Delinquent Children: The Juvenile Reform School (From Oxford History of the Prison: The Practice of Punishment in Western Society, P 363-389, 1995, Norval Morris and David J Rothman, eds. -- See NCJ-167509)

• NCJ Number: 167521
• Author(s): S Schlossman
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 27 pages
• Sale Source: Oxford University Press, Inc
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This historical review looks at juvenile delinquency and the development of juvenile reform schools in the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Abstract

Until the early 1800's, families rather than institutions represented the principal instrument through which communities disciplined children. Laws regulating children's behavior and upholding parental prerogatives were quite rigid and comprehensive, and penalties authorized for juvenile offenders were often severe. The New York House of Refuge opened in 1825 as the first of the early juvenile reform schools, and the principal legal justification for these schools in the 1820's was the doctrine of parens patriae. The number of schools increased during the 19th century, and the schools were especially popular after the middle of the century when they were generally created under public rather than private authority. The number of schools also grew slowly but steadily in the first half of the 20th century when separate facilities for girls were created. Deference to authority was the organizing principle of most schools, and a work regimen was required of school inmates. Experimental juvenile reform schools and the impact of these schools on deinstitutionalization are examined. References and photographs