The first section examines the handling of juveniles by justice systems from ancient times to the 20th century, along with the slow emergence of a separate system of juvenile justice and the concepts of parens patriae and accountability. The next section describes the characteristics of juvenile offenders, discusses causal theories regarding juvenile delinquency, and discusses diagnostic and treatment procedures for juvenile delinquents. Further sections detail the processing of juvenile cases, programs and measures devised to address specific kinds of delinquency, alternatives to incarceration, juvenile delinquency prevention, and juvenile diversion. The concluding section discusses juveniles as victims in the social system, the streets, the underworld, and the juvenile justice system; discusses innovative new approaches and summarizes reforms of the late 1980's and the changes needed in the 1990's. Figures, tables, photographs, chapter summaries and review questions, chapter reference notes, appended offense definitions and text of Uniform Juvenile Court Act, and index