CPS Suspensions of Young Children: BBB Report

More than 2,000 kindergarten suspensions were recorded during one school year in Illinois. See the report HERE.

The raw data from the report is HERE.

2013 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 15,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 6 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

2012 Blog Statistics in Review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 7,100 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 12 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Save the Date: December 7th

Project NIA will be hosting an event to discuss the content, purpose, and next steps of the Chicago Youth Justice Data Project from 6 to 8:30 p.m.  Light refreshments will be served but participants are encouraged to bring their own dinner.

More information is forthcoming about this event including its location.

An Exciting Launch…

We have gotten really terrific feedback on the launch of this resource.  A couple of people have suggested that we organize an event around the Chicago Youth Justice Data Project.  This is a terrific idea and we will try to coordinate an event in December.  More information will be forthcoming!

Announcing the Chicago Youth Justice Data Project!

Want to know how many youth were arrested in Chicago in 2009?

Interested in learning about the racial breakdown of youth detained at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in 2009?

How many cases were diverted from juvenile court in 2008?

After over a year of struggle, I am pleased to introduce the Chicago Youth Justice Data Project. In our current economic, political and social climate, the adage “information is power” is even more true.

Our communities are disempowered when we are kept in the dark about how the state is intervening in our lives.  The Chicago Youth Justice Data Project brings the most timely & relevant information about juvenile justice & youth criminalization to community members.  It is critical that citizens be equipped with data in order to effectively advocate for reforms.  Relevant data increases our credibility and authority.  Yet it is difficult to access and especially in one place. I hope that the Chicago Youth Justice Data Project remedies this issue.

As a long-time organizer and activist, I care about data because I know that when properly deployed it can help to transform the systematic ways in which marginalized communities are kept out of the policy-making and decision-making processes.

We hope to update the website twice a year (provided we can raise the funds to do so).   This blog will provide us with a low-cost opportunity to offer the most timely data available.  It is a supplement to the website.

Special thanks to designer and illustrator Lester Rojas for collaborating with me to bring my vision to fruition.  Lester put in countless hours of his time to complete this project.  Thank you Lester!

Thanks also to the Steans Family Foundation for their generous support.   Without it, this project would not have been possible.

I am very interested in keeping this site up to date so please send along any new data that you come across related to juvenile justice in Chicago and Illinois.  If you would like to provide any feedback on the site, please contact me at chiyouthjustice@gmail.com.

In Peace,

Mariame Kaba

Founder and Director, Project NIA