Report of the National Advisory Committee July 1980 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 2.30-81 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL To the President and Congress of the United States: I have the honor of transmitting herewith the Report of the National Advisory Committee for Juvenile Justice and Deliquency Prevention: Standards for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, prepared in accordance with the provisions of Section 247 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (Public Law No. 93-415, as amended by Public Law No. 95-417). The JJDP Act created a major Federal initiative to respond to the "enormous annual cost and unmeasurable loss of human life, personal security, and wasted human resources," caused by juvenile delinquency and delegated the responsibility for administering and coordinating the programs established under that initiative to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. As part of this effort, the Act called for development of national standards for the administration of juvenile justice. This report represents the culmination of the first phase of an ongoing process to generate improvements in the juvenile justice system. These standards provide direction for change and can be used as a benchmark for measuring progress toward improving the quality of justice for young people in the United States. The Report, which reflects the basic principles and policies of the JJDP Act, offers specific strategies, criteria and approaches that can be used in accomplishing some of the important objectives of the Act. Over the past decade a number of state and national groups, including many supported by LEAA, have carefully re-examined existing laws and practices and formulated criminal and juvenile justice standards and model legislation. This effort, which has benefited from these activities, represents a significant contribution to the field in its own right. It will serve as an important resource for use by policy makers, planners, youth advocates, legislators, judges, juvenile services agency administrators and other juvenile justice professionals and practitioners in all parts of the country. Respectfully submitted, Ira M. Schwartz |