Parens Patriae Philosophy

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In the early 1600s, the development of the philosophy, parens patriae started the foundation of the early juvenile justice system. Under this approach, it was believed that juvenile criminal behavior was viewed as a sign of a lack of parental care and control (Ramirez, 2008). This concept was operated in chancery court that referred to the king’s role as the ‘father of the country’ and granted the power of the state to act on behalf of the child and assure protection as would a parent (Gulledge, 2015). During this time and for many decades, children were treated as if they were adults. They were pushed into the workforce, which limited their education, and wrongfully punished. Age was the only consideration when determining the appropriate …show more content…
These reformers were interested in what was best for the children and imposed new limitations. During 1899, in Cook County, Illinois, the first juvenile court system was established and based on the principle of parens patriae. The court system served to treat, rehabilitate, and implement limitations on disposition (Gulledge, 2015). These principles were the core of the creation of the juvenile justice system, and aimed to separate children from adults, in terms of determining punishment. Parens patriae also guided the early child-saving proponents of the juvenile court, which stressed the importance of individually diagnosing and treating children, case-by-case (Mears, Hay, Gertz, & Mancini, …show more content…
These crimes typically result in the juvenile being placed either on probation, in community placement programs, or corrections-based programs. The outcome of the mentioned approaches to punish and rehabilitate delinquent juveniles are not as prevailing as we hoped. Recidivism is typically very high, their change of attitude is slim to none, and shockingly, once the system begins applying sanctions harmful behavior begins to escalate (Hines, 2008). As a result, controversy regarding the success of the juvenile justice system has risen because its purpose was never intended to govern these serious, and violent crimes (Ramirez,

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