Troubled children and children in trouble: Redefining the role of the juvenile court in the lives of children.

Source: (2008) Juvenile and Family Court Journal. 59(1): 3-15.

This Essay considers the emerging research in the area of dual-jurisdiction children, often referred to as “crossover
kids” – those currently or previously involved in maltreatment proceedings who have also committed delinquent acts. …
During this period it was not unusual for the role of a probation officer, as an arm of the juvenile court, to be viewed as
serving a social work function, and in some cases, the position of chief juvenile probation officer was filled by a
woman. … Despite the growing scientific evidence of the connection between delinquent behavior and maltreatment,
dependency and delinquency proceedings became increasingly distinct with their own procedures and disparate approaches
to helping the children that appeared before them. … The disparate approaches to children in dependency proceedings
and children in delinquency proceedings have exacerbated the inequalities in the demographic representation
of the families brought before the juvenile courts and the subsequent outcomes for these children. … In fact, the New
Zealand Family Group Conferencing model is already utilized in New Zealand’s equivalent of delinquency proceedings;
7552 such conferences were conducted between 2002 and 2004 involving Youth Court offenders aged fourteen to sixteen.
… Restorative justice techniques, such as Family Group Conferencing, have resulted in feelings of fairness and
outcome satisfaction among all classes of participants, including victims. (Excerpt).