Half the young people who get out of Illinois youth prisons end up back inside. Three and a half years ago, when Illinois broke off its youth prisons from adult ones, prison officials vowed to change that. The plan was to flood kids with support in their communities to help them connect with school, work, and treatment.

As part of our series Inside and Out, we’re following young people caught up in the juvenile justice system. Angelica is one of them. She got out of the girls’ prison at Warrenville in northern Illinois a few months ago. It was her second time there. Staying out is proving harder and lonelier than anyone thought. WBEZ’s Adriene Hill begins Angelica’s story.