In Patching Up the Cracks Michael D. Grimes evaluates the American juvenile court system, specifically looking at its ability to address child abuse and neglect cases. This project is both a specific case study focusing on the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court in New Orleans, Louisiana, and a discussion of the need to examine the juvenile court system within its larger social and institutional context. Grimes persuasively argues that in order to better evaluate the potential for juvenile court reform, it is crucial to understand the health of the larger community environment within which the court system operates. The book begins with a chronological overview of the evolution of children's rights and a brief history of juvenile justice in America, culminating in a thoroughgoing assessment of its current status. Grimes concludes with a discussion of the need for more adequate studies--researchers and students will appreciate the discussion of his own research design and methodology--of the ways that juvenile courts treat dependency cases and the processes through which these courts can improve their performance.