Illinois juvenile defenders lack the time, support, and resources to represent effectively indigent children in court, according to a new report by MacArthur grantees the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University School of Law and the National Juvenile Defender Center. The report, a comprehensive examination of 16 representative counties in Illinois, is based on interviews with defense attorneys, prosecutors, probation officers, judges, law school professors, and researchers. The report was widely covered, including stories by the Reuters and The Chicago Tribune. An advance look at the findings led Illinois legislators to create a juvenile defender resource center, which will begin to set standards and provide training that the report indicates is so lacking.
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