As the UK observes National Children’s Day (18th May) this year, it is a good time to pause and consider that some children in the UK are facing considerable early life challenges that can impact their wellbeing and their opportunities across their lifetime.
In recent research carried out at the University of Sheffield, we explored whether children who had a social worker or were in care experienced worse outcomes in the criminal justice system than other children. Read the full report, ‘Safeguarding Futures: Reducing the risk of criminal justice involvement for children in contact with the social care system’, here (click).
Research results
The research found that, depending on the level of involvement from social workers, by age 25, children in the care system were:
- 2 – 6 times more likely to have at least one criminal caution or conviction
- 2 – 11 times more likely to have a prison or other custodial sentence.
Furthermore, the outcomes for children who had a social worker or were in care were different depending on where they lived in England. London performed better while the North East and North West of England nd Lincolnshire performed less well. The worst outcomes were for children who were in care, girls, and children who had special educational needs.
Recommendations:
The results of the research are of great concern, but there is hope. In a recent report written in partnership with the Centre for Justice Innovation, we have made four recommendations to children’s service providers and the government, which we believe will help to improve outcomes for children in the care system:
- Invest in prevention
- Embed trauma awareness practices
- Strengthen protective and diversionary models within the youth justice system
- Improve communication between the social care and criminal justice systems
In our recommendation report, we give examples from services across England who are already working to deliver these ways of working, with many showing early promise for being of benefit to children. Let National Children’s Day be the time that we make changes to better support children in the care system, reducing their risk of criminal justice system involvement and working together to help them to thrive.
If you are interested and want to read more about our research or our recommendation
report, they can be found online through the links below:
- Leyland, A., Webb, C. J., Bennett, M., & Hughes, N. Neighbourhood Differences in the Rates of Criminal Cautions and Convictions for Children in the Care System. Available at SSRN 4975604.
- Leyland, A. (2024) Data Insight: Children involved with child welfare services and the likelihood of a custodial sentence.
- Leyland, A., (2024) Data Insight: What came first: Is there a causal role of child welfare service interventions on likelihood of having criminal cautions or convictions?
About the author
Before becoming a research fellow Anna has worked as a multisystemic therapist, mental health advocate and school counsellor, and as a child health and development researcher. Previous research has explored the development of self-regulation in young children, maternal mental health in the perinatal period and the impact on education of poor child health and social deprivation. Anna has a psychology degree from the University of Reading (BSc) and University of Sheffield (PhD) and a masters in health services research from the University of York (MSc).
