In 1999, we will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the
establishment of the juvenile court. It is a centennial worth
celebrating, for the juvenile court is the linchpin of Americaís
juvenile justice system, playing a critical role on the front
line in the fight against juvenile crime and violence. The
juvenile courtís influence on the lives of the children it
serves is significant and often lasts a lifetime. As we approach
the next millennium, the challenges that face the juvenile court
are considerable. These challenges have changed as our society
has changed over the past two decades, and these changes have
affected both the volume and the nature of the juvenile offenses
with which the court must deal. Juvenile Court Statistics 1995
profiles more than 1.7 million delinquency cases and 146,000
status offense cases handled by juvenile courts in 1995. From
1986 to 1995, the number of delinquency cases addressed by
juvenile courts rose 45 percent. In that same decade, juvenile
court cases for offenses agains