Updated April 11, 2011.
Prepared by Cheryl Nyberg for Prof. Ambrose's Juvenile Justice Seminar, B617.
Research on juvenile justice issues may involve medical and social science materials as well as legal sources. This guide describes selected online sources, including commercial services to which the UW Libraries subscribe (UW Restricted) and free websites.
See the Gallagher guide on Other Library Catalogs for information on locating books beyond the Gallagher Law Library. Relevant subject headings used in library catalogs include:
In addition to the regular sources you search for legal information (law review articles, newsletters, LexisNexis, and Westlaw), consider search law-related blogs and websites. These sources are especially useful for recent news and commentary.
A free website that searches thousands of legal and law-related websites. Review the User Guide for more information.
Start with the sources described on the UW Libraries Health Sciences subject page.
PubMed is the primary index to health and medical literature. Using the UW Libraries link will enable you to link to full-text articles.
Focuses on child abuse, neglect, and welfare. Advocates for children with the U.S. Congress.
A group of "national youth serving organizations who came together to build a united voice for disadvantaged youth in this nation." Offers legislative and policy solutions and publications.
A federal government website providing "print and electronic publications,
websites, databases, and online learning tools for improving child welfare
practice." Includes a collection of 50-state laws surveys on abuse and neglect,
adoption, and welfare issues.
A "coalition of hundreds of private and public agencies serving vulnerable children and families." Provides information and legislative resources on many topics.
Identifies Washington as one of four states working on system-wide change. Links to numerous publications; sort by state. Twenty-seven publications focus on or mention Washington.
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Resource Guide describes and links to sources from many organizations.
In addition to the organizations listed above (and other associations and organizations), you can find public policy documents in other places.
Provides "justice and substance abuse information to support research, policy, and program development." Includes many federally-funded reports. The Juvenile Justice section covers child protection and health, corrections and detention, delinquency prevention, gender/race/ethnicity, juvenile courts, juvenile delinquency, schools, and victims.
Intended for undergrads but useful to law students too. Useful for identifying reports from associations and government agencies. Archives extend to 1923, enabling comparisons over time.
The social sciences study how humans behave. Criminology, cultural studies, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology are among the disciplines whose literature may be useful to researchers. Several UW Libraries Subject guides deal with these topics. The guides will point you to the most useful databases for locating books and articles. Most of these databases are UW Restricted.
What if you find an older article or book and want to find more recent sources on the same topic? The ISI Web of Knowledge (aka Web of Science) acts like KeyCite or Shepard's to make those connections. (UW Restricted)
Statistics are collected, maintained, and published by many associations, government agencies, and organizations.
US Census Bureau's annual Statistical Abstract of the United States. HA202 at Reference Area & Reference Office
The Law Enforcement, Courts & Prisons heading includes several groups of statistics on youth offenders.
The World Almanac and Book of Facts. AY67.N5W7, annual, latest at Reference Area & Reference Office
FedStats provides links to statistics from more than 100 government agencies.
ProQuest Statistical Insight (UW Restricted) is a commercial service that indexes statistical sources produced by federal, state, and local government agencies; organizations and associations; international and nongovernmental organizations; and others. Relevant subject headings include:
Do you want to identify, locate, and/or compare the states' laws on a particular subject?
Subject Compilations of State Laws (UW Restricted)
A searchable database that cites to articles, books, cases, court briefs, government documents, LexisNexis and Westlaw 50-state surveys, looseleaf services, and websites that list or compare state laws on hundreds of topics. Relevant subject headings include:
Articles that are found in the Law Journal Library on HeinOnline are linked. Website URLs are given. For books and government documents, check a library catalog to discover where a copy of the item is found.