Hope Kent - Neurodisability, neurodiversity, and the youth justice system: Insights from administrative data

Children with neurodisabilities and neurodivergent conditions are significantly over-represented in the youth justice system, despite international human rights frameworks clearly stating that these children should not be criminalised. 

In this talk I will present findings from projects using administrative data (including the ECHILD and MoJ DfE linkages) to understand pathways into the youth justice system for these children. I will explore the roles of school exclusion, unmet educational needs, and child poverty in shaping contact with the youth justice system. The findings demonstrate how failures within education, health, and welfare systems systematically disadvantage children with neurodisability, underscoring the need for earlier intervention and a shift toward population-level, public health approaches to youth justice.