National arrest statistics clearly show that today's youth are more involved in violent crime than equivalent age groups in years past. Similarly, the youngest inmates report more substantial involvement in the juvenile justice system and longer records of violent juvenile conduct than older inmates. In terms of public policy, a significant finding is the problematic family backgrounds that the chronically violent youth are most likely to have experienced; only a small minority had two parents in the home during their childhood. This is significant because of the changes that have been occurring in the American family. In 1970, 6 percent of white births were to an unmarried woman, and by 1994 that figure had increased to 25 percent. In 1970, 38 percent of births among African-American women were out of wedlock, and in 1994, 70 percent of black births were to unmarried women. The youth who are manifesting the rapid increases in violence observed since 1987, as both victims and offenders, were all born during the period when this rapid change in family structure occurred. The decrease in juvenile violent crimes in recent years requires research to determine which policies and circumstances have been most influential in reducing youth violent crime in America. 2 tables