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Juvenile Justice System In America

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The history of the juvenile justice system in America was identical to the adult justice system when it came to incarceration of youth. The only difference during the 16th and later part of the 18th century was that juveniles faced situations where they could be incarcerated for violations that adults would not be subject to merely due to age. Children were incarcerated with adults in general population for violations that did not meet the definitions of criminal behavior. The justice system just did not know what to do with juveniles at the time (Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, n.d., p. 1).
As the justice system moved into the late part of the 18th century the child saver movement was formed. During this time parents were over worked and poverty levels were at an all-time high. America formed programs to save children from extreme laborious jobs, assist with poverty issues, and provide better educational opportunities for disadvantaged children. The most notable act of the child saver movement was it kicked off juvenile justice reform ("Juvenile Justice - Reformers," n.d., p. 1). America was wake and aware children were getting lost and abused within the current adult justice system. …show more content…
2). In all aspects, if courts exercise parens patriae, parents did not have adequate influence over the at risk youth. Just as with the Industrial Era, today we are seeing more children unsupervised and lacking discipline. When the parents and communities fail to provide direction, motivation, and mentorship the justice system is forced to step in and implement measures in efforts to deter children from becoming adult

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