The chapter discusses the types, functions and legal responsibilities of the various juvenile justice agencies and institutions. This overview lays the groundwork for a study of juvenile delinquency and the juvenile justice process by delineating both the legal definitions of juvenile status offenses and juvenile delinquency and the scope of the problem in terms of official delinquency statistics. The chapter presents legalistic, sociological and criminological information in the following categories: (1) defining juvenile justice; (2) defining juvenile delinquency and status offenses; (3) official statistics and trends; (4) juvenile court statistics; (5) youth crime and chronic offenders; and (6) unofficial methods of measuring delinquency. The chapter includes discussion questions based on the information presented. Tables, figures, references