Key Principles for Improving Court Practice in Juvenile Delinquency Cases

Congressional leaders, federal agencies, and private foundations have long-recognized the need for a national effort focusing on improving court practice in juvenile delinquency cases. In response to this need, the NCJFCJ, with funding from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, launched a national initiative to develop, refine, publish, and disseminate a set of comprehensive guidelines for improved court and systems handling of juvenile delinquency cases. After three years of work by over 100 experts in juvenile justice and allied fields, the Juvenile Delinquency Guidelines: Improving Court Practice in Juvenile Delinquency Cases (DELINQUENCY GUIDELINES) was published in 2005 for use by judges, prosecutors, defense counsel, child advocates, probation officers, law enforcement, and service providers nationwide. The Guidelines are framed as sixteen key principles.

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