Development of a judicial response to substance abuse

The American juvenile justice system continues to be an arena in which a myriad of varying values and practices come under constant challenge and close scrutiny, not only from those outside the system, but particularly by those within the system, those on the firing-line--the judges, court administrators, prosecutors, defenders, police, social workers and probation officers who are responsible for the operation of the system. Every juvenile court and the personnel who work with it are faced with the difficult process of evaluating and adapting to multiple "standards" and the challenges of implementing effective change within the perimeters of varying systems and statutes. The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges recognizes that the responsibility for further improvement, for effective and long-lasting change, in a juvenile justice system that operates in a vastly complex society will rest even more heavily in the future where it has been in the past--on the individual judge and practitioner.