Juvenile Justice System

Youthful offenders who are brought to the attention of the juvenile justice system by parents, school officials, or (most often) police are governed by a distinct set of practices and philosophies from those encountered by adults accused of crimes. Usually, unless they are waived to adult courts, they are processed by juvenile courts, and if sentenced to confinement, sent to juvenile detention centers. Specific beliefs underpin the juvenile justice system that have a history of their own, and differentiate the treatment of young offenders from their older counterparts.

Child savers established the first juvenile courts and justice system in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in North America. These reformers believed that a separate system of governance would reclaim delinquent youths and would function in their best interests. This view was premised on the philosophy of parens patriae where the state takes the role of guardian over delinquent youths. However, during the late 20th century many of the original philosophical underpinnings of the juvenile justice system were eroded as practitioners of juvenile justice abandoned rehabilitative beliefs based on the particular needs of youths in favor of punitive ones oriented toward coercive intervention. This shift in ideology is nowhere more apparent than in the United States where young people are incarcerated at a rate that has far surpassed many other industrial nations.

The juvenile court and correctional services are at the apex of modern juvenile justice systems, which operate on many levels carried out by social and legal agencies, schools, police departments, welfare agencies, and other nonjudicial organizations. In large urban centers in North America, juvenile justice systems are composed of the following elements:

• Screening and intake
• Detention
• Probation
• Record keeping and research
• Psychological screening and mental health
• Protective services
• Medical services
• Volunteer services
• Court services (judges, district attorneys, etc.)
• Aftercare

Unlike most other Western nations such as Canada that can boast a national or single juvenile justice system, American juvenile justice systems vary considerably by jurisdiction. Across the country separate systems controlled by state legislation differ in mission, scope, and procedure. Although these variations provide states with an opportunity to experiment with innovations in juvenile justice (while others observe the outcome), this configuration makes generalizing about the practices and procedures adopted in the United States difficult. In some jurisdictions, for example, rather than operating a separate juvenile court, special times are set aside in the adult court to hear matters related to young offenders. Whereas some states administer juvenile justice matters in a specialized courthouse with a large bureaucratic network, others operate in a single courtroom with only a skeleton crew. Despite state variation, the U.S. Constitution, federal policies, and legislation along with political and social pressures ensure that juvenile court processes share some degree of coherence across the country. This entry describes the emergence, shifts, alterations, developments, and current controversies evident in the U.S. juvenile justice system.