According to Cook County statistics, each year more than 10,000 kids under the age of 17 will stand before one of the judges in its juvenile justice division. These judges decide whether youth offenders get locked up or assigned to a probation officer like Officer Purdy, who works to keep them out of prison.

To find out more about how the process works – and how well it serves young people in trouble with the law – we turn to two experts. Michael Rohan directs the Juvenile Probation and Court Services Department of Cook County. Paula Wolff a Senior Executive at Chicago Metropolis 2020 and adjunct professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy was part of the task force that helped create the state’s juvenile justice department.

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