ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the underlying criteria used by the probation officers of the Bronx Children's Court in recommending dispositions to the judge at the end of their presentence investigation reports. Much has been written about the causes of delinquency, but whether these writings focus on the delinquency itself, on the individual juvenile, his social background, or on any combination of the three, a suitable disposition is required. For example, as far back as 1922, John W. Houston considered it inappropriate to give probation treatment to juveniles who had committed serious delinquent acts. Most mothers of children recommended for probation and psychiatric examination had treated them with "some rejection," as recorded by the probation officers. In the discharge group, the majority of mothers were classified as evidencing "no rejection" of the child, while those children recommended to an institution suffered from "severe rejection" by their mothers.
