Posted: September 8th, 2022
Juvenile Justice Administration
Juvenile Justice Administration
The development of parents patriae and reform schools
The parens patriae doctrine basically gives the state the right to take the custody of children from parents who fail to care for their children by for instance, failing to educate, train, or supervise them. The doctrine was instigated in English chancery courts to safeguard the crown interest in feudal succession and set up royal power to manage the estates of minors who were orphaned and had property. Parens patriae entered the juvenile jurisprudence of America in 1838 to substantiate committing a minor to a house of refuge. The acceptance of this doctrine in the Ex parte Crouse case led to the development of new facilities designed specifically for juveniles. This is mainly attributed to the legal authority that parens patriae gave the state to commit minors and youth to reform schools.
As such, the 1850s welcomed the development of reform schools utilized to house dependent and delinquent children (Burfeind & Bartusch, 2015). These schools alleged to provide a more stable environment where delinquent children were educated via strict discipline and religious doctrines. The operation of most of these schools can be likened to a cottage system where the children were separated into “families” with cottage parents who supervised the daily activities of the family, youth discipline, and education. This framework is still utilized in several youth correction facilities today, nonetheless, in the 19th century minors were normally taken advantage of for labor (Burfeind & Bartusch, 2015). In addition, the reform schools put emphasis on family strength, and they were of the belief that the reinsertion of a strong family presence in the youth’s lives was key to deterring them from engaging in more criminal acts. Despite the lack of assessments of the effectiveness of these reform schools, their popularity continued to grow.
Reference
Burfeind, J., & Bartusch, D. J. (2015). Juvenile delinquency: An integrated approach. Routledge.
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