scholarly journals Young People Under Youth Justice Supervision With Varying Child Protection Histories: An Analysis of Group Differences

Author(s):  
Catia G. Malvaso ◽  
Paul H. Delfabbro ◽  
Andrew Day ◽  
Gavin Nobes

There is now convincing evidence that childhood maltreatment is associated with youth offending; however, relatively little is known about the characteristics and needs of those who are involved in both the child protection and youth justice systems, and the extent to which these might differ according to level of child protection involvement. This study reports the characteristics and needs of 2,045 young people who were under supervision in secure custody or detention in South Australia between 1995 and 2012 according to the level of exposure to the child protection system in an Australian jurisdiction. Five groups of young offenders were compared: (a) no known child protection notifications or substantiated experience of abuse and/or neglect, (b) notifications only, (c) substantiated notifications, (d) notifications or substantiations and subsequent placement in out-of-home care (OHC), and (e) placement in OHC only. The results indicate that young people who have a history of child protection system involvement have significantly greater and more complex needs than those who have no child protection experience. It is concluded that different service responses may be required to meet the diverse needs of these groups of young people under youth justice supervision.

2012 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Mendes ◽  
Susan Baidawi

Local and international research suggests an overrepresentation of young people leaving state out-of-home care in the youth justice system. A range of factors appear to contribute to this correlation including child abuse and neglect, placement instability, experiences of residential care, and unsupported transitions from care. This article presents the findings of a Victorian pilot study conducted in partnership with Whitelion, a not-for-profit organisation specifically offering support to ‘young people involved with or at risk of involvement with the youth justice and/or out-of-home care and leaving care services’ (Whitelion, 2012), to examine the interrelationship between the child protection and youth justice systems, and particularly to explore the processes that take place when young people involved in the youth justice system leave state care. A series of interviews and focus groups with Whitelion workers were used to explore whether leaving care plans and policies address and minimise involvement with youth justice; the role, if any, of formal consultations by child protection services with youth justice regarding this group of care leavers; and the ongoing role of youth justice postcare, particularly when young people are in custody at the time of their exit from care. Some significant implications for policy and practice are identified.


Author(s):  
Stephane Shepherd ◽  
Aisling Bailey ◽  
Godwin Masuka

African-Australian young people are over-represented in custody in the state of Victoria. It has been recognized in recent government and stakeholder strategic plans that African-Australian community service providers are well placed to help address the increasing complex needs of at-risk African-Australian youth. However little is known about the capacities of such providers to effectively contend with this growing social concern. In response, this study aimed to explore the perspectives and operational (service delivery and governance) experiences of African-Australian community organizations which provide services to at-risk young people in Victoria. Through a series of in-depth interviews with the leadership of eight key African-Australian service providers, we aimed to identify their perceived strengths, obstacles faced and proposed strategies to realize key objectives. Perspectives on key risk factors for young African-Australian justice system contact were also gathered. Several themes were extracted from the interviews, specifically (i) Risk factors for African-Australian youth justice-involvement (school disengagement, peer delinquency, family breakdown, intergenerational discord, perceived social rejection), (ii) The limitations of mainstream institutions to reduce African-Australian youth justice-involvement (too compliance focused, inflexible, business rather than human-centered, disconnected from communities and families), (iii) The advantages of African-Australian community service providers when working with African-Australian youth (community credibility, client trust, flexibility, culturally responsive), (iv) The challenges faced by African-Australian service providers (lack of funding/resources, professional staff shortages, infrastructural/governance limitations), and (v) “What works” in service provision for at-risk African-Australians (client involvement in program design, African staff representation, extensive structured programming matched with client aspirations, prioritizing relationship building, persistent outreach, mental health and legal literacy for clients and families). Implications for service delivery and social policy are discussed within.


2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 710-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Bessant ◽  
Karen Broadley

Modern policy-making communities repeatedly proclaim the idea and value of participation and ‘listening to children and young people’. We note the growing official recognition of children and young people’s right to participation in policies relating to child protection and out-of-home care. Indeed, taking their views into account is mandated in many countries with domestic and international legal requirements accompanying the policy commitments to its value. In this article we explore the disparity or tensions between the ‘espoused theory’ and the ‘theory-in-use’ within child protection. We observe a gap between what policy-makers and practitioners say is the practice and what is actually done, and consider whether there is an effective commitment to the participation of children in child protection. While we rely primarily on Australian and English material, we suggest the arguments and findings presented here have a general international relevance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Lane Eastman ◽  
Regan Foust ◽  
John Prindle ◽  
Lindsey Palmer ◽  
Justin Erlich ◽  
...  

In this study, we use population-based linked administrative data to document the full child protective service (CPS) histories of arrested youth and young adults. We extracted records for all individuals aged 24 and under who were arrested in California in 2014 and 2015. These records were probabilistically linked to statewide CPS records dating back to 1998. Overall, 43.4% of those arrested had a history of CPS involvement. Among individuals with uncensored CPS records (born in 1998 or later), 60.2% had past CPS involvement. Findings indicate that youth and young adults booked for a felony offense were more likely to have a history of CPS involvement than those booked for misdemeanors. A multinomial model served to confirm bivariate findings. This study provides further evidence that community concerns of childhood maltreatment were common among criminal justice–involved young adults.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-445
Author(s):  
Jason M. Armfield ◽  
Emmanuel Gnanamanickam ◽  
Ha T. Nguyen ◽  
James C. Doidge ◽  
Derek S. Brown ◽  
...  

Greater school absenteeism is associated with numerous negative educational outcomes. We used a retrospective cohort design with linked administrative data on 296,422 children to examine the relationship between school absenteeism and child protection system (CPS) involvement. Children with substantiated maltreatment had 4.1 times more unexplained and problem absences than children with no CPS involvement. In multivariate analyses, children with substantiated maltreatment had significantly greater “chronic” truancy ( OR = 3.41) and less “acceptable” levels of absences ( OR = 0.74) compared to children with no CPS involvement. Greater absenteeism was seen for children with substantiated neglect and who had their first CPS notification earlier in life. Being in out-of-home care for 3+ years was a protective factor for children who had a CPS notification before age 5. Additional adversities had a strong additive effect with CPS involvement on absenteeism and chronic truancy. This study demonstrates the potential scope for reducing problem absenteeism and helps inform the public debate regarding how the type and timing of CPS involvement might ameliorate or exacerbate harm for children.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-40
Author(s):  
Katharina Gerarts

The article looks at the history of childhood in the society, the country of Germany, and abroad. Today’s view of children as legal persons, recognizing their endowment with competencies and resources but also their ontological dependence, is a rather ‘new’ perspective in human history. Therefore the article first focuses onto the UN-Child-Right’s-Convention which was ratified in Germany in 1992. Second, a closer look at the development of the legal foundations of child protection in Germany shows how child protection in Germany was developed. The reader will get an overview about the child protection system in Germany, afterwards. The article ends with some recommendations to establish a child-rights-focused perspective in the child protection system in Germany.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document