handled in the adult courts. By the late 1800's, reforms in this area began,

resulting in a separation of juvenile and adult courts. The state of Illinois

established the first juvenile court in 1899. Before 1899, children would go

to trial as adults and could get adult punishments such as long prison terms,

severe corporal punishment and sometimes even the death penalty (Hartford

Institute of Criminal and Social Justice 1).

With the reform of the juvenile justice system came the realization that

young offenders needed treatment and counseling, not just punishment. It

was also thought that juvenile court should be a different enviornment than

adult court. Today, each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia have a

distinct court system for juveniles (Turner 503).

The main idea behind the juvenile court system is that young people

must learn to be accountable for their own actions. This may include serious

punishment and incarceration, but always rehabilitation. The juvenile court

system is divided into two kinds of offenders: status offenders and juvenile

A status offender commits a crime such as running away

circumstances. If the juvenile commits a very serious crime or if he has a

The city is currently seeking to hire a second youth officer to assist

major part of this legislation provided funds to towns to impliment proactive

2. Keep juveniles separate from adults.

Fortunately, the juvenile justice system is getting national attention

Juvenile offenders are children who have actually committed crimes.

speech was divided into two parts: the problem and the solution. Biden

according to Arkansas law, we know that juveniles may not be tried in court.

Some common words found in the essay are:
District Columbia, Bristol Press, Congress Spring, , Justice System, Public Act, Tim Ustanowski, Senator Biden, Social Justice, Video Bristol, juvenile justice, juvenile justice system, justice system, juvenile court, court system, youth officer, national attention, violence home, offenders status, juveniles tried, happened arkansas, juvenile court system,
Approximate Word count = 867
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)