Child maltreatment and social welfare service involvement is linked to higher rates of criminal cautions and convictions by early adulthood

BACKGROUND: Child maltreatment is a major public health issue. Child welfare services are provided to many children at risk of maltreatment to try and prevent negative outcomes and serious long-term harm. The excess risk of criminal justice contact among children receiving these welfare services is not well established and less is known about differences between male and female children, making effective health policy responses difficult.

METHODS: The study analyses linked whole-population administrative data from the Department for Education and Ministry of Justice in England N = 1,708,565 for children born between 1995 and 1998. Multilevel logistic regression models for the whole population, and male and female subgroups, predict the odds of receiving any criminal caution or conviction by 2020 across all levels of child welfare service involvement, while accounting for other covariates.

FINDINGS: Children referred to or receiving any intervention from child welfare services have increased odds of contact with the criminal justice system, OR 1.86 [1.83, 1.93] to OR 4.21 [4.08, 4.33]. With higher odds for girls at all levels of social welfare involvement OR 2.15-5.69, compared to boys OR 1.75-3.52.

CONCLUSIONS: Risk of criminal justice involvement is increased for those referred to or receiving a child welfare service intervention. While this reflects the higher levels of need identified by child welfare services, it also indicates that engagement of child welfare services does not protect young people from criminalisation. Strategies are needed to address the consequences for these young peoples' health.