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PAGE 14 - PLAINDEALER - WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 18,1981 Report On Court Watching part of As part of the statewide Illinois Juvenile Court Wat­ ching project of the League of Women Voters of Illinois, 12 McHenry county citizens monitored the juvenile court in Woodstock for six months during 1980. Coordinator of the project locally was Julie Covert, and monitors were members of the LWV of Crystal Lake- Cary and Woodstock- Subscribe mm • • Plaindealer Th# McHenry Plaindealer 3812 W. Elm Street McHenry, II. 60050 • 3 Years-$40.00 • 2 Years-$28.50 • 1 Yeor-$ 15.50 • 6 Months-$8.50 • Payment Enclosed Name Address City Prices good in McHenry County. McHenry. They covered 00 days of court time, virtually every day juvenile court was in session during the six months, and filled out forms on 751 juvenile proceedings. Findings and recom­ mendations of the statewide project were released Nov. 1 in a report entitled "Out of the Shadows...A Citizens' View of the Juvenile Court in Illinois." The report on McHenry county entitled, "The Juvenile Court in McHenry County - An Inside Look by Outsiders", was released at the same time. Cooperation in planning the monitoring locally came from Judge Robert K. McQueen, chief judge of the circuit, and Associate Judges Haskell M. Pitluck, Michael J. Sullivan and Terrence J. Brady, the judges who heard juvenile cases. Cooperation also came from personnel from court services, the state's attorney's office and the public defender's office. "The League hopes to be able to continue citizen in­ volvement in the juvenile court," said Ms. Covert, local coordinator. "Now, for the first time, citizens have a statewide picture of how the court operates to serve juveniles and their families. With current funding cut­ backs for services to troubled youths, we feel it is more vital than ever to provide informed citizen assistance and advocacy for needed court services and facilities." Statewide, the project trained 364 citixens in 33 Illinois counties, who volunteered their time to monitor more than 24,000 juvenile court J proceedings held before 102 judges. Monitoring periods in .32 counties were of staggered six-month durations, and in Cook county monitoring continued for one year, from spring of 1980 to spring of 1981. The juvenile court, unlike adult courts, is closed to the general public to protect the confidentiality of juveniles and their families. Each monitor signed a statement assuring that confidentiality would be protected. Some of the McHenry county statistics for the monitored proceedings show the following: • Males outnumbered females 4-1. Almost all of the juveniles were white. Four-fifths were in their teen years; one-fifth below the age of 12. Sixty percent had delinquent petitions (charged with breaking a law); 18 percent had petitions as minors in need of supervision (such as being truant from school, running away); 20 percent came in on petitions for neglect (including physical and sexual abuse); and 3 percent were dependent. HAIR DIMENSIONS UNISEX SALON WHISPERING POINT CENTER1 431 <B CRYSTAL LAKE RD., SUITE C STYLING FOR Q MEN & WOMEN H WHEN YOUR HAIR LOOKS GOOD, YOU FEEL GOOD. MAKING YOUR HAIR LOOK ITS DEST IS OUR DUSINESS. TUES. THRU SAT.1 & EVENINGS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY 344-5510 The McHenry Plaindealer Newspaper Available At The Following Locations: •WHITE HEN PANTRY •LAKEVIEW •McHENRY DRUG •SUNNYSIDE FOOD •BELL LIQUORS •ADAMS GROCERY •BOLGERS DRUG STORE •BOLGERS DRUG STORE •LITTLE STORE •BEN FRANKLIN •FRED ft IRENE'S TAP •OSCO DRUGS •SUNRISE GROCERY •JEWEL •HORNSBY'S •STEINY TAP •HERMES & CO. •McCULLOM LAKE GROC. •LIQUOR MART " •NORTHWEST TRAIN •VILLAGE MART •BITS ft PIECES • J A R S T O R E •REVCO DRUG •McHENRY HOSPITAL •ISLAND FOODS •FOOD MART •CONVENIENT FOOD •J ft L GAS •COUNTRY CUPBOARD THE GREAT KIDS CLOTHES CAPER Starring the Muppets Directed by Billy the Kid iimM® wm Billy the Kid has befriended the Muppets and put them on a collection of knock-around, wrestle-proof kidswear. And the colors? Green, burgundy, tan or navy All in sizes 2-4. Muppet All-Star T-shirt. 9.00 Solid T-shirt with "Muppets" embroidered on the sleeve. 11.00 Twill pants with a Muppet on the pocket 16.00 Children's Department, Elgin on 2, Crystal Lake & St. Charles. % -- -- CHARGE If Your own Spiess Charge. Visa and MasterCard. We welcome them all! 6 had been held in jail before coming to the court hearing, and 37 had ben held in secure detention. Almost one third of the hearings were continued, primarily because someone vital to the case was absent, a report or other information was needed, a lawyer needed to be appointed, or someone was unprepared. 35 percent of the hearings took five minutes or less of court time. - S t a t e w i d e r e c o m ­ mendations of the project, developed in cooperation with the steering committee and approved for action by the board of directors of the League of Wom«t Voters of Illinois, fell iifto the following four categories: 1 - Maintain a citizen presence in the juvenile court - informed citizen participation in such ac­ tivities as monitoring, establishing a volunteer court assistants programs or citizen committees; sup­ plying information for clients; developing advocate programs for needed court facilities and services. 2 - Improve esteem and prestige of the juvenile court - by assigning personnel trained in juvenile law and court procedure from the state's attorney's and the public defender's offices, court services depart­ ments, Department of Children and Family Ser­ vices and other agencies, with continuing supervision of performance. Upgraded priority should be given to the juvenile court in assignment of facilities and court time. 3 - Assure rights of all parties under the Juvenile Court act -- further measures to assure con­ fidentiality, standards for intake, balance between informality and due process, more time spent by the public defender with clients, better preparation of cases by the state's attorney, understanding by clients of court procedures and their right to appeal, and an adequate record of all court proceedings. 4 - Reduce unnecessary delays - by scheduling cases more efficiently, eliminating unnecessary court ap­ pearances, reducing the number of continuances, shortening the time between hearings, and improving and standardizing filing systems and record keeping. The Illinois Juvenile Court Watching project began in March of 1979 with preparation of training materials, development of a statewide steering com­ mittee, and hiring of local coordinators who guided the project in each of the 33 counties. From March of 1980 through April of 1961, the monitors were trained and watched court for six- month periods and a year in Cook county. Staff of the project then entered data, from 14,105 of the more than 24,000 report forms onto the Illinois Law Enforcement commission computer and transcribed the narrative comments of the monitors. Reports of the statewide project and also of the McHenry county project may be purchased by con­ tacting Julie Coveft, 639- 5808. Further questions concerning the project may be presented to Carol Sek, 385-2278, or Janet s Conway, 385-7323, Self-Support Of th£; 190,000 Vietnamese refugees t^ken in by ttfc United States, 80 percent now, support themselves, pay taxes, and con­ tribute to the economy 'df their adopted land, National Geo­ graphic reports. \ i tAmtrica Viewpoints Few men during their,life­ time come anywhere near- exhausting the resources dwelling within them. There are deep wells of strength that are never used. . Admiral Richard Byrd B HEAL m m mmm m m \ THY, ••• • • % M WEAl AND .THY, WISE* i Ride less and v valk more, Frown less and smile more, Eat less and chew more, Preach less am / i practice more, Talk less and read more. r " A . SUBSCRI BE TO 1 The McHenry PLAINDEALER 385-0170 3812 W.I ELM ST. McHENRY, ILLINOIS i