NCJ Number
150698
Date Published
1993
Length
74 pages
Annotation
This report recommends major changes in Arizona's juvenile justice system to improve the safety of society while delivering a continuum of effective treatment to juvenile delinquents and to children at risk due to abuse, abandonment, neglect, and other problems.
Abstract
Proposed changes include increased resources for early identification and coordinated treatment of youth at risk, coordination among the 15 county juvenile courts and the State Department of Youth Treatment and Rehabilitation, alternatives to detention so that detention is reserved to those who pose a serious threat to public safety, and commitment guidelines. Further recommended changes are the possibility of extending beyond age 18 the treatment of youths under juvenile court jurisdiction before age 18, presumptive transfer to adult court for juveniles age 16 or over who engage in violent or repetitive serious crimes, appropriate services for transferred juveniles, restrictions on juvenile access to firearms, increased requirements for parental participation in juvenile court proceedings and rehabilitation programs, and increased opening of juvenile court records consistent with legitimate privacy needs. Footnotes and appended lists of commission members and persons serving as resources