How we fail children who offend and what to do about it : 'a breakdown across the whole system'. Brief summary of research. Updated recommendations

Lambie, Ian

How we fail children who offend and what to do about it : 'a breakdown across the whole system'. Brief summary of research. Updated recommendations Ian Lambie, Jerome Reil, Andrew Becroft and Ruth Allen - Wellington, New Zealand : Michael & Suzanne Borrin Foundation, 2022 - electronic document (24 pages) ; PDF file

Published August 2022

This brief summary research follows on from a more comprehensive report published in March 2022 (#7609). This research looks at risk and protective factors for children (under age 14 years) who offend in order to improve early identification and intervention efforts and protect such children from potentially lifelong criminality.

Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) data on 48,989 children (from their birth in 2000 until June 2019) showed factors associated with starting to offend as a child. Case files on all 108 children nationwide who had offended (under section 14(1)e) in one year (mid-2019 to mid-2020) cast light on these children’s lives. Key stakeholder interviews with whānau, lawyers and other professionals (n = 33) explored how the child welfare and Family Court systems could be improved.

This research clearly showed that, in the vast majority of cases, child offending was preceded by significant child welfare concerns. IDI data showed high levels of adversity and abuse, reports of concern to Oranga Tamariki, out-of-home placements and state care, stand-downs and suspensions from school, and indicators of cultural and social deprivation that were significantly worse relative to their non-offending peers. (From the website). Record #7852


Oranga Tamariki, Ministry for Children


ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES
CHILDREN AT RISK
CHILD WELFARE
CHILDREN
CRIME PREVENTION
FAMILY COURT
INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION
INTERVENTION
JUSTICE
MĀORI
PREVENTION
SCHOOLS
SOCIAL POLICY
YOUNG OFFENDERS


NEW ZEALAND