CATEGORY: HISTORY OF JUVENILE JUSTICE By Barry Krisberg
September 1, 2005 "A century ago, reformers proved that prisons
don’t help wayward children. Now America is learning that lesson
all over again." In 1899, Illinois and Colorado established a
new “Children’s Court.” The idea was to substitute treatment and
care for punishment of delinquent youths. These changes were
promoted by child advocates such as the famous social activist
Jane Addams and crusading judges like Denver’s Ben Lindsey, as
well as influential women’s organizations and bar associations.
Over the next 20 years, the concept of a separate court system
for minors spread to most states. Although the new children’s
court movement lacked adequate resources to fulfill its lofty
mission, the intellectual promise was virtually unchallenged for
two-thirds of the 20th century. Several key assumptions lay
behind the juvenile-court idea. First, children were not just
“small adults,” and they needed to be handled differently.
Second, there was a need for