Discuss the history and development of juvenile justice, including a discussion of the child savers and their vision of juvenile justice

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The modern practice of legally separating adult criminals and juvenile offenders can be traced back to the development of Elizabethan poor laws and the English chancery court. These innovations were designed to allow the state to take control of the lives of needy but not necessarily criminal children. To accommodate dependent youths, local jurisdictions developed almshouses, poorhouses, and workhouses. Unfortunately, they were crowded and unhealthy places that accepted the poor, insane, the diseased and vagrant, and destitute children. Middle-class leaders, who referred to themselves as child savers, began to develop organizations and groups to alleviate the burdens of the poor and immigrants by sponsoring shelter care for youths, educational and social activities, and the development of settlement houses. The child savers were responsible for creating a number of programs for indigent youths. They also influenced state and local governments to create independent correctional institutions to house minors.