Emerging Adults Program
Have you ever been arrested as a juvenile (under 18 years old)? If so, you likely have a juvenile record! Did you know that many juvenile records are not automatically expunged and may show up on background checks? To receive help with expunging your Cook County juvenile record, click on the “Apply for Help” button below!
Please note, our intake may occasionally be closed.
Support our work
Our Services
Juvenile expungement and criminal (adult) records expungement and sealing services through partnering organizations that serve juveniles and emerging adults.
Pro se petition preparation and legal assistance at the Juvenile Expungement Help Desk at the Cook County Juvenile Court.
Legal representation for juveniles at their Aftercare revocation hearings
Community Know Your Rights presentations.
Our Impact
While expungement of juvenile records in Illinois is currently available to youth of all ages, few youth are actually pursuing this opportunity. The Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission’s April 2016 report discovered that only 3 in 1,000 juvenile arrests actually resulted in expungement.
Since its inception in 2018, CGLA has partnered with 32 different community-based organizations and violence prevention agencies serving juveniles and emerging adults across the Chicagoland area.
Through the creation of the virtual Juvenile Expungement Help Desk, we have assisted pro se petitioners during COVID19 with petition preparation, legal consultations, and/or stepping up with patrons as a “friend of the court” at juvenile expungement hearings.