The editors of this volume collectively have more than sixty years of experience researching and writing about juvenile delinquency and developing and evaluating programs for juvenile offenders. Despite declines in youth crime, public perceptions of youth violence have contributed to widespread support for dismantling the juvenile court system and trying children as adults replacing rehabilitation with incarceration as the solution to juvenile delinquency.
The articles in the first section discuss current issues in the juvenile justice system: the failures of detention and correctional facilities; disproportionate jailing of minority offenders; aftercare; and the double standard for juvenile girls. Each of the articles underscores the issues of class, gender, and racial bias. The articles in the second section offer recommendations for reform: the need to seek alternative perspectives on what constitutes delinquency; appropriate measures for addressing problem behavior; detention diversion; alternatives to secure confinement; and effective programs designed specifically for girl offenders.
