The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability commissioned this research to improve understanding of the pathways that lead children with disability from their contact with child protection system to entering the criminal justice system. The research also looked at how effective interventions were that tried to prevent these pathways to the justice system for children with disability in child protection systems. This is the largest Australian study so far to focus attention on children with overlapping experiences of child protection involvement, disability and criminalisation. It also focused on the experiences of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse children who have these overlapping experiences.

The research aimed to:

1. Identify risk and protective factors for justice-system entry among children with disability who have child protection system contact;
2. Examine the effectiveness of current policy and practice in child protection systems for preventing and reducing justice system contact by children with disability;
3. Identify any interventions, programs or models that can prevent justice-system involvement of children with disability in child protection systems, and any barriers to these being implemented;
4. Focus on the experiences and needs of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse children with disability in addressing 1-3.