NCJ Number
209360
Date Published
2004
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This profile of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) explores the role a State agency can play in improving the administration of the justice system and in promoting strategies that will increase the employability of offenders.
Abstract
One of the mandates of the ICJIA is to identify critical issues that face the criminal justice system and propose and evaluate policies, programs, and legislation that address those issues. The four mechanisms used to achieve its goals are information systems and technology, research and analysis, policy and planning, and grants administration. With the ICJIA's access to data, research, and decades of combined experience as line staff and leaders, its members can discuss and develop strategies for employing offenders that can impact the criminal justice system as a whole as well as individual offenders and the community. The ICJIA is in a position to urge prison officials to give priority to training inmates for jobs that will pay a living wage when they return to their communities. It can also provide the climate and mechanisms for service providers to work in cooperation with criminal justice professionals in both holding offenders accountable for their criminal behavior while offering them opportunities for job training, education, and other knowledge and skills critical for pursuing a legitimate and satisfying life in their communities.