Explain the developments leading to the creation of the first juvenile court.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Key points include: Pauperism—the upper elite of New York believed that
pauperism was destroying the city. Several of these prominent community members
organized themselves into the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism and set out to
develop policy recommendations on how to combat this growing problem. At the same
time, these reformers realized that there were no separate facilities for youthful
offenders. These reformers believed that an institution for youth should be focused not
just on rehabilitating these offenders, but also target those who were at risk of engaging
in delinquency. This led to the foundation of the New York House of Refuge in 1825.
During the late nineteenth century, a new reform effort called the child savers
developed. The child savers were composed primarily of middle-class educated women.
While their involvement created new career opportunities for women, it also allowed for
the maintenance of the status quo and institutionalized a belief system that focused on
traditional definitions of family life and child-rearing. The first juvenile court was
established in 1899 in Chicago as a result of the passage of a new child welfare law in
Illinois.