Chapter 15 of the textbook focuses primarily on juvenile justice. There are many sub-themes in this chapter, but there was one in particular that caught my interest. This topic has also been discussed several times in the discussion forum and it concerns preferential treatment for minors. These controversial treatments were specifically created and developed with the best interests of the child as their primary goal. The concept comes from the “parens patriae” philosophy which allowed states to intervene and take control of the problem child. This philosophy was later developed and addressed by the Supreme Court around the 1960s and became today's juvenile justice system. In this article, I will discuss the issues and main key points related to preferential treatment in the juvenile justice system. First, we need to understand some of the characteristics and purposes of preferential treatment. Preferential treatment was created to specifically assist minors in the due process of the justice system. According to “Criminal Justice Today,” Schmalleger (2010) “The Illinois Juvenile Court Act created a juvenile court, distinct in form and function from adult criminal courts. To avoid the lasting stigmatization of crime, the law applied the term delinquent rather than criminal to young offenders on trial. (p.552). Since minors are children under the age of 18, they are considered immature due to their age and level of judgment. It would therefore be unfair to treat them with the same treatment as adults. Children benefit from a special status within the framework of this preferential treatment which allows their cases to be treated differently from that of adults...... middle of article...... information and examples. The six categories of children given in the manual provide definitions and details of the six common types of children in the juvenile justice system, including delinquent child, unruly child, dependent child, neglected child, abused child and statutory offender. Knowing the categories can help me identify children who need help and also prepare me to prevent a problem from occurring. In conclusion, I think adults need to focus and pay more attention to their children and, in my opinion, this would be the most effective way. possible means of combating juvenile delinquency. I believe that preferential treatment for minors is the right thing to do. I also think we are moving in the right direction in terms of treatment for juveniles as long as we continue to improve programs to keep up with today's ever-changing world..