The Juvenile Division handles cases involving minors who are charged with a crime or whose health and safety are at risk. Some common examples of these types of cases are truancy, termination of parental rights, child abuse, and felony or misdemeanor offenses where the minor is charged with committing a crime. To protect the privacy of children, juvenile cases are not open to the public.

The driving philosophy behind juvenile justice in Illinois is restorative justice. The philosophy of restorative justice holds that, along with the rehabilitation of the offender, the offender will work to "restore" the balance that existed in the community before the offense was committed. Common methods of restoration include compensating victims for their losses and public service for the offender.

Juvenile (JV)
Juvenile cases are all cases that are covered by the Juvenile Court Act except those that are covered by the JA and JD designations. Actions covered by the JV classification are sometimes known as “pre-delinquent” behaviors, or actions which are wrongful, but not criminal violations. Examples of pre-delinquent behaviors include truancy and running away from home.

Juvenile Abuse and Neglect (JA)
In abuse and neglect cases, the juvenile is the victim of wrongful behavior committed by parents or caregivers.

Juvenile Delinquency (JD)
Delinquency cases occur when any minor, prior to his or her 17th birthday, violates, or attempts to violate, any federal law, state law, county ordinance, or municipal ordinance and any minor who prior to his or her 18th birthday has violated or attempted to violate, regardless of where the act occurred, any federal, state, county or municipal law or ordinance classified as a misdemeanor offense.