A new juvenile justice system : total reform for a broken system

A New Juvenile Justice System aims at nothing less than a complete reform of the existing system: not minor change or even significant overhaul, but the replacement of the existing system with a different vision. The authors in this volume--academics, activists, researchers, and those who serve in the existing system--all respond in this collection to the question of what the system should be. Uniformly, they agree that an ideal system should be centered around the principle of child well-being and the goal of helping kids to achieve productive lives as citizens and members of their communities.


Rather than the existing system, with its punitive, destructive, undermining effect and uneven application by race and gender, these authors envision a system responsive to the needs of youth as well as to the community's legitimate need for public safety. How, they ask, can the ideals of equality, freedom, liberty, and self-determination transform the system? How can we improve the odds that children who have been labeled as "delinquent" can make successful transitions to adulthood? And how can we create a system that relies on proven, family-focused interventions and creates opportunities for positive youth development? Drawing upon interdisciplinary work as well as on-the-ground programs and experience, the authors sketch out the broad parameters of such a system.


Providing the principles, goals, and concrete means to achieve them, this volume imagines using our resources wisely and well to invest in all children and their potential to contribute and thrive in our society.

Introduction: Re-visioning youth justice / Nancy E. Dowd -- Child well-being: toward a fair and equitable public safety strategy for the new century / James Bell -- A silent sea change: the deinstitutionalization trend in juvenile justice / Bart Lubow -- Starting from a Different Place: The Missouri Model / Tim Decker -- Doing Things Differently: Education as a Vehicle for Youth Transformation and Finland as a Model for Juvenile Justice Reform / Peter E. Leone -- Delinquency, Due Process, and Mental Health: Presuming Youth Incompetency / David R. Katner -- Why Should We Treat Juvenile Offenders Differently than Adults? It's Not Because the Pie Isn't Fully Baked! / Mark R. Fondacaro -- Lost in Translation No More: Marketing Evidence-Based Policies for Reducing Juvenile Crime / Richard E. Redding -- Building on Advocacy for Girls and LGBT Youth: a Foundation for Liberatory Laws, Policies, and Services for all youth in the juvenile justice system / Barbara Fedders -- Invest Upstream to Promote the Well-Being of LGBT Youth: Addressing Root Causes of Juvenile System Involvement / Shannan Wilber -- Correcting racial disparities in the juvenile justice system: refining prosecutorial discretion / Kristin Henning -- Helping Adolescents Succeed: Assuring a Meaningful Right to Counsel / Carlos J. Martinez -- Fit to Be T(r)ied: Ending Juvenile Transfers and Reforming the Juvenile Justice System / Richard Mora and Mary Christianakis -- Applying J.D.B. v. North Carolina: Toward Ending Legal Fictions and Adopting Effective Police Questioning of Youth / Lisa H. Thurau and Sia Henry -- What If Your Child Were the Next One in the Door? Reimagining the Social Safety Net for Children, Families, and Communities / Wendy A. Bach -- Immigrant Children: Treating Children as Children, Regardless of Their Legal Status / Elizabeth M. Frankel -- Crossover Youth: Youth Should Benefit When the State Is the Parent / Robin Rosenberg and Christina L. Spudeas -- Breaking the School-to-Prison Pipeline: New Models for School Discipline and Community Accountable Schools / Kaitlin Banner -- No More Closed Doors: Ending the Educational Exclusion of Formerly Incarcerated Youth / David Domenici and Renagh O'Leary -- Collateral Consequences of Juvenile Court: Boulders on the Road to Good Outcomes / Sue Burrell.