NCJ Number
161639
Date Published
1977
Length
36 pages
Annotation
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 was implemented to provide a comprehensive, coordinated approach to the problems of juvenile delinquency.
Abstract
The Act recognizes that juveniles account for almost half of all arrests for serious crimes and that understaffed and overcrowded juvenile courts, probation services, and correctional facilities cannot provide individualized and effective justice. The Act also acknowledges that juvenile courts, foster and protective care programs, and shelter facilities do not meet the needs of abandoned and dependent children, that adequate programs are not available for juvenile drug abusers, and that juvenile delinquency can be prevented through programs designed to keep students in school. Purposes of the Act are to provide for the thorough evaluation of federally assisted juvenile delinquency programs, to provide technical assistance to public and private agencies and individuals who work with juvenile delinquents, to establish a centralized research effort on the problems of juvenile delinquency, to develop and encourage the implementation of national standards for juvenile justice administration, to help State and local governments develop appropriate programs for juveniles, and to establish a Federal assistance program to deal specifically with the problems of runaway youth. The Act creates the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and contains provisions on funding and administering juvenile grants and programs. Conforming provisions of Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 are included.