This hearing focused on a bill to amend the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to identify violent and hard core juvenile offenders and treat them as adults. Opening statements by four U.S. senators (the Honorable Fred Thompson, Herbert Kohl, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., and Orrin G. Hatch) present various perspectives on the role of the federal government in dealing with the problem of increasing youth violence. Following that are prepared statements by Senator John Ashcroft; Shay Bilchik, Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice; a panel consisting of Laurie E. Ekstrand, Associate Director, Administration of Justice Issues, General Government Division, U.S. General Accounting Office; Ira Schwartz, Dean, School of Social Work, University of Pennsylvania; and Lavonda Taylor, Chair, Coalition for Juvenile Justice, West Memphis, AR; and a panel consisting of Marvin E. Wolfgang, Professor of Criminology and of Law and Director, Selin Criminology Center, University of Pennsylvania; Delbert S. Elliott, Director, Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, University of Colorado, Boulder; and Terence P. Thornberry, Professor, School of Criminal Justice, State University of New York at Albany, NY. An appendix presents questions and answers. (SM)