The Exacerbation of Vulnerability: the Intersection of Bail, Homelessness and Care in the NSW Children’s Court

Dr Emma Colvin1, Dr Kath McFarlane1, Associate Professor Alison Gerard1, Dr Andrew McGrath1
1Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, Australia

This paper presents findings from a Criminology Research Council funded project into the criminalisation of children in state care. A significant finding was the way in which the issues of bail, care and homelessness intersected resulting in care experienced children spending time on remand for lack of appropriate, safe accommodation. Utilising innovative mixed methods comprising observations in the NSW Children’s Court, analysis of court files, and interviews with practitioners, this study offers a comprehensive and contextualised understanding of how processes that have been put in place to protect children, actually exacerbate the disadvantage and vulnerability of children.


Biography:
Dr Colvin is a Lecturer at the Centre for Law and Justice, Charles Sturt University. She is the Deputy Co-Editor of Salus Journal and the current Editor of PacifiCrim, the newsletter of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology. She was the Managing Editor of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology (2010-2012). Dr Colvin is currently working on two Criminology Research Council funded research projects on bail decision-making in Australia and the criminalisation of children in out-of-home-care.