Skip to main content Posted December 12, 2020, By the Annie E. Casey Foundation Show
Juvenile justice in the United States is a collection of state and local court-based systems whose purpose is to respond to young people who come into contact with law enforcement and are accused of breaking the law. As part of the legal process, juvenile courts hear those cases to determine whether the youth violated the law and, if so, decide on a proper response. State and local juvenile corrections agencies (including probation and residential custody) manage the rehabilitative programs, services and sanctions provided to help young people stop further delinquent behavior. Juvenile vs. adult justice systemCommunity safety is a shared goal, but unlike the adult court system, the juvenile justice system does not recognize punishment as a legitimate purpose. Rather, its stated goal is to help young people avoid future delinquency and mature into law-abiding adults. Toward that end, the juvenile justice system has traditionally protected the confidentiality of court-involved youth. How many young people are in the juvenile justice system?In 2018, the most recent year for which data are available, about 750,000 young people were referred to juvenile courts nationwide for delinquent offenses that violate the criminal code, and another 101,000 for status offenses (such as running away, consuming alcohol or skipping school) that would not be illegal if committed by adults.1 Of the delinquency cases, 422,000 (57%) were formally processed in court, of which 220,000 were adjudicated delinquent (akin to a guilty conviction in adult court). Among youth who were adjudicated delinquent, the largest share (139,000) were placed on probation, and a much smaller number (62,000) were removed from home and placed in correctional institutions or other residential facilities.2 The 2018 data did not include a national single-day count of all young people in institutions; the most recent recording of that number, on Oct. 25, 2017, found that 43,580 youth were held in residential facilities as a result of delinquency charges, including 16,000 in pretrial detention and 27,000 committed to residential facilities following adjudication.3 What are the steps or stages in the juvenile justice system?The juvenile justice system is a multistage process: (1) delinquent behavior, (2) referral, (3) intake/diversion, (4) transfer/waiver, (5) detention, (6) adjudication, (7) disposition, (8) juvenile corrections and (9) aftercare.
Does diversion from the juvenile justice system work?Not all delinquency cases referred to the juvenile justice system are formally processed in court. Some are dismissed, others are diverted (handled informally outside the justice system) and still others are transferred for prosecution in adult criminal courts. Research comparing the outcomes for the youth under different scenarios has yielded two primary findings:
Problems in America’s juvenile justice systemThough America’s juvenile courts were founded on noble ideals, they have suffered from serious flaws and endemic abuses since their founding at the turn of the previous century.
How has the juvenile justice system made progress?America’s juvenile justice system has made encouraging progress in recent times, including:
What are some challenges with the juvenile justice system?While it has made progress, our nation’s juvenile justice system still faces urgent challenges such as:
Additional resources on juvenile justice
1. Hockenberry, S., & Puzzanchera, C. (2020). Juvenile court statistics 2018. Pittsburgh, PA: National Center
for Juvenile Justice. Retrieved from https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh176/files/media/document/juvenile-court-statistics-2018.pdf
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