Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
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The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 is a United States federal law providing funds to states that follow a series of guidelines regarding the rights of juvenile offenders. The purpose of the legislation is to reduce labeling, as advocated by labeling theory. The four key requirements of the act are:
- the deinstitutionalization of status offenders and non-offenders
- "sight and sound" separation between juvenile and adult offenders
- a sharp limitation on the ability of the juvenile justice system to detain juveniles in adult facilities
- protection of minority groups from being overrepresented in high-security facilities
The third requirement was added in 1980 in response to finding juveniles incarcerated in adult facilities resulted in "a high suicide rate, physical, mental, and sexual assault, inadequate care and programming, negative labeling, and exposure to serious offenders and mental patients." [1] The last was not a full requirement of the JJDP Act until the legislation was amended in 1994. [2]
The compliance of states towards the requirements of the JJDP Act is monitored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. [3] As of 2000, the "vast majority" of participating states comply with the first three requirements and are making strides towards the fourth. [4]. With the exceptions of South Dakota and Wyoming, all states participate in the program.
