The text examines the philosophy underlying the creation of the first juvenile court, the changes in the system as the result of United States Supreme Court decisions, current attitudes toward juvenile offenders, and current policies to deal with juvenile delinquents. Additional chapters discuss the processes by which the juvenile justice systems deals with a wide range of illegal activities and describes the roles and responsibilities of the juvenile justice professionals involved at each critical juncture of juvenile processing. Critical issues included juvenile diversion, drug prevention programs, gang prevention, juvenile court waiver, status offense decriminalization, decarceration, and juvenile shock incarceration programs. Other issues covered include minority overrepresentation in juvenile detention, the relationship between family life and delinquency, policies for violent juvenile offenders, juvenile delinquency prevention, and juvenile capital punishment. Tables, figure, photographs, index, and chapter reference lists