Description
Book SynopsisExamining the vision and methods of the original proponents of the Cook County Juvenile Court, this title uncovers the court's intrinsic flaws as well as the sources of its debilitation. It argues that the impotence of the juvenile court system stems from contradictions that lie at the very heart of progressivism.
Trade Review"When the first juvenile court was founded in Chicago just over a century ago, it was a radical innovation... The juvenile court did not spontaneously evolve... It came about through the struggles and sustained efforts of a group of educated, middle class women who believed that the authority and resources of the state could be used to harness scientific knowledge to improve social conditions. Getis has written an eminently readable and interesting book which documents in considerable detail the efforts of Jane Addams, Lucy Flowqer, Juila Lathrop and their many friends and colleagues to remove children from the adult courts and promote a new concern with child welfare." -- Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare "The book is well written and researched, and Getis's cogent argument forcefully drives the test to its justifiable conclusions. The prose is peppered with a number of interesting questions." -- David Blanke, Journal of Illinois History ADVANCE PRAISE "Getis advances our understanding of what the progressive experts wrought at the turn of the century and why, despite their excellent intentions and sustained attention, so many of the problems they battled remain with us in full force." -- Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn, author of Black Neighbors: Race and the Limits of Reform in the American Settlement House Movement, 1890-1945
