9. By the end of the nineteenth century, criminal courts were more likely to sentence children to training schools for specialized treatment. Social reformers were simultaneously campaigning for a special court system that would understand, diagnose and treat the problems of the child in a way that would restore the child to the community. The reformers placed the welfare of the child ahead of the question of guilt or innocence. It was this reforming force that led to the establishment of today's juvenile courts (Haskell & Yablonsky, 1978, p. 379-380).
The first statute defining a delinquent child and creating a juvenile court was in Illinois in 1899. Operation of the juvenile court began in Cook County, Chicago, in June 1899. The Latin phrase Parens patriae, protecting children in need of protection summarizes the underlying social and legal philosophy. Basically, this juvenile court system is the logical outgrowth of the system of separate correctional facilities for children and the use of probation as a treatment for children. It was thirteen years after the creation of the juvenile court that a Children's Bureau led by social workers was established. The Children's Bureau exerted influence on the development of juvenile courts throughout the United States. Laws for differential treatment of juvenile delinquents existed in all states by 1945 (Haskell & Yablonsky, 1978, p. 379-381).
The original Juvenile Court Act which Illinois governor John Tanner signed into law on April 2l, 1899 is considered the most influential law governing juvenile delinquents that has ever been passed in the United States. The Illinois law of 1899 marked the end of the penal approach to juvenile delinquency and the start of a more flexible approach that was preventative and scientific. The Juvenile Court Act basically defined the juvenile delinquent as any child under age sixteen who violated any law or ordinance of the State, city or village. The ...