Both courts and police departments have had difficulty in coping with increased juvenile crime. This paper describes a program of collaboration between law enforcement and social services which illustrates a developing trend in the management of youthful offenders. In a suburban Conneticut community (Hamden), the police department regularly…

Statutory laws, case laws, and model laws have been provided in this report as a basis for comparing Mississippi's juvenile laws with other juvenile laws. Since legislation concerning juvenile courts is vast, complete legislation is only provided for the State of Mississippi and two model juvenile court acts. Discussion, however, is provided which…

Notes that juvenile justice systems are increasingly turning to law-related education (LRE) programs as a means of providing youths with some of the skills and knowledge which might deter continued delinquent behavior. Describes issues which must be addressed when implementing LRE in juvenile justice settings. (JDH)

This monograph introduces a series on youth with cognitive or behavioral disabilities and the juvenile justice system. The first section discusses the importance of prevention and early intervention to divert youth with disabilities from entering the justice system. It offers examples of such efforts and considers early and later intervention…

Growing evidence indicates that teen courts give a community's children and adults a practical response to the problems associated with delinquency, traffic safety, and substance abuse. Developing and implementing teen courts requires a collaborative effort and juvenile justice agencies need baseline information that will aid them in creating teen…

Suggests that adolescence is a cultural creation rather than a physical, developmental period. The relationship between the cultural definition of adolescence and the psychological concept of adolescence is seen as cyclical and interrelated. This type of relationship results in a unique problem for research into psychological aspects of…

The report of this New Jersey state task force is part of a proposed legislative package. This article cites some of the task force recommendations for restructuring the juvenile court system, dealing with violence and vandalism in the schools, and providing alternative schools for disruptive students. (SJL)

Traditional theories of juvenile delinquency have not yielded successful strategies for treatment. This article presents a multiple-strategy model with new and promising implications for child advocacy. (Author)

A 10-year comparison of New York State Family Court records examines the differences in the way courts adjudicate adolescent delinquents according to sex and offense. Attention is called to the improbability of altering adolescent behavior in any positive way through the punitive and highly moralistic means now employed. (Author)

A study compared the Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) lay-volunteer program and the staff attorney model in a large midwestern city. Results indicate that CASA volunteers performed at least as well as specialized attorneys in representing children in juvenile court. (BG)

Examines the relationship between teenage premarital paternity, child support enforcement, and delinquency. The non-random data were gathered from the Marian County, Indiana District Attorney's Office and Juvenile Court. Suggests that the early establishment of paternity should be pursued and that child support enforcement strategies should…

Presents the concept of advocacy in the trenches, wherein residential care staff intercede with and for dysfunctional families, dysfunctional children, and the bureaucracy. This advocacy emphasizes individualized treatment and case-by-case networking, focusing not on broad causes but on what is in the best interest of each child. (ET)

Reviews the state of knowledge about the magnitude of youth violence, its causes and consequences; and explores the effectiveness of interventions available to criminal justice, school, and mental health authorities, as well as the potential of new treatment initiatives. The article concludes with recommendations for future policymaking and…

Describes one teacher's successful efforts to free herself from a disruptive, threatening student by using the law. The Cook versus Bray case illustrates that teachers do not have to tolerate students who ride roughshod over the rights of other students or teachers when the school administration chooses not to protect them. (GR)

Explores the changes in the juvenile court system, in particular, the juvenile waiver and sentencing laws, as it transformed from a social welfare agency into a type of criminal court system for young offenders. Addresses whether states should create an integrated juvenile and criminal justice system. (CMK)