NCJ Number
199834
Date Published
2002
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This monograph by the Child Welfare League of American (CWLA) details current trends in juvenile justice and child welfare, and outlines action steps for the future work of the Juvenile Justice Division of the CWLA.
Abstract
Chapter 1 of the monograph presents the mission, vision, values, and goals of the Juvenile Justice Division of the CWLA, which is the oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization in the United States. The main goal of the Juvenile Justice Division is to work activities that will reduce the incidence of juvenile delinquency nationwide and will reduce the reliance on incarceration as a sanction for delinquent youth. The historical background of the CWLA is also presented in chapter 1. Chapter 2 of the monograph details the current trends and latest research in the area of juvenile justice and child welfare. Recent research has found correlations between child maltreatment and juvenile delinquency, which leads to the conclusion that in order to combat juvenile delinquency, it is important to first combat and seek to eradicate child maltreatment. A recent 2001 report by the National Institute of Justice revealed that persons who had been neglected or abused as children were 59 percent more likely to be arrested as a juvenile. Additional research by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, and various independent researchers is also presented in this chapter. Chapter 3 of the monograph outlines the current and future agenda of the Juvenile Justice Division of the CWLA, which includes such action steps as disseminating knowledge about the link between child maltreatment and juvenile delinquency. Additional action steps include developing and implementing best practices in the area of child maltreatment and juvenile justice, analyzing and promoting sound public policy and legislation, and building partnerships in the interest of reforming the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. The final chapter provides a summary of the monograph, which challenges the Nation to raise the level of dialog and awareness concerning the child welfare and juvenile justice system in order to promote sound policy implementation. References