The procedural reform initiatives proffered by the governors of twenty-two states would eliminate many types of protection which have generally been afforded to children during the investigation, adjudication, and sentencing of juvenile crimes.

The current reform activities' focus is primarily on increasing the punitive aspect of the juvenile justice system. The author takes the position that the present-day reformers are using "political gamesmanship" to "muddle and confuse" the national response to the ever-increasing problem of juvenile crime. He fears the new system will take on the motto "out of sight, out of mind" instead of the old and well settled juvenile justice principles: justice and mercy. The author proposes that the reformers should take more balanced approach that considers the need to rehabilitate the troubled juveniles.