GENEVA, Ill. – October is Youth Justice Action Month, a national observance that raises awareness of the needs of young people impacted by the justice system and encourages communities to take action on their behalf. This month, the Kane County Regional Office of Education (ROE) is reflecting on its role in the Kane County Juvenile Justice Council, where schools, courts, and community agencies work together to support youth.

The Kane County Juvenile Justice Council works to influence the juvenile justice system to improve the lives of children and to keep children out of the system. Its Executive Board is chaired by the Kane County State’s Attorney and includes the Regional Office of Education alongside representatives from the county’s courts, public defender’s office, sheriff’s office, court services, county board, and law enforcement and bar associations. Outside of the Executive Board, the council draws in health, child welfare, higher education, and community organizations across Kane County.

The Kane County Juvenile Justice Council brings together the county’s courts, law enforcement, schools, and social service agencies, and Josh Axelsen, the ROE’s Student Services Supervisor, has served on its Executive Board for 13 years.

“Having a seat on the Juvenile Justice Council allows council members to better understand Kane County schools and how, as a system, we can work collaboratively to improve student outcomes,” said Axelsen. “During my thirteen years on the council, we have hosted and sponsored many school-related events, from restorative practices training to parent presentations on adolescent alcohol and substance abuse for area school districts.”

The council is a collaboration of agencies rather than a direct service provider, so its results often show up in policy. Over the past fiscal year, contributions from council members led to three local policy revisions.

This summer, Kane County hosted the 50th Upstream mapping event facilitated by the National Center for State Courts. Led locally by Judge Kathryn Karayannis and Judge Sandra Parga of the 16th Judicial Circuit, Upstream gathers courts, child welfare agencies, juvenile probation, schools, and community organizations, including ROE staff, to map what services a county already has, where the gaps are, and how those systems can work together before a family reaches a crisis.

The collaboration reaches classrooms, too. From October 2025 through May 2026, the ROE partnered with the council to host a four-part series for Kane County educators with Dr. Patricia Graczyk, built on a multi-tiered system of supports she helped develop for attendance. Participants worked through how to build a culture of attendance schoolwide, identify students at risk of chronic absenteeism early, and match individual students with the right intervention.

In October 2025, students from DREAM Academy sat on a panel for council members and community partners, describing their own experiences with the juvenile justice system. The Elgin school is part of School District U-46 and is one of the Regional Safe Schools Program sites the ROE administers for students who may not succeed in a traditional school setting. Council members developed questions alongside DREAM Academy staff, who prepared the students, and the session gave the county’s judges, attorneys, and agency staff a view of the system from the young people moving through it.

The ROE’s work with the courts extends beyond the council. On October 13, it hosted its own annual roundtable, bringing together staff from its Alternative Learning Opportunities Programs and Regional Safe Schools Programs with court partners to continue the discussion on how the systems can work together to support youth in the community.