A historical analysis of the juvenile court is presented in which treatment and rehabilitation are embraced as methods for dealing with youth offenders. Probation supervision, combining discipline and assistance within the context of a youth's family and community setting, is the court's preferred response to delinquency. Legal procedures are developed that reflect the mission of the court. However, changes took place in the mid-1960s with a series of United States Supreme Court decisions. Accused juveniles were extended the right to counsel. The 3 stages of court processing; intake, adjudication, and disposition stages; are examined in detail, and the nature of court personnel is analyzed. Currently, normal youths receive routine handling and probation, hard-core delinquents receive incarceration, and disturbed youths receive special therapeutic intervention. References, list of cases cited.