Introduction

The study described in this chapter involves the delivery of collaborative family work by youth justice workers in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, to young people and their families as part of a statutory youth justice service. The chapter first outlines the literature that supports the value of working in the community with the families of young offenders. It then outlines the family model used by the youth justice workers, the mechanisms used by the region to support the programme and the reflections of clients and workers regarding the intervention. The primary objective of the chapter is to provide information about the implementation of family work for the benefit of youth justice services (or other service providers) that might be interested in developing similar programmes in the future.

Family relationships, youth offending and risk

Family relationships are clearly a factor in the development of delinquent and criminal behaviour. This can be explained through a number of criminological theories, including learning theory, labelling theory and social control theory. Children and young people may be socialised into prosocial or criminal behaviour by a process of reinforcement and through the personal models to whom they are exposed (Burke, 2001).

There is also evidence that family relationships are a factor not just in the development of offending, but also in reoffending. Family factors are a key factor in risk of reoffending prediction instruments for young people. For example, the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) (Andrews and Bonta, 2003) identifies family and relationships, including parent–child relationships, as one of eight key criminogenic needs. The authors argue that addressing criminogenic needs leads to reduced reoffending. Furthermore, Trotter and Evans (2012) found that family issues were one of the most commonly discussed in youth justice supervision sessions.

There is also evidence that work with families of young offenders can be effective in improving family relationships and reducing reoffending. Lipsey and Cullen (2007) considered four different meta-analyses on the effectiveness of family interventions for young offenders and found an average reduction in recidivism compared with comparison studies of between 20% and 52%.