Turf Wars in Progressive Era Juvenile Justice: The Relationship of Private and Public Child Care Agencies

Abstract

This article recounts the history of two 19th-century child-saving agencies, the New York Juvenile Asylum and Pennsylvania's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Toward Children, as they evolved prior to and through the Progressive Era. The discussion focuses on the organizational contexts and the interorganizational relations of the agencies to other child saving agencies and the juvenile courts. The authors suggest that organizational theory and research can influence the study of the conflict between public and private child care agencies in the Progressive Era juvenile court movement.