Comprehensive Community-Based Youth Services (CCBYS)

Comprehensive Community-Based Youth Services (CCBYS)

Administered by:

• IDHS, Office of Community & Positive Youth Development (OCPYD)
• Bureau of Youth Intervention Service (BYIS) 

FY2025 Program & Performance Information

Goals:

To reunify, stabilize and preserve families; and to divert or minimize involvement in the child welfare and/or juvenile justice systems.

Outcome:

Youth will be safe; stable; diverted from the child welfare system and diverted from the juvenile justice system.

Enabling Legislation:

CCBYS is authorized by the Children and Family Services Act (20 ILCS 505/17 and 17a) and implements Article 3 of the Illinois Juvenile Court Act of 1987 (705 ILCS 405/3 et seq.).

Program Description:

CCBYS is a statewide 24/7 crisis intervention system mandated to serve youth in crisis as defined in the Illinois Juvenile Court Act. These are youth who are away from home without parental consent and youth beyond the control of their parents in circumstances which constitute an immediate or substantial danger to the youth's physical safety. CCBYS also serves, in conjunction with DCFS, youth whose parents will not allow them to return home. A continuum of services is available statewide for youth in high-risk situations, and their families when appropriate, according to their needs and in keeping with the goal of family preservation, reunification and/or family stabilization, or independence and may be provided to youth at risk of involvement in the Child Welfare and/or Juvenile Justice systems.

Target Population:

Any youth who are 11-17 years of age and at risk of involvement with the child welfare and/or juvenile justice system may be eligible for CCBYS services.

• Crisis Youth (Mandated)
  The CCBYS program considers crisis youth to be Runaways, lockouts, and youth beyond the control of parents in circumstances which constitute an immediate or substantial danger to the youth's physical safety. These youth will be served 24/7 statewide.
• Non-Crisis Youth (Discretionary)
  The CCBYS program considers non-crisis youth to be those youth that are not currently in crisis. Non-crisis youth are considered to be those youth at risk of crisis or at risk of delinquency, or both. These at risk youth are eligible to receive CCBYS services at the determination of the CCBYS program provider agency.
• Activities:
  • Statewide 24/7 crisis intervention services
  • Juvenile justice system intervention services
  • Ensure the safety of youth
  • Individual and family crisis intervention
  • Conduct Crisis / Safety Assessment
  • Develop and implement crisis stabilization plan
  • Reunification and family preservation services
  • Provide placement services for crisis youth - shelter, foster care, etc.
  • Juvenile justice system intervention services
  • Conduct YASI assessments (Initial assessment, reassessment and/or closing assessment)
  • Conduct additional assessments as needed (mental health, substance abuse; trauma, etc.)
  • Develop and implement an individualized case plan to address identified needs
  • Work with youth and family to increase protective factors and decrease risk factors
  • Develop and implement a discharge plan
  • Provide appropriate referral and follow-up

2025 Program Sites / Service Areas:

CCBYS is a network of community-based providers serving the entire state. Currently there are 28 funded agencies with 11 subcontractors.

CCBYS Program Data - Youth Served - FY 2025

• 6,485 youth were served in the CCBYS Program in FY 2025. They breakdown as follows:
  1. Crisis Youth
     • 1,841 or 28.4% of the CCBYS youth served were identified as crisis/mandated cases. (Runaways, lockouts, and youth beyond the control of parents in circumstances which constitute an immediate or substantial danger to the youth's physical safety)
       • 944 or 51.3% were runaways
       • 657 or 35.7% were lockouts
         • 440 or 67% were home parental lockouts
         • 217 or 33% were institutional lockouts
           • 7 or 3.2% were DCFS referred psychiatric lockouts
           • 77 or 35.5% were mental health/psychiatric lockouts
           • 0 or 0% were substance use treatment lockouts
           • 87 or 40.1% were lockouts from other impatient treatment facilities.
           • 53 or 24.4% were secure confinement lockouts (IDJJ/County Detention)
       • 240 or 13% were beyond control & in immediate physical danger
  2. Non-Crisis Youth
     • 4,644 or 71.6% of youth served were identified as non-crisis (discretionary) youth. (Non-crisis youth are those youth not currently in crisis. Youth at risk of crisis or youth at risk of delinquency, or both, are eligible to receive CCBYS services.)
       • 2,521 or 54.3% of youth were at risk of crisis
       • 2,123 or 45.7% of youth were at risk of delinquency

Primary Program Referral Sources

• 35.3% (2,286 of 6,485) of youth served were referred to the program by educational institutions-either in school or after school
• 35.2% (2,285 of 6,485) of youth were referred to the program by law enforcement related organizations.

Service Area
The CCBYS program is available statewide. In FY25 CCBYS providers served youth that were referred from 96 Counties, 28 Cook Townships, and 46 Chicago Community Areas. Youth were also served from Out of State in conjunction with the Interstate Compact for Youth.

Demographics

• Gender:
  • 47.4% Male (3,073)
  • 51.7% Female (3,353)
• Age:
  • 25.6% Age 10-13 (1,660)
  • 53.8% Ages 14 and 16 (3,487)
  • 20% Age 17 and up (1,295)
• Ethnicity:
  • 24.5% Hispanic/Latino (1,589)
  • 73.8% Non-Hispanic/Latino (4,783)
• Race:
  • 40.3% Black/African American (2,613)
  • 50% White/Caucasian (3,214)
  • 3.9% Multiple Races (252)
  • 3.0% American Indian/Alaskan Native (194)
  • 1.2% Asian (77)
  • .4% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (28)

Performance Measures and Outcomes

• • 6,485 youth were served in the CCBYS Program in FY 2025.
  • 3,958 youth were discharged from the program in FY2025. (4,019 minus 61 error discharges)

Living Arrangement at Case Closure:

• 90.7% (3,589) of youth were in a family/long-term living arrangement at case closure.
• 4.1% (164) of youth were in residential treatment or transitional living placements at case closure.
  • 85 (51.8%) in residential treatment facilities
    • Mental Health - 81
    • Substance use - 4
    • Other - 0
  • 79 (48.2%) in Transitional Living Programs (TLP)
    • DCFS TLP - 65
    • DHS TLP - 2
    • Other TLP - 12
• 1.4% (54) were known to be in DCFS Non-TLP placement at case closure
• 1.2% (46) were in secure confinement at case closure
• 1.4% (55) were homeless (friends, shelter, no permanent address) at case closure
• 1.3% (50) were current DCFS Youth In Care - transferred upon identification

YASI Assessment / Case Management

• 82.4% (3,279) of discharged youth had both an initial and a closing YASI assessment.
• 78.9% (2,781 of 3,279) of assessed youth had a case plan developed.
  • Top 5 issue areas addressed in the Case Plan.
    • 43.2% (1,200) - Life Skills
    • 40.6% (1,126) - Family
    • 36.8% (1,021) - Attitudes
    • 28.1% (780) - Aggression
    • 25.4% (706) - School
    • 25.1% (698) - Mental Health (nearly tied for #5 - first appearance in top 5)
  • 52.6% (1,461 of 2,777) of discharged youth with a case plan experienced decreased risk factors.
  • 49.3% (1,369 of 2,777) of discharged youth with a case plan experienced increased protective factors.
  • 63.6% (2,254 of 3,543) of youth served were identified with trauma needs.
    • 98.8% (2,226) received services to address those needs
  • 56.8% (2,014 of 3,543) of youth served were identified with Mental Health (MH) needs.
    • 97.1% (1,956) received services to address those needs.
  • 18.3% (648 of 3,543) of youth served were identified with Substance Abuse (SA) needs.
    • 91.5% (593) received services to address those needs.
  • 9.8% (347 of 3,543) of youth served were identified with chronic truancy needs
    • 86.7% (301) received services to address those needs.
  • 9.5% (335 of 3,543) of youth served were identified with learning disability needs.
    • 91.3% (306) received services to address those needs.

Program Service/Placement Data

• The average length of stay in the CCBYS program was 103.6 days.
• 742 (18.6%) of 3,991 youth were placed in limited custody.
• 271 (6.8%) of 3,991 youth discharged from the program required an agency-arranged placement.
• 1,954 nights of placement were provided to 271 youth at an average 7.21 nights per youth.
  

  Fiscal Year	# of Youth Requiring an Agency Arranged Placement	Total Nights of Placement	Average Nights per Youth Placement
  FY15	646	2,465	3.81
  FY16	474	1,665	3.51
  FY17	281	1,045	3.72
  FY18	328	1,455	4.43
  FY19	345	1,414	4.10
  FY20	315	1,242	3.94
  FY21	263	1,234	4.69
  FY22	291	2,071	7.12
  FY23	309	1,876	6.07
  FY24	296	2,608	8.81
  FY25	271	1,954	7.21

Education System Involvement

•  16.5% (1,063) of youth served were not attending any type of education classes/programs or were sporadically attending.
• 347 (9.8%) of 3,543 discharged youth had a history of chronic truancy.
• 190 (4.8%) of 3,958 of youth discharged from the program were referred specifically for the purpose of addressing chronic truancy.
  • 32 were referred by the court system
  • 158 were referred by the education system
• 639 (9.9%) of 6,485 youth served had 1 or more suspensions in the prior 6 months. 316 (69.8%) of 453 discharged youth had improved academic outcomes.
• 88 (1.4%) of 6,485 youth served had 1 or more expulsions in the prior 6 months. 28 (45.9%) of 61 discharged youth had improved academic outcomes.
• 605 (9.3%) of 6,485 youth served had 2 or more truant days in the prior 6 months. 158 (49.7%) of 318 discharged youth had improved academic outcomes.

Juvenile Justice System Involvement

• 23.5% (930 of 3,958) of youth discharged from the program had known prior legal system involvement.
• 22% (871 of 3,958) of youth discharged from the program had known current legal system involvement.
  • 129 (14.8%) of 871 discharged youth with current legal system involvement had a change of Domestic Battery against the youth.
• 96% (3,801 of 3,958) of youth discharged from the program avoided involvement or further involvement in the Juvenile Justice system, while in the program.
• 24.6% (871 of 3,543) of discharged youth were served as a Juvenile Justice System diversion.
  • 239 (27.4%) referrals were for formal or in-formal Station Adjustments
  • 401 (46%) referrals were for youth who have committed a delinquent offense and are referred by local law enforcement or probation departments
  • 142 (16.3%) referrals were for youth who have been placed on probation or parole and who are at a high risk of violating probation/parole or re-offending
• 40.1% (357 of 871) of youth successfully completed diversion requirements prior to discharge.
• 45.5% (396 of 871) of youth are continuing diversion services post discharge.
• 6.8% (59 of 871) of youth terminated unsuccessfully due to parent or youth refusal to participate or failure to comply with requirements.

State Systems - Diversions:

• 121 or 3.05% of youth discharged from the program in FY25 were in secure confinement or in the care of DCFS at case closure. (This excludes 50 youth that were determined to be current DCFS Youth In Care not eligible for CCBYS.)
  This 3.05% breaks down as follows:
  • 1.16% (46) of the 3,958 youth discharged from the program in 2025 were reportedly in secure confinement at case closure. Only 9 of those youth residing in state funded systems (IDJJ/IDOC).
    • 2 or 4.3% of youth were in County Jail
    • 35 or 76.1% of youth were in County Detention
    • 9 or 19.6% of youth were in IDJJ
    • 0 or 0% of youth were in IDOC
    • 0 or 0% of youth were in Municipal Lockups
  • 1.89% (75) of the 3,958 youth discharged from the program in 2025 were referred to the care of DCFS at case closure.
    • 30 or 40% of referrals to DCFS were the direct result of initial CCBYS safety screen/assessment findings.
    • 45 or 60% of referrals to DCFS were because CCBYS was unable to identify a viable family option / alternative.

Without CCBYS:

• All of the 1,841 crisis youth would have gone directly to DCFS as hotline calls to be investigated.
• Many of the 2,521 youth served that were at risk of crisis would have also quickly become DCFS hotline calls were it not for the intervention services provided by CCBYS.

Cost Savings - FY2025

• CCBYS providers spent $27,021,489 in Grant funding to serve 6,485 Youth.
• The Average Cost per Youth was $4,167.
• This is but a fraction of the alternative - state systems. Thus, saving the State Millions annually in averted DCFS and IDJJ placement costs.
• The average per capita cost to house a youth in IDJJ in 2018 was approximately $176,800.
• The annual DCFS residential placement cost in 2018 was approximately $121,000 per youth. It is important to note that these youth, remain in DCFS residential placement for multiple years at this rate.

CCBYS Data Reporting System
CCBYS providers are mandated to utilize the eCornerstone Web-based reporting system to capture information on all youth served in the program. Administrative data will be captured as well as participant-specific, case-level information.
The following is an overview of the various categories of information that is captured in the system for participants enrolled in CCBYS. Information captured includes but is not limited to:

• Demographics
• Site of program service
• Assigned worker
• Referral reason
• Referral source
• Living arrangement (at enrollment, discharge, & follow-up)
• Educational status (at enrollment, discharge, & follow-up)
• Employment status (at enrollment, discharge, & follow-up)
• Legal status (at enrollment, discharge, & follow-up)
• Legal history (at enrollment)
• Safety assessment (required for crisis cases)
• Safety Planning information
• Risk assessment
• Youth Assessment & Screening Instrument (YASI) (initial assessment, re-assessment, and closing assessment) questions and responses
  • Closing YASI is required when an initial YASI has been submitted.
• Additional assessment information is captured (Fitness and Competency Evaluation; Mental Health/Behavioral Assessment; Substance Abuse Assessment; Co-occurring Disorders Assessment; Trauma Assessment; Sex Offender Assessment; Educational Assessment; Life Skills Assessment; Other Assessment)
• Case Plan information, domains targeted (legal history; family; school; community & peers; alcohol & drugs; mental health; aggression; attitudes; skills; employment & free time) services planned, and service completion
• Outcome information (ex: Case Plan completion, change in protective factors, & change in risk factors)
• Case Information -
  • Limited custody information
  • Placement services (placement type, length of stay, cost)
  • MRAI information
  • Individual Care Grant information
  • Crisis response times
  • Face-to-face intervention
  • Crisis stabilization planning
  • Chronic truancy information
• Discharge information
  • Discharge reason
  • Status at Discharge
• Living arrangement
• Educational status
• Employment status
• Legal status
  • Discharge planning
• Service hours (discharge & follow-up)
• Follow-up information - including status information