ABSTRACT
The research underpinning this book aimed to investigate the extent to which children before the criminal court come from child protection backgrounds, to understand what court data yield about the characteristics that distinguish these children, what factors contribute to their entry into the criminal justice system, and the role of the court and other systems such as child protection and youth justice in responding to these children. Unique to this study is the gathering of detailed court record data, alongside the perspectives of legal, welfare, police, judicial, and support service professionals about working with this group of children, and how effective are the legal responses and programs designed to assist them. This chapter presents details of the study context and methods, and canvasses topics related to conducting research about crossover children.
