NCJ Number
114695
Date Published
1989
Length
21 pages
Annotation
Developmental trends, problems, and accomplishments of the juvenile court and juvenile probation services are highlighted, from the establishment of the first juvenile court in 1899 in Cook County, Ill.
Abstract
The purpose of the court was rehabilitation rather than punishment, with an emphasis on reducing juvenile delinquency. During the first 25 years of the 20th Century, the juvenile court was widely hailed as a panacea for the misbehaviors and social ills of children and youth. However, the courts' effectiveness was impeded by several critical problems: lack of suitable juvenile placement facilities, insufficient funding for hiring and training caseworkers and probation officers, the heavy burden that numerous cases placed on the courts, and the lack of a uniform policy among juvenile courts. By the late 1960's and early 1970's, prominent criminologists advanced the belief that court involvement could damage youth and lead to additional delinquency as a result of labeling and stigma attached to confinement. Other critics have raised concerns about the rights of minors; The quality and scope of treatment services have never equalled the need level of troubled youth. Recent developments include strengthening of due process safeguards; accelerated case processing; and greater reliance on alternative sentences such as community service and victim restitution, addiction treatment, family counseling, juvenile diversion, and short-term secure detention. 8 discussion questions and 39 references.