North America (From Action-Oriented Research on Youth Crime, P 131-145, 1986, Ugljesa Zvekic, ed. - See NCJ-105775)

• NCJ Number: 105782
• Author(s): L McHardy
• Date Published: January 1986
• Length: 15 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored

Annotation

An overview of research on juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice in the United States emphasizes the research supported by the National Institute of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (NIJJDP) and a recent symposium's consensus that close interaction between practitioners and researchers will improve the quality and usefulness of research.

Abstract

The large number of diverse jurisdictions in the United States make it difficult to generalize about the nature, extent, causes, and responses to juvenile delinquency in the nation. However, the participants at a symposium sponsored by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges agreed on the need for close communication between researchers and practitioners. NIJJDP has sponsored much of the juvenile justice research in the past decade. The research has encompassed three broad areas: (a) the prevention of delinquency and the exploitation of children, (2) the improvement of the juvenile justice system, and (3) alternatives to processing through the juvenile justice system. Future research should focus on the following areas: (1) evaluation of outcomes determined by an intervention's substance rather than its label, (2) evaluation of due process requirements, (3) the characteristics of youths for whom existing programs are effective, (4) court administration and service management, and (5) the characteristics of staff members involved in programs found to be effective. 1 note.