LOGAN COUNTY ( 25News Now ) - Similar to the transformation of a monarch butterfly, the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice believes that kids who started off on the wrong path can emerge from incarceration transformed.

The agency opened the Monarch Youth Center in Lincoln as a new rehabilitative center for minors in state custody. It’s part of the governor’s plan to improve the quality of services and invest in community-based resources within the juvenile justice department.

Acting Director Rob Vickery said that since the plan took effect in 2020, the IDJJ has recorded a decrease in youth recidivism.

About 30% of young offenders find themselves back in state custody within three years. Vickery hopes the new facility sets more kids on the right path.

“They may be here becaus

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