Community around the Child: Evaluation of a program to reduce the criminalisation of Australian youth in out-of-home care
| Author | Danielle C Newton,Lesley A Hardcastle,Soula A Kontomichalos,Jane A McGillivray |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/26338076221110272 |
| Published date | 01 September 2022 |
| Date | 01 September 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Community around the Child:
Evaluation of a program
to reduce the criminalisation
of Australian youth
in out-of-home care
Danielle C Newton
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
Lesley A Hardcastle
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
Soula A Kontomichalos
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia;
Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety, Victoria,
Australia
Jane A McGillivray
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
Abstract
Young people in residential out-of-home care are universally over-represented in the criminal
justice system. This study presents an evaluation of Community around the Child, an early-inter-
vention initiative designed to reduce contact with the criminal justice system among young peo-
ple living in residential care in Victoria, Australia. Interviews and focus groups with professionals
(n=44) produceddata that were analysed using inductive thematicanalysis. The study found the
program promoted positive relationships betweenyoung people in care and police and between
police and residential carers. Increased knowledge on the part of both carers and police about
the impact of trauma on young people’s behaviour and methods for supporting young people to
regulate theirbehaviour contributed to these positive relationships. The studycalls for a holistic,
therapeutic response to the individual needs of young people who have experienced and
Corresponding author:
Jane A McGillivray, School of Psychology, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125,
Australia.
Email: jane.mcgillivray@deakin.edu.au
Article
Journal of Criminology
2022, Vol. 55(3) 338–358
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/26338076221110272
journals.sagepub.com/home/anj
continue to experience trauma. Essential to this is the provision of training in trauma informed
care for police and other stakeholders.
Keywords
Criminalisation, out-of-home care, residential care, complex trauma, young offenders, police
attitudes
Date received: 23 December 2021; revised: 12 April 2022; accepted: 30 May 2022
Introduction
The care of children and young people, especially those who are troubled and vulnerable, is a
key global health and social issue. Young people in care systems are frequently labelled ‘mad
or bad’(Fitzpatrick, 2006, p. 37) with associated social stigma. Longitudinal studies have
found that children with a history of out-of-home care (OOHC) experiences have a higher
risk of involvement in criminal justice systems than those who have lived in their familial
homes (Staines, 2016; Williams, 2017).
In Australia, the Child Protection branch of a state or territory government can place a child
or adolescent in a care environment, including foster care, kinship care or residential care.
While there is variation in residential arrangements across jurisdictions, in the State of
Victoria, children are placed in a two- to five-bed residential setting and supported by rostered
staff over a 24-h period (McLean, 2016). In June 2020, eight out of 1,000 children were in some
form of OOHC (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2021). This has increased signifi-
cantly since 2011 when the rate of OOHC was 7.4 out of 1,000 children (Australian Institute of
Health & Welfare, 2018). Of the approximately 46,000 children in OOHC at June 2020, 54%
were either with relatives or kinship arrangements, 37% in foster care and 6.6%, primarily with
complex needs, in residential OOHC. Most of these were on care and protection orders, and
67% had been continuously in OOHC for two years or more. This represents an increase of
more than 60% in the past 10 years with the needs of children becoming increasingly more
complex (Victorian Auditor General, 2014).
Children in residential out-of-home care
Many young people come into OOHC with a history of complex trauma, defined as ‘multiple
traumatic experiences that are repetitive or prolonged, involve direct physical or mental harm
and abandonment by primary or temporary caregivers, occur at developmentally vulnerable
stages over the life course, and have the potential to severely compromise a child’s develop-
ment’(Courtois & Ford, 2009, p. 9). These young people are commonly referred to as
‘high-risk kids’(Ainsworth & Hansen, 2008, p. 41) and include those who have experienced
‘cumulative harm’(Bromfield et al., 2007, p. 35). The types of adverse childhood experiences
include emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, physical neglect,
mother treated violently, household substance abuse, household mental illness, parental separ-
ation or divorce, and incarcerated household member (Hargreaves et al., 2017). These experi-
ences can lead to complex needs and manifest in difficulties in regulating behaviours,
managing emotions and developing positive relationships (Queensland Family and Child
Newton et al. 339
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