Preventing young people in care from entering the youth justice system requires focusing on fundamental stability and support structures rather than just diversion schemes, according to a leading child welfare expert.
The Protective Factors Against Criminalisation
Professor Mike Stein from the University of York has highlighted several critical factors that significantly reduce the likelihood of care-experienced young people becoming involved in criminal activity. His analysis comes in response to government proposals to review the automatic arrest of looked-after children who exhibit challenging behaviour.
International research demonstrates that certain protective factors prove more effective than reactive measures in preventing youth crime. These essential elements include maintaining stable family foster care placements throughout childhood and ensuring young people achieve academic success in school.
Beyond Basic Care: The Support That Matters
The professor's comprehensive approach extends beyond immediate care arrangements. He emphasises the importance of extending foster care placements beyond the age of 18, providing crucial stability during the transition to adulthood.
Additional vital supports include maintaining positive relationships with birth families, extended family members, partners and social networks. Being settled in appropriate accommodation upon leaving care and receiving comprehensive support from leaving-care teams also feature prominently among the protective factors.
These support teams should provide personal guidance, career advice, housing assistance and financial support to effectively prepare young people for independent living.
The Stark Reality of Current Shortcomings
Professor Stein notes with concern that too many young people in care miss out on these crucial opportunities, despite substantial evidence showing their unnecessary involvement in the criminal justice system leads to very poor outcomes.
This evidence includes the significant 2016 report In Care, Out of Trouble, published by the Prison Reform Trust following Lord Laming's review. The report detailed both the personal costs to young people and the broader financial costs to society when these support systems fail.
The professor's comments underscore that while diverting young people from automatic arrest represents a positive step, addressing the root causes through consistent, high-quality support remains the most effective long-term solution for reducing criminalisation among care-experienced youth.
