Juvenile Division

Supervisor of the Juvenile Division

Misty Cavanaugh

Assistant State’s Attorney Misty Cavanaugh is Supervisor of the Juvenile Division. She and members of the Juvenile Division team perform an increasingly important role in our criminal justice system. Gangs and drugs are at the root of the vast majority of adult crimes. By providing meaningful deterrence at an early age, it is possible to prevent a child from taking the wrong path toward a life of crime.

Misty Cavanaugh joined the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office in 1992. In 2021, Cavanaugh was appointed Supervisor of the Will County State’s Attorney’s Juvenile Division. She supervises all prosecutions involving minors in Will County. The Juvenile Division also prosecutes parents who abuse or neglect their children. In the most serious abuse and neglect cases, the division litigates the termination of parental rights.

The Juvenile Division prosecutes every case in the county in which a person under the age of 18 is charged with a crime other than a traffic offense. The penalties in such cases range from probation to detention in the River Valley Juvenile Justice Center, or in the Illinois Department of Corrections’ Department of Juvenile Justice for the more serious cases. The Juvenile Division participates in the victim-sensitive interviews at the Child Advocacy Center with the Multi-Disciplinary Team when the allegations involve a juvenile.

The Juvenile Division’s assistant state’s attorneys also protect our young people by prosecuting parents who have abused or neglected their children. In the most serious of these cases, prosecutors file petitions asking the court to terminate the parental rights of abusive parents, allowing the children to be adopted into loving, caring homes.

The State’s Attorney’s Office is committed to assisting juveniles and their parents in navigating difficult times. The office helps parents keep their children out of trouble by offering information about and referrals to various social service agencies and support services. The Juvenile Division has a full-time victim advocate available to assist victims through the criminal process.