Read Our Employee Interview
Juvenile Justice Spotlight
Sara Hemmeter
Director of Juvenile Services for Cook County
Agency: Circuit Court of Cook County
Location: Chicago, IL
1. Tell us about your role with the Circuit Court of Cook County.
“This is a new role created in the past few months, under Chief Judge, Charles Beach. The theory behind it was to align JTDC and Juvenile Probation to increase collaboration between the two departments and provide more transparency with the goal being to achieve better outcomes for young people. In my role, I oversee both those areas.”
2. What does a day in your life at work look like for you?
“Very different every day(laughs). I started in this role on May 18th so there has been a lot of learning and understanding what different areas are experiencing. What their challenges and opportunities are. I’m also interviewing for new positions.
I’m also doing a lot of site visits throughout the area to learn…specifically…what community organizations are involved in on a daily basis and how they are helping the kids and families we serve. These visits will be going on through October, so it’s an exciting time as I gather a lot of information, get to meet some great people, and learn. From there, I’ll evaluate the conversations I’ve had, create a strategic plan, and implement reforms for both detention and probation.”
3. What gets you most excited at work?
“There are a lot of good things already happening but it’s the idea of moving those programs forward and transforming the system. Looking at all the program areas, such as, alternatives to detention and placement programs, and trying to figure out what those services look like. I love, figuring out what the opportunities are for young people to achieve success. My ‘north star’ is always the young people and figuring this out how to put them on the path to success. It’s been really exciting - and I’m still learning - but the goal remains to provide these youth with what they need.”
4. You earned your law degree from the University of Buffalo and went on to practice law for several years. How has that education and experience helped you in your current role?
“Having this background is key, in my opinion. My role sits in the judiciary so having that law degree and background has really helped me fine-tune the programs I’d like to implement and make them successful. I started my career representing kids in family court so understanding that process and being able to effectively advocate for these kids has really helped me keep the focus in targeting those reforms.”
5. When I say the word, “Mentor”, who is it that you think about and what is something you were taught that sticks with you today?
“I’ve had a couple of mentors along the way who have been key. Felipe Franco was my supervisor at ACS. He is an innovator and really keeps kids in the center of everything. I’ve taken this with me throughout my career and am really passionate about it.
Also, Shay Bilchik. He is the founder and Director Emeritus of the Center for Youth Justice/Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University. I have worked with him on implementing the Crossover Youth Practice model which works with kids in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. The goal is to bring these systems together, so that there is greater communication and collaboration between these systems so that there are better outcomes for these young people. As I look at bringing together probation and detention in Cook County, I think a lot about the work we did to break down silos and how best to achieve better outcomes for kids no matter where they are in the system.”
6. In either your current role or a previous one, what is your one experience that stands out as your favorite or most memorable?
“My favorite part is representing kids is getting to know them one-on-one. One moment that stands out to me is a young person I represented in family court. He was eventually placed away from home and a few months after he was placed, he sent me a letter to check on ME. I was so appreciative and happy to have received that and to think that I had an impact on him. I think about how to build better relationships with kids and how we in the systems can have an impact on them after they leave our systems.”
7. Whether it’s a co-worker or young person you work with, what is one consistent piece of advice you find yourself giving others?
"Stay true to yourself. That is so important in this work and keeps me grounded. Staying true to myself means keeping kids the center of this work and that is what I am always striving for. If you don’t stay true, you kind of lose your way. For kids this is really important as well and something I always remind them of.”
8. From your perspective, how can the current state of Juvenile Services improve?
“There are a lot of really good organizations doing really good work, so it becomes a question of how we bring these organizations together to help us align our efforts. This applies to detention and probation, , but our communication between these groups. Our communication and collaboration across organizations and governmental entities is not as strong as it could be. The exchanging of ideas and how to build better systems for kids is lacking at this time. Once we improve that, we put these kids on a stronger path for success.”
9. Who is Sara when she’s away from work?
“I am a mom. I adopted a baby in 2020 and moved to Chicago to be closer to my family. There are a lot of birthday parties, school activities and play dates that I do in my off time. and I love it all because she’s the light of my life. It has been such a wonderful experience watching her grow and it has made me become a better advocate for kids because I only want the best for her and the kids I work with.”