NCJ Number
100526
Date Published
1986
Length
9 pages
Annotation
At a time when public opinion is calling for greater control and harsher sanctions, the juvenile justice system is in need of advocates to serve as positive spokespersons for principles and programs that are fully in the best interests of the child.
Abstract
Toward this end, advocates must develop strategies to inform and educate the public about the nature of juvenile crime. They must work to refine the juvenile justice system to preserve due process protections, while simultaneously ensuring briefer, more effective, and more appropriate sanctions and services. Also needed is advocacy for a three-tiered system that offers a richer and more diversified set of correctional options for the large and difficult to service group of youthful offenders. Advocacy also is needed to support the goal of rehabilitation, with greater emphasis on diversion and the use of the least coercive interventions necessary. Finally, advocates must encourage corrections' commitment to reducing the causes of social failure both through behavior change and social change. Through advocacy, professionals can reaffirm the Nation's commitment to children and youth and the principles underlying a specialized system of justice for them.