DILEMMAS OF THE JUVENILE COURT

Abstract

T his paper deals with th e historical origins and development of th e juven ile court in the Un ite d Sta tes. It is not primarily conce rn ed with th e controversial and unresolved questions of th e eti ology of delinquency. It rather seeks to elucida te th e legal and social processes by which those juveniles who are apprehended for antisocial behavior are handled. The emphasis throughout is the background, proced ures, and devices in effect with these children so that psychiatrists, when th ey ar e involved, may better integrate their own con tribution with those of judges, probation and parole officers, and of prosecuting and defense a ttorn eys. The isolation of such contacts in psychiatric training beyond a perfunctory level has been all too prevalent for psychiatrists and child psychiatrists, as has an absence of theoretical knowledge in this field amo ng those who lat er require on the job I beli eve that a gras p of th e or ienta tion and functions of these severa l rel ated professions is not only desirabl e but mandatory for the psychiatrist who has any contact with acting-out juveniles. As a minimum, a familiarity with the th eoreti cal and operation al approaches of lawyers, sociologists, social and welfare workers is needed . A similar lack of juvenile court knowledge is also evident in legal training. The end result is confused communication among th e various di sciplines and a lack of a coord ina ted approac h for dealing with antisocial behavior in th e community. The psychological effects the child and adolescent of th e current confusions in theory and practice may actually