Will County Adult Detention Center, as a large ACA-accredited county jail, provides a range of programs and services beyond basic detention. Understanding what is available helps families encourage their loved ones to use their time productively and access the support they need.
The Center for Correctional Concerns: GED and Social Services
The cornerstone of Will County Jail's programming is the Center for Correctional Concerns, an independent nonprofit that has operated inside the facility since 1979. The Center was established specifically to provide GED preparation to Will County Jail inmates — and that remains one of its primary functions more than four decades later.
The Center's scope has expanded over the years to include broader social services for detainees who are serving sentences of one year or less or are awaiting trial. Services include:
- GED preparation: Instruction and test preparation for inmates without a high school diploma or equivalency. Given that the GED is the single highest-return educational credential available in a short-term detention setting, participation significantly improves post-release employment prospects.
- Crisis support: Counseling and support for individuals experiencing acute mental health or personal crises during detention.
- Social services coordination: Connecting detainees with community resources, housing support, and reentry planning.
- Case management: Helping individuals with complex needs — mental health conditions, substance use disorders, housing instability — navigate the available services both inside the jail and in the community after release.
All Center for Correctional Concerns services are provided at no cost to detainees. Christine Alcorn, who took over as executive director in October 2024, brings experience from the Crisis Center for South Suburbia and has focused on expanding the Center's crisis response capacity.
Medical Care: 24-Hour Staffing
Will County Adult Detention Center maintains a medical unit staffed 24 hours a day by licensed nurses and physicians. This is above the standard for many county jails, which rely on contracted medical staff with limited hours. The 24-hour coverage means that medical emergencies can be assessed and treated or triaged at any hour, and that routine medication administration and chronic disease management are not subject to daytime-only staffing constraints.
Specific medical services available include:
- Medical intake screening on booking
- Chronic disease management (diabetes, hypertension, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, etc.)
- Psychiatric medication management
- Emergency care
- Mental health services
Dental Care: At Least Twice Weekly
Dental access at Will County Jail is available at least twice weekly — a meaningful operational commitment given that many county jails provide dental care only on request or on a far less frequent schedule. Regular dental access matters not just for dental health but as an indicator of the overall level of healthcare investment in the facility. Dental pain is one of the most common medical complaints in detention settings, and untreated dental infections can become systemic health emergencies.
Mental Health Services
Mental health services are integrated into the facility's medical care structure. Detainees with mental health conditions can receive psychiatric assessments, medication management, and counseling. The Center for Correctional Concerns also provides crisis counseling as a complement to the medical unit's clinical mental health services.
Will County is in the Chicago metropolitan area, which means the jail population includes a significant proportion of people with serious mental illness who cycle through the criminal justice system. The combination of the Center for Correctional Concerns and the 24-hour medical unit creates more support infrastructure than most comparable county facilities.
How to Support Program Participation
The most effective thing families can do to support a loved one's program participation at Will County Jail is to ask about it directly in calls and visits. Ask whether they have met with the Center for Correctional Concerns, whether they are enrolled in GED preparation, and whether they have spoken with the medical or mental health team about any conditions they have. Many people do not seek out available services unless they are encouraged by someone who matters to them.
Will County Adult Detention Center: 95 S. Chicago Street, Joliet, IL 60432. Phone: (815) 727-8895. Website: willcosheriff.org/corrections.