Collaboration in the Juvenile Justice System and Youth Serving Agencies – In recent years policy makers and the public have been concerned about delinquency and violence, particularly offenses committed by juveniles. Evidence suggests that, although the number of juveniles referred to juvenile courts appears to be increasing, the percentage of juveniles involved in violent crime has remained relatively stable during the 1980s and 1990s (Snyder, 1998). In spite of relatively stable rates of violent juvenile offenses, media coverage and public perception have suggested that there has been a dramatic increase in the rate of violent crime (Center for Media and Public Affairs, 1993; cited in Schiraldi, 1998). One of the consequences of public perception of an increase in violent crime has been the implementation of practices and policies that have little empirical support and attack the symptoms of juvenile delinquency, not the problem itself.