Everyone is ultimately responsible for their own actions, and when a person breaks a law in the United States, they are subjected to our criminal justice system. Children under the age of 18 are considered minors and are not held to the same standards as normal adults; therefore they are not held responsible for their actions. The regular justice system is harsh and brutal; therefore we have created a softer and more necessary system (trials) for minors which is called the juvenile justice system. While it has flaws, it is better than the alternative of going through the adult criminal justice system. The first juvenile court was established in 1899, in Chicago. Before that, anyone under 17 was placed in the same system as adults. Children don't need to be in prison to learn lessons, they are just children who have lost track and need to talk to get back on the right path. The juvenile system has the same goal which is to change the bad behavior of these children into a positive one. The youth system offers kids the chance to earn a high school diploma, GED, or even work in the facility as a teacher tutor or kitchen staff. The system was created to punish minors and put them on the right path instead of throwing them in prison to see their lives ruined and scarred by the system. A minor's first appearance before an adult judge in the criminal justice system is when they are normally offered the opportunity to enter the program. Another way is if it is a referral from parents, school, probation officers or a victim. A decision is usually made based on the child's past history as to whether he or she should be detained, released, or sent to another restorative program. In an average year, about 20% of cases referred to a juvenile court intake officer are resolved. ....middle of paper ......notable cases, there are dozens and dozens of cases of abuse of this system and much more as many more private prisons are popping up, due to the slow state of economy .There are still doubters and people who believe that the juvenile system should be abolished and because a crime is a crime and the punishment should be the same for everyone, regardless of age. Their strongest argument is in murder cases; the victim never returns and yet a child may appear to be able to walk away squeaky clean. A counterargument would be that the primary task of a jail or prison is the rehabilitation of inmates. There is no better example of rehabilitation than our juvenile justice system. Children are young and impressionable and easily lost, but just as they are easily led down the wrong path, with some proper counseling they can be put on the right one.