NCJ Number
179331
Date Published
1999
Length
384 pages
Annotation
The author challenges critics and supporters of the juvenile court with an extensive analysis of law and social policy, moving the debate on the future of the juvenile court beyond the rhetoric of criminalization and the nostalgia of child savers toward a vision that embraces concepts from law, adolescent development, and community structure.
Abstract
Over the past three decades, social and legal changes have transformed the juvenile court from a nominally rehabilitative welfare agency into a second-class criminal court where increasingly harsh sanctions fall disproportionately on minority youth. Consideration is paid to what has gone wrong with the juvenile court, and an alternative model for youth crime control and child welfare is proposed. The author attributes the current state of affairs to a conceptual flaw inherent in the juvenile court, the idea that states can combine social welfare and social control in one institution and achieve both goals simultaneously. According to the author, the solution is to uncouple social welfare and social control and try all offenders in an integrated criminal justice system with appropriate modifications to accommodate younger defendants. Formally recognizing youthfulness as a mitigating factor will provide young people with greater protection and more justice than they currently receive in either the juvenile justice system or the criminal justice system. At the same time, such a strategy will enable public policies to directly address the social welfare needs of all young people. References and figures