Describe the history and evolution of the juvenile justice system in the Western world, and list the six categories of children recognized by the laws of most states

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• Before the modern era, children who committed crimes received no preferential treatment and were adjudicated, punished, and imprisoned alongside adults. Beginning a few hundred years ago, England (from which we derive many of our legal traditions) adapted the principle of parens patriae. That principle allowed the government to take the place of parents in dealing with children who broke the law. Around the middle of the nineteenth century, the child-savers movement began in the United States. It espoused a philosophy of productivity and eschewed idleness and unprincipled behavior. Not long afterward, the 1899 codification of Illinois juvenile law became the model for juvenile court statutes throughout the United States. It created a juvenile court separate in form and function from adult criminal courts and based on the principle of parens patriae. To avoid the lasting stigma of criminality, the term delinquent (rather than criminal) began to be applied to young adjudicated offenders. Soon, juvenile courts across the country focused primarily on the best interests of the child as a guide in their deliberations. Today most jurisdictions recognize the following six categories of children subject to juvenile court jurisdiction: de-linquent, undisciplined, dependent, neglected, abused, and status offender.