REPORT: Balancing the scales: Reimagining the role of family and youth justice in supporting children and families

Drawing on our work across the justice system and wider children’s services, this report

explores the conditions and actions needed to support a more coherent, compassionate approach—one that recognises the interconnectedness of children’s experiences and works collaboratively to promote safety, stability, and long-term wellbeing.

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The family and youth justice systems are structurally and operationally distinct, shaped by different legal frameworks, professional cultures, and institutional histories. Yet in practice, they often engage with the same children and families—those most vulnerable to harm, exclusion, and systemic inequality.

Nowhere is this overlap more evident than in the persistent “care to custody” pipeline, where children in care are disproportionately represented in the youth and criminal justice systems. One in three children with care experience receive a youth justice caution or conviction between the ages of 10 and 17, compared to just 4% of those who have not been in care.

Disrupting this pipeline requires coordinated, sustained action across family justice, youth justice, children’s social care, and education. It also requires a recognition that children’s needs do not fit neatly within organisational or legal boundaries.

Please get in touch if you'd like to know more – agata.miskowiec@mutualventures.co.uk

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