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The Dichotomy of Judicial Leadership: Working with the Community to Improve Outcomes for Status Youth
Author(s) -
Teske Judge Steven C.,
Huff Judge J. Brian
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
juvenile and family court journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.155
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1755-6988
pISSN - 0161-7109
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-6988.2010.01042.x
Subject(s) - psychology , political science , social psychology , criminology
First enacted in 1974, the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act ( JJDPA) creates a partnership among the federal government, states, and U.S. territories to create more effective juvenile justice systems premised on standards for the fair treatment of court-involved youth, and to reduce over-reliance on incarceration, while still holding youth accountable and keeping communities safe. Over the last 35 years, the JJDPA has fostered many systemic improvements, but a recent report by the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, A Pivotal Moment: Sustaining the Success and Enhancing the Future of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, underscores various unresolved issues faced by many states and territories. One such issue is the increasing use of locked detention for youth charged with status offenses (“status youth”). Under the JJDPA’s “Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders” mandate, states may not place status youth in secure (that is, locked) detention. Rather, states must implement policies and programs that provide status youth with the familyand community-based services needed to address and ameliorate root causes of their behavior.