An early onset of delinquency prior to age 13 years increases the risk of later serious, violent,and chronic offending by a factor of 2–3. Also child delinquents, compared to juvenileswho start offending at a later age, tend to have longer delinquent careers. This article summarizesthe report of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's Study Group onVery Young Offenders, chaired by Rolf Loeber and David P. Farrington. The Study Group,consisting of 16 scholars and 23 coauthors, worked for 2 years on preparing a report, undertakingextensive secondary data analyses, and writing chapters in different speciality areas. The reportconsists of a state of the art review of the developmental background of child delinquents. Thereport also summarizes risk and protective factors in the individual, family, peer group, school,and neighborhood that affect that development. Lastly, the report renews relevant preventive andremedial interventions in the juvenile justice system, families, peer groups, schools, andneighborhoods, and makes a case for improvement in the integration of services for childdelinquents. Policy recommendations are presented to improve methods of dealing with childdelinquents by juvenile justice, child welfare, and mental health agencies.