Barbara A Kahn

Clinic Executive Director:The Cook County Juvenile Court Clinic developed from a research and reform project that was a collaboration of Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and Office of the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The Chief Judge had initiated the project to improve how judges in the Juvenile Justice and Child Protection Department (Juvenile Court) obtained and used clinical, i.e., mental health information. The multi-year project supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, established that clinical information frequently is valuable in assisting Juvenile Court judges with difficult and/or complex legal decisions. The project also determined, however, that numerous obstacles hampered Juvenile Court judges’ ability to obtain timely, relevant, and accurate clinical information. These obstacles included: inappropriate and/or vague referrals which yielded little or no useful information; a backlog of requests that produced lengthy delays to obtaining needed information; and little or no communication between Juvenile Court and clinical providers. The research project proposed a model for a court clinic that incorporated a variety of services to minimize or eliminate those problems and enhance the use of clinical information for obtaining the best possible results for court-involved minors and families.