Five periods of juvenile justice history

Running Head: JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
Five periods of juvenile justice history
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Juvenile Justice System
Five periods of juvenile justice history
The Juvenile Justice system is relatively new with its establishment being over a century ago.
In the year 1899, a first court hearing was held in Illinois. Before this, youth and children
were considered as young adults and as a result, they received similar punishments as
adults. The evolution of the Justice system amongst the juveniles has been in different
phases with the common ones being in the ancient controls of the social wellbeing and the
dependence on the English roots.
To start with, the Puritan Period was the first period and this was experienced between
1646 and 1824. During this period, fathers were given absolute powers over juveniles. In
most cases, they gave harsh punishments to children on the wrong side to the extent that
these punishments led to death. In the year 1646, the Stubborn Child Laws lead to the
creation of Status offenses such as incorrigibility.
The second period was the Refuge period between 1824 and 1899. Here, the state took over
from the family with the introduction of social control. Foster homes, houses of refuge and
reformatories were created. These were places where delinquents were sent for reform
purposes. The New York House of Refuge was then formed in 1824, (Vanstone, 2017, 22).
By using the “parens patriae” rule, courts were mandated to send mischievous youths to
these establishments until they became mature.
The third period was the Juvenile Court Period- 1899 to 1960. In 1899, the Juvenile Court
Act was enacted in Illinois. Courts were mandated to sentence children to different medical
models which were meant to treat them instead of giving them punishments. Crimes were