McHenry County Court to Use Online Sanctions for Low-Risk Offenders

In an effort to implement meaningful sentencing alternatives for alcohol related offenses and low-degree criminal offenders, the 22nd Judicial Circuit of McHenry County, in conjunction with the McHenry County Department of Probation and Court Services, has implemented the use of the 3rd Millennium Online Classrooms.

During the last decade, courts have been diverting underage drinking, petty theft, marijuana possession, and other misdemeanor cases to diversion programs, thus allowing the court to deal with more serious offenses.

For many first offenders, this is a “teachable moment.” The 22nd Judicial Circuits wants streamlined, effective intervention solutions for low-risk criminal offenders. Evidenced-based research shows that the briefest interventions sometimes produce the greatest effect in reducing future criminal actions. For example, in one study to reduce alcohol consumption among college students who are heavy drinkers, researchers found that a single hour of advice was about as effective as a six-week class and discussion group.

All 3rd Millennium online course offerings are interactive, self-motivating, and provide personalized feedback. Each course includes multiple lessons, surveys, self-assessment, professional narration, and final exam.

The student navigates through this course one lesson page at a time. The student listens and/or reads a knowledge page and completes an interaction before advancing to the next page. The student must successfully complete a quiz at the end of each lesson to advance to the next lesson. The student cannot simply click through the lesson pages. Each interaction must be answered correctly.

If the student fails the quiz, he or she must complete the entire lesson again before retaking the quiz. The student is warned that there are hidden validation procedures built into the course. Failure to correctly respond to validation questions can result in loss of grades and nullification of course completion, which will be communicated to the appropriate Court Services personnel.

In today’s multi-media culture it is important to reach teens and young adults with programs which are fast-paced, culturally relevant, effective, engaging, convenient and positively  impact behavior, according to a McHenry County news release.

This information was provided by McHenry County.