ABSTRACT
Though the significant overlap in children who come into contact with child welfare and youth justice systems has long been known, there remains a limited range of policy and practice responses that have been implemented to directly respond to this group. In Australia and elsewhere, a range of government reports have highlighted the disadvantage and complexity faced by crossover children, alongside the systemic difficulties that generate barriers to better responding to their needs. This chapter outlines the policy attention of various reports and inquiries into the phenomena of crossover children internationally, providing further evidence underpinning the urgent need for a changed approach to this group of children. In most jurisdictions, strategies to address crossover children's over-representation in the youth justice system are fragmented, and welfare concerns remain mostly addressed via youth justice systems. Approaches vary greatly according to where children are located, and the political will to consider child welfare needs as important as sanctions for offending. In the absence of mandated partnerships with the child welfare authority, punitive strategies dominate responses to offending by “crossover kids”, failing to address the underlying needs that might reduce their justice system contact, and promote their wellbeing and social inclusion.
