Judge Leads Countywide Effort to Strengthen Support for Families and Youth Through “Upstream” Initiative

Judge Linda Bauer convened officials from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Probation, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), schools, Educational Service Units (ESU), Hospital, BraveBe, Blue Valley Community Action, County and City Commissioners, local businesses and other Jefferson County resource service providers to meet at the Elks Lodge in Fairbury to discuss how to better serve children and families in the court system. 

The program, UPSTREAM, was introduced with an illustration credited to Desmond Tutu: "There comes a point where we need to stop pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in."

The community mapping workshop encourages a more proactive approach when looking at the causes of people who end up in the court system.  The first day of the workshop involves the “mapping” of community resources, challenges, the child welfare system, and the juvenile justice system.  Discussions included how well agencies work together, what kind of intervention programs are in place, and what is needed to keep youth and their families out of the court system.

The second day of the workshop is spent drafting action plans of the top priorities the group voted on at the end of day one. The action plans will be housed and worked on under the Through the Eyes of the Child team, led by Judge Bauer.  This original team will come together in a year to discuss successes, challenges, and further plans in order to continue this proactive work to impact children, youth, and families in the community.