Reviving Juvenile Justice in a Get-Tough Era

Abstract

State and local jurisdictions throughout the United States enacted a wide array of new juvenile justice policies in recent years. Many of these policies were intended to make the juvenile justice system tougher, but others improved prevention, increased rehabilitation, and enhanced the restorative features of the juvenile justice system. This article describes the most prominent new ideas in juvenile justice and addresses a question usually asked by policy makers: What works? It suggests that a new generation of innovative programs might revive the spirit of American juvenile justice.