Since its implementation in 2003, the Youth Criminal Justice Act has been the subject of intense political and scholarly debate. A complicated mixture of provisions intended to provide harsher punishments for serious violent crimes while encouraging positive, non-punitive interventions in less serious cases, its impact on the youth justice system remains controversial.

Implementing and Working with the Youth Criminal Justice Act across Canada provides the first comprehensive, province-by-province analysis of how each Canadian jurisdiction has implemented the Act in accordance with its own history, traditions, and institutional arrangements. Drawing on in-depth interviews with probation officers, counselors, educators, and social workers, the contributors use the experiences of practitioners to offer a new analytical perspective on a complicated and contentious aspect of the Canadian justice system. Their conclusions provide vital policy and program information for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers concerned with Canada’s youth justice systems.

Marc Alain is a well established book publisher and author residing in Montreal, Canada. After completing a Masters degree in Sociology and briefly teaching, Mark embarked on a journey of self discovery during which he explored numerous religious philosophies and spiritual practices of diverse origins, in order to unlock the shared commonalities of spiritual and emotional well-being. He views himself as a student of life and a participant sociologist, always seeking to understand the true nature of life, love and happiness.

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Raymond R. Corrado is a professor in the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University.

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Susan Reid is a professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at St. Thomas University.

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"Implementing and Working with the Youth Criminal Justice Act across Canada achieves its purpose of elucidating the complex nature of the YCJA through its inter-provincial/territorial approach…This book is a valuable read for anyone seeking to understand the youth criminal justice system because, as this collection demonstrates, the national perspective cannot tell the whole story due to the widely centralized and decentralized implementation strategies."

Saskatchewan Law Review