International Journal of Child and Adolescent Resilience, 1(1), 48-59
Objectives: To examine factors associated with delinquency/youth justice system involvement in a national
sample of child welfare investigations and explore whether delinquency/justice system involvement
predict child welfare service provision. Methods: Secondary analysis was conducted using data from the
Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect, 2008 (CIS-2008), specifically examining a
weighted sample of 57,601 pre-adolescents (age 8-11), and 58,641 adolescents (age 12-15). Delinquency
was examined in pre-adolescents and youth justice system involvement was examined in adolescents.
Descriptive analysis was conducted and is reported as frequencies. After identifying significant bivariate
relationships between delinquency/justice system involvement and youth, household, case, and service
characteristics, logistic regressions were used to determine whether the presence of delinquency/justice
system involvement predicted the investigation being transferred to ongoing child welfare services.
Results: For pre-adolescents, delinquency increased the likelihood that a case would be transferred to
ongoing child welfare services. For adolescents, youth justice system involvement did not increase the
likelihood of case transfer. Conclusions and Implications: The results provide important information
about delinquency/youth justice system involvement in a national sample of Canadian child welfare
investigations. Implications: Future research should continue to explore this area to determine how to
best meet the needs of vulnerable young people with both delinquency/justice system involvement and
involvement in the child welfare system.
Research Areas
Province / Territory