NCJ Number
115219
Date Published
1983
Length
175 pages
Annotation
This assessment traces the sociological, legislative, and judicial roots of public policy response to juvenile delinquency, with particular focus on historical and contemporary patterns of Federal involvement with juvenile justice policies and programs.
Abstract
The juvenile justice system has passed through a series of evolutionary stages. Prior to the American Revolution, juvenile misconduct was viewed as a matter for familial control and, if necessary, community punishment. Societal changes stimulated a demand for external measures to define and control juvenile misbehavior. By the 19th century, increasing social complexity lessened the impact of the nuclear family and initiated a new era of external intervention and protection as public and private authorities assumed responsibility for punishment and reform. The creation of the juvenile court in 1899 expanded traditional external controls, and early 20th Century reforms replaced punitive methodologies with newer rehabilitative mechanisms based on traditional intervention and protectionist attitudes. Because these changes were gradual and evolutionary in nature and took place largely at the State and local levels prior to the 1960's, reform was sporadic, inconsistent, and uncoordinated. The shifting of responsibilities from private to public sector and among governmental layers has resulted in a fragmented approach to juvenile justice and the lack of a consistent, comprehensive, and integrated policy and service system. Federal responses are still evolutionary in nature, but two initiatives show promise for developing a coordinated National policy: development of national standards for juvenile justice, and mechanisms for interagency collaboration recommended by the Federal Coordinating Council for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Approximately 225 references and appendixes.