Early on in the nineteenth century, many pieces of
legislation were introduced to aid in the civilization of treatment of
children. In spite of heightened public interest in juvenile care, nothing
existed specifically for the care of delinquent children. In addition, there were no laws or courts to
control delinquents beyond those established for adult offenders. At one point
the U.S. established facilities to change delinquents through the use of
prayer, study and hard work; this did not stop the punishment of whipping or
leg irons on the youth. However, many highly criticized these punishments,
calling them abuse. As psychologists and sociologists began to recognize the
rising concept of adolescence as a developmentally separate period of life,
reformers argued for the movement of children out of the adult prisons. The idea of children as a group separate from
adults became an increasing popular social ideology. This ideology became more prevalent as
society became increasingly aware of children’s needs and rights.
Urbanization and industrialization of the nineteenth
century generated the belief that certain groups of the population were
susceptible to the influence of their decaying environment, and needed to be
rescued and “saved”. The youth of these classes were considered a group that
might be “saved” by a combination of state and community intervention (Siegel
& Welsh, 475). Contemporary programs of delinquency-control can be traced
to the reforms of the child-savers who, at the end of the nineteenth century,
helped create special judicial and correctional institutions for the labeling,
processing, and management of “troublesome” youth (Platt). Privately funded by
mid-nineteenth century charitable organizations, the child-saving movement
established roots in these organizations for protection and the benefit of
children. According to faqs.org,
“In the height of the movement,
between 1890 and 1920, child savers worked in such diverse reform efforts. Fighting
child abuse, regulating child labor, founding kindergartens, building
playgrounds, establishing the juvenile court, campaigning for mothers'
pensions, and reducing infant mortality rates” (McAmant).
Child savers believed they could secure a better
future for their nation by alleviating the perils of poverty for the young and
working to Americanize the immigrant children. Groups like the Child Savers who
pushed for reforms relating to “at risk” youth are one of the big reasons that
juvenile reformatories such as the New York House of Refuge were created.
The first juvenile reformatory in the nation was the
New York House of Refuge. The reformatory was the product of a humanitarian organization
in 1816. Originally referred to as the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism,
the group was dedicated to the idea of protecting poverty-stricken children,
who were at risk for crime by taking them off the streets and having them
raised in a family-like environment. During the early years, the Society was
dominated by Quaker merchants and other influential political leaders, such as
Cadwallader Colden and Stephen Allen (New York State Archieves). According to Larry Siegel and Brandon Welsh,
“Although the New York House of
Refuge was privately managed, the state legislature began providing funds,
partly through a head tax on arriving transatlantic passengers and seamen, plus
the proceeds from license fees for New York City’s taverns, theaters, and
circuses” (Siegel & Welsh, 475).
A majority of the children, under the care of the reformatory, were sent
to the reformatory because of vagrancy and petty crimes and were committed indefinitely
until they turned 18. Once they became a resident, the youth’s daily schedule
was mainly dedicated to supervised labor, which was viewed as beneficial to the
education and discipline of the adolescent. This labor also aided in the
operating expenses for the reformatory. In order to segregate each child
according to their behavior, a badge system was created (Siegel & Welsh,
475). The New York House of Refuge was not the only organization centered on
bettering the lives of the youth in the United States, The New York Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Children also focused on protecting children.
The first child protection agency in the world was
the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Since its
establishment in 1875 the NYSPCC has strived to create and put into practice new
mental health, legal, and educational programs that aims to protect youth from injury
and guarantee their healthy development. As stated on nyspcc.org
“In its
first eight months of operation, the NYSPCC received and investigated several
hundred complaints, prosecuted 68 criminal cases and rescued 72 children from
abuse and neglect. So many harmful conditions existed that the NYSPCC realized
new laws were needed and worked for their enactment” (NYSPCC).
NYSPCC is an advocate for almost all the laws
involving child protective legislation. At the end of the nineteenth century,
the fundamental idea of organized child protection had been established and
resulted in the use of it across the world. According to the New York Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children’s website, “In New York City,
specifically Manhattan and the Bronx, the NYSPCC had investigated over 130,000
complaints, aided 370,000 children, sheltered 84,000 of them at its own expense
and prosecuted 50,000 cases at a conviction rate of 94%” (NYSPCC). Not only
were new laws being implemented, with the help of a rising number of agencies enforce
them, but the recognition of society's responsibility for the protection of
children also continued to grow.
In 19th century America, little
distinction was ever made regarding the criminal culpability of children versus
adults. As a result, children as young as 5 were treated the same as adults for
criminal offences. Society slowly began to recognize the need for changes to be
made in the treatment of delinquent, mistreated, and runaway children.
Organizations such as the New York House of Refuge and the New York Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Children were groups best recognized for their advocacy
and actions dedicated towards protecting at risk youth and striving to better
the lives and future of the children under their care. Without organizations
like these along with help from groups like the Child Savers, who pushed for
reforms in juvenile justice and the protection and benefit of children,
Juvenile Justice would not be where it is today. It is because of these types
of groups and organizations that the United States today has distinguished a
difference between how juvenile delinquents should be treated, and how adult
criminals should be treated in a justice system.
Works Cited
McAmant, Caroline
Hinkle. "Child Saving." -
Child Abuse and Neglect, Child Labor, Education, Youth Organizations and Child
Leisure, Juvenile Delinquency.Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Ch-Co/Child-Saving.html>.
New York State
Archives. New York House of Refuge -A Brief History. Web. 22 Oct.
2012.<http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_ed_reform_history.shtml>.
Platt,
Anthony. The Rise of the Child-Saving Movement: A Study in Social
Policy and Correctional Reform. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://ann.sagepub.com/content/381/1/21>.
Siegel, Larry J.,
and Brandon Welsh. Juvenile
Delinquency: Theory, Practice and Law. Andover: Cengage Learning, 2011.
Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment