This is the third and final report in the Council’s series on ‘crossover kids’: sentenced and diverted children known to the Victorian Child Protection Service. The series studied 5,063 children sentenced or diverted in the Children’s Court and identified those who were known to child protection.
The first and second reports, released in June 2019 and April 2020, have a statistical focus. This third report explores policy issues relating to sentencing children who have experienced trauma, particularly children who have had contact with the child protection system.
The report draws on the findings of the first two reports, consultation on those findings and scientific evidence on the effects of childhood trauma. It canvasses possible changes to the youth justice system to more holistically and effectively address the causes of children’s offending.
The Council has also produced a factsheet comparing its key findings with the findings of a Monash University study.
Authored and published by the Sentencing Advisory Council
© State of Victoria, Sentencing Advisory Council, 2020
