The paper emphasizes that many children pass through child welfare, health care, and educational systems before their involvement in the juvenile justice system. Many children end up on the juvenile justice system because there was no effective provision of services from more appropriate agencies. Young children at risk of future delinquent involvement require early and effective intervention. The cycle between early childhood influences and delinquency can be broken by improving early identification of youth at risk of becoming chronic offenders, recognizing that children are different from adults, and developing a balanced approach to juvenile justice. 11 references