community involvement and improvement of the quality of life for all Iroquois County families. The first of many successful endeavors for this council was the creation of a local Teen Court program. Over the years the JJC has also co-sponsored several teen/parent training and helped fund delinquency prevention programs in all areas of Iroquois County. The JJC meets quarterly to conduct stakeholder assessments of issues youth are experiencing on an everyday basis.
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The Juvenile Justice Council is committed to keeping Iroquois County a safe place for parents to raise their children. We will continue to work as a team to deter/prevent juvenile delinquency. If you would like more information or are interested in joining the Juvenile Justice Council, please call (815) 515-8970.

BARB KING
​Iroquois County Probation Department, JJC Chairperson

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​Parent Communication Campaign and Youth Prevention Education

Through survey, focus group, and interview research, the JJC found that communication between parents and their teens was lacking in Iroquois County.  Therefore, the JJC created the TIP the Scale parent communication campaign to reduce underage drug and alcohol use in Iroquois County.  This movement is based on the belief that Talking Improves Parenting.  Thus, parents are encouraged to communicate with their teens about the risks of underage alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco use and also reminded to never provide such substances for their teens.  Various outlets, including posters, postcards, radio PSA's, newspaper ads, social media posts, informational booths, etc. are used to reach parents of 8th-12th grade students in order to achieve this goal.  The TIP campaign motivates community members across the county to work together to improve the lives of youth and TIP the Scale to reduce underage drug and alcohol use.

The JJC found through the same research mentioned above that teens did not believe the harm that could result from underage drug and alcohol use.  Therefore, the JJC, with the help of school administrators and teachers, researched different evidence-based school-based programming to include youth prevention education.  They initially decided to purchase the Too Good for Drugs programming through Mendez Foundation for the 7th and 8th grade students throughout the county and the Project Towards No Drug Abuse programming for high school students.  The JJC has now evolved to 7th – 12th grades utilizing the Too Good for Drugs programming for continuity purposes.  These evidence-based programs are taught by trained teachers at junior/senior high schools throughout the county with the goal to educate students on the risks of drug use and abuse, how to set and achieve healthy goals, and how to deal with peer pressure situations.  Through interactive games and activities, students increase their knowledge about the harmful effects of underage drug and alcohol use and develop their communication and interpersonal skills.  This holistic approach to prevention empowers students to make healthy decisions that can lead to positive outcomes.

Prevention begins well before the teen years in Iroquois County.  The Life Education Center has been working with Iroquois County schools, families and community members for over 30 years to bring Kindergarten – 6th grade students educational programs encouraging students to choose “Wise Highs…Choices You Can Live With”.  These efforts include teaching kindergarten through sixth grade students in the mobile Life Education Center unit both how and why to choose healthy lifestyle choices, as well as medication safety practices with the help of mascot Harold the Giraffe.  This initiative began with the Pledge for Life Partnership through the Iroquois-Kankakee Regional Office of Education.  The JJC has partnered with them both to continue this programming in Iroquois County.

Jenni McTaggart
DFC Project Coordinator and Life Education Center Educator

​Sarah Pree
Youth Prevention Education/Communication Campaign Coordinator

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OUR VISION STATEMENT

To create a community where youth are drug and alcohol free.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

To reduce underage drug and alcohol use rates and negative consequences associated among 8th through 12th graders in Iroquois County

OUR GOAL

​To increase community collaboration by 36% and reduce youth substance abuse by 4% by September 29, 2025.

​OUR OBJECTIVES

• Increase the number of network agreements by 36%, from 16 to at least 25, in order to proliferate partnership activities by enhancing the operational processes of the JJC, increasing awareness of the vital role the JJC plays in the community’s prevention crusade, and creating symbiotic partnerships with local agencies and youth by September 29, 2025 as measured by signed networking agreements.
• Decrease the percentage of 8th – 12th graders in Iroquois County who report drinking alcohol in the past year on the Illinois Youth Survey (IYS) by 4%, from 40.3% in 2018 to 36.3% by September 29, 2025, by providing information about risks associated with underage drug use, presenting opportunities for parents and other adults to enhance their skills for talking with youth about these risks, providing alternative activities in Iroquois County to encourage positive behavior, and adopting/modifying school policies to increase parental responsibility for underage incidents to be measured by the IYS.
• Decrease the percentage of 8th – 12th graders in Iroquois County who report using marijuana in the past year on the Illinois Youth Survey by 4%, from 16% in 2018 to 12% by September 29, 2025, by providing information about risks associated with underage marijuana use, presenting opportunities for parents and other adults to enhance their skills for talking with youth about these risks, providing alternative activities in Iroquois County to encourage positive behavior, and adopting/modifying both school policies to increase parental responsibility for underage marijuana use at school and municipality policies to prevent smoking at parks to be measured by the IYS.
• Decrease the percentage of 8th – 12th graders in Iroquois County who report using tobacco/vaping products in the past year on the Illinois Youth Survey by 4%, from 17.7% in 2018 to 13.7% by September 29, 2025, by providing information about risks associated with underage tobacco and vaping use, presenting opportunities for parents and other adults to enhance their skills for talking with youth about these risks, providing alternative activities in Iroquois County to encourage positive behavior, and adopting/modifying both school policies to increase parental responsibility for underage tobacco and vaping use at school and municipality policies to prevent smoking/vaping at parks to be measured by the IYS.

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​​The Juvenile Justice Council of Iroquois County is comprised of knowledgeable, caring individuals who are dedicated to working together to improve the lives of area youth and their families.  To see some of the faces serving on the coalition and the helpful prevention advice they have shared, be sure to visit our Prevention TIPS for Parents page.

Case Statement

In order to sustain the JJC's youth prevention education programs and TIP the Scale campaign, a case statement was created in 2019.  This document was shared to educate the public about the JJC's efforts and achievements while also encouraging potential supporters to join the coalition, volunteer, or donate funds to continue these worthwhile initiatives.

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Executive Profile

A professional summary was also created in 2019 detailing the JJC's work and accomplishments through the Strategic-Prevention Framework-Partners for Success (SPF-PFS) grant.  This Executive Profile was shared with other professional agencies in order to help sustain the JJC's youth prevention education programming and TIP the Scale campaign.