NCJ Number
84239
Date Published
1981
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The history of juvenile corrections in America is traced from the colonial period (1646-1824) to the present (1975-80), and future prospects are considered.
Abstract
In the colonial period, the family was looked to as the first line of defense against crime. In the refuge period (1824-1899), reformers substituted institutions for the family. Their houses of refuge were intended to be homes away from home and to provide the order and discipline that so many families lacked. At the turn of the 20th century, the juvenile court was created to aid families in controlling children. Instead of just aiding the family, however, the juvenile court came more and more to replace the family under the concept of parens patriae. The juvenile rights era (1960-75) saw a continuing and deepening involvement of the state in the lives of juveniles, but there was also a growing awareness of the shortcomings of involving youths in the juvenile justice system. The current period is a time for reevaluating the effectiveness of the system in correcting youthful delinquent behavior. Reformers would like to turn again to the family as the primary institution for preventing and treating delinquency, but the decline of the nuclear family dampens this hope. The future should see a further reduction in the state's intervention in the lives of minor and status offenders, while juveniles who commit violent and other serious offenses are likely to be treated more severely. The fragmentation of the juvenile justice system is not likely to be remedied, since no unifying philosophy appears imminent. A total of 16 notes are listed. (Author summary modified)