Recent changes indicate a trend toward developing more efficient and effective strategies for balancing frequently competing goals. This is evident in juvenile sentencing guidelines, which focus on more than transferring the most serious offenders to the criminal justice system. They focus on balancing competing goals, reducing discretion and promoting fair and consistent sanctioning, and tempering procedural with substantive justice. The goal is to preserve the notion that youth are not adults. A result of these trends is increasing interest in alternative administrative mechanisms for processing youthful offenders. Specialized courts, such as drug and community courts, have been developed to do what the original juvenile court was supposed to do--provide individualized and rehabilitative sanctioning. This new approach is done in a more timely fashion and draws on more cooperation from local and State agencies as well as families and communities. In the new century, juvenile justice involves more than an emphasis on due process and punishment. It also involves a belief in the special status of childhood, and the desire to develop more effective strategies for preventing and reducing juvenile crime. These types of issues become more apparent by focusing on sentencing guidelines. Researchers need to look beyond transfer laws in assessing recent reforms. There is a need for research on many new and different laws, polices, and programs in juvenile justice. 47 references