The just-released Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Report Young people in child protection and under youth justice supervision 2013–14 has confirmed the concerning trend that young people who are in state care are much more likely to enter youth justice detention.
Data from the participating states* shows:.
- young people who were the subject of a care and protection order were 23 times as likely to be under youth justice supervision in the same year as the general population
- 7% of those who were the subject of a care and protection order were also under youth justice supervision in the same year (although not necessarily at the same time), compared with just 0.3% of the general population aged 10-17
- youth justice supervision was most likely for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) young people: ATSI males were 1.4 times as likely to be under supervision as non-ATSI males, and ATSI females were twice as likely
- just over one-quarter (26%) of those in detention were also involved in the child protection system, which is 13 times the rate for the general population
- the level of child protection involvement for those under community-based supervision in 2013-14 was also high: more than one-fifth (22%) were also in the child protection system.
- the younger someone was at their first youth justice supervision, the more likely they were to also be in child protection in 2013-14
*This report drew on data from South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and the ACT.
This summary is drawn from the Office’s internal policy briefings. It should not be taken to indicate the Guardian’s position on the subject matter and policy implications should only be drawn from a reading of the full report.
