Prevention and Control of Juvenile Crime (From Kids Who Commit Adult Crimes: Serious Criminality by Juvenile Offenders, P 177-185, 2002, R. Barri Flowers, -- See NCJ-197664)

• NCJ Number: 197678
• Author(s): R. Barri Flowers
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 9 pages
• Sale Source: Haworth Press, Inc
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter on the prevention and control of juvenile crime focuses on Federal responses to juvenile crime and delinquency prevention, child protective services, and delinquency prevention and control strategies.

Abstract

Since the 1970's, the U.S. Congress has enacted a number of key laws aimed at preventing and controlling the spread of juvenile crime, as well as addressing the precursors of youth antisocial behavior, including child physical and sexual abuse and an unstable family environment. These efforts in combination with "get tough" Federal and State juvenile crime legislation have impacted the problem of youth violence and serious offending. This chapter briefly reviews the provisions of the Federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act, the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, and the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. An important agency for the prevention of juvenile delinquency is Child Protective Services, which is the agency primarily responsible for evaluating and preventing possible cases of child maltreatment and protecting and treating victims of child abuse and neglect. A secondary goal of this agency is to keep child-abusive families intact, if possible, for the long-term benefit of a child in need of a safe and stable environment. There are a number of promising prevention and intervention programs across the country that have the goals of reducing serious juvenile crime and violence. Experts in juvenile crime and violence believe that the most effective prevention strategies are those that target a reduction in high-risk factors while enhancing protective factors. Arenas of juvenile behavior that require specialized prevention strategies pertain to youth gun violence, violence by youth gangs, and youth violence at schools.