The Parens Patriae Law

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Throughout history juvenile offenders have needed to be protected from the harsh realities that adult offenders face daily. Children as young as 7 years old that were accused of wrongdoing had no rights and were imprisoned with adults. The doctrine of parens patriae provided the basis for the intervention in the lives of wayward youth and defined the legal responsibility towards the protection of children whose security was not guaranteed under the care of their parents.
The use of this policy is critical in ensuring the needs of the children are catered for and disparity among them is eliminated.

Prior to the mid1800s children were considered property and had virtually no rights. When children over the age of reason, generally 7 years old, committed crimes they were treated as miniature adults suffering the same punishments, incarceration and even death. Children were tried as adults and suffered their punishments alongside adults. The juvenile justice system was established in this country sometime around the mid1800s. During this time groups such as The Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents were mainly concerned with the moral education of children and were advocates for the separation of juvenile and adult offenders. The House of Refuge was opened in 1824 and was the first juvenile house of reform in the United States. This House of Refuge was built in an attempt to reform the juvenile offenders housing neglected and delinquent youths. Soon after other houses of refuge were built as well as reform schools for vagrant and delinquent juveniles and were intended for education and treatment, not for punishment. Hard work, strict regimentation and whippings were very common. Abuses such as physical attacks and ...

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...the separation of the juvenile offenders from the adult offenders during incarceration, to removing the child from the home for the safety and better interest of the child. The juvenile justice system in the United States is still based on the parens patriae concept, giving the courts the authority to step in for the protection of the child. There are many reasons for the increase in child abuse and the inability to care for children by the parents including addictions, economic loss, mental illness or disability. Children and juveniles are considered to be helpless and in need of the protection from the State, especially when it comes to the issues of abuse, neglect, delinquency and criminal activity.

Works Cited

http://www.djs.state.md.us/history-us.asp http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/19434_Section_I.pdf http://www.quaqua.org/parenspatriae.htm

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