Title: What are the service outcomes for criminally exploited children? A case study of criminally exploited children’s service journeys in two local authorities in Wales
Funder: Health and Care Research Wales (Welsh Government)

Abstract: Background Child criminal exploitation refers to children and young people who are manipulated or coerced into criminal activity for the personal gain of an individual, group, or organised criminal gang (All Wales Practice Guide, 2019). While any child can be exploited, children with unmet needs and those with low self-esteem and confidence are at heightened risk (Radcliffe et al., 2020). Risk factors have been found at the individual, interpersonal, community and societal levels (Maxwell and Wallace, 2021). Despite continued efforts to prevent and divert children away from exploitation, there is currently a lack of evidence about the effectiveness of different service pathways and interventions for improving the outcomes for exploited children. This evidence is needed to provide insight into referral routes, service provision, and how best to support criminally exploited children. Aims This project will examine the referral routes, service approaches, interventions and education, health, social care and offending outcomes for criminally exploited children in two local authorities. The research questions are: • What are the referral pathways for criminally exploited children? • What are the service pathways for criminally exploited children? What factors influence professional decision-making regarding service provision? • What are the education, health, social care and offending outcomes associated with different service pathways? • To what extent can existing secondary data sources be linked with administrative datasets to capture data about criminally exploited children? Plan of investigation A mixed-methods design is adopted to map the chronologies of a cohort of criminally exploited children (circa 165) for a seven year period. The project is informed by a chronological case study framework as this allows in-depth investigation and understanding of this complex issue within its real-life context (Crowe et al., 2011). Workstream one: Case file analysis of children’s services and youth offending team data in t wo local authorities. This data will be linked with education, health and social care datasets from SAIL databank, Swansea University five years prior to the referral acceptance for a multi-agency meeting and up to two years after. Individual-level chronologies will be produced Workstream two: Case studies will be developed to explore the lived experience of criminally exploited children. They will be informed by interviews and creative participatory methods with young people at baseline and follow-up. Vignettes will be used with professionals to explore their decision-making processes when considering referral and service pathways. Data will be analysed according to grounded theory principles. Potential benefits This project would make a significant contribution to what is known about how criminally exploited children become known to services, and what service pathways are most effective in relation to their circumstances. This supports the Social Services Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014 which states that the right help should be offered at the right time to meet young people’s needs. The mixed- methods case study design will enable the identification of referral and service pathways and outcomes both at the individual and group levels. In addition, the project will provide a critical assessment of service data and the extent to which it can be used to identify criminally exploited children.

Lay abstract: Background There are no exact figures regarding the number of criminally exploited young people in Wales. This is due to inconsistencies in how criminal exploitation is defined and variations in service responses across sectors. This means that some children go undetected while others are criminalised rather than safeguarded (HMICFRS, 2020; Children’s Society, 2019). Recent research findings have highlighted challenges in identifying, engaging and supporting criminally exploited children safely away from exploitative relationships (Maxwell and Wallace, 2021). Firmin (2018) has revealed limitations in the extent to which existing systems were designed to address extrafamilial harm. This is compounded by the nature of child criminal exploitation as children may not present as stereotypical “victims” and may resist engaging with professionals due to fear of violent repercussions to themselves and their families (Bonning and Cleaver, 2020, Shaw and Greenhow, 2020). According to the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner for England (2020) ‘the current system is not working…we need to look at this urgently to ensure we are supporting these children to a safer future’. Aims This project will examine the referral routes, service approaches, interventions and education, health, social care and offending outcomes for criminally exploited children in two local authorities. The research questions are: • What are the referral pathways for criminally exploited children? • What are the service pathways for criminally exploited children? What factors influence professional decision-making regarding service provision? • What are the education, health, social care and offending outcomes associated with different service pathways? • To what extent can existing secondary data sources be linked with administrative datasets to capture data about criminally exploited children? Public involvement The project aims to create detailed case studies of criminally exploited young people’s lived experiences of service pathways, provision and outcomes five years prior to referral acceptance and up to 2 years after. Young people will be identified through case file analysis from children’s services and youth offending teams in two local authorities. This data will be linked to education, health and social care datasets to provide a visual representation of children’s journeys through services and interventions at the individual and group levels. In order to understand their journeys and experiences, young people with lived experience of criminal exploitation will be involved in the project as peer researchers. They will contribute to the development of research tools aimed at capturing young people’s views and experiences of service provision and case examples that can be used to identify the factors that influence professional decision-making. Dissemination Detailed case studies and chronologies of criminally exploited children will provide insight into their referral routes and service provision, with the aim of improving service delivery and support. Project findings will be shared using a range of dissemination tools including, newsletters, reports, articles and workshops in order to reach policymakers, child welfare professionals and managers, young people and parents, and academic audiences. Project findings will be available on the Complex Safeguarding Wales website following its launch in Spring 2022.

Research activity codes: 8.1 ORGANISATION AND DELIVERY OF SERVICES;8.4 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGIES (HEALTH SERVICES);7.3 MANAGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING
Health categories: DISPUTED AETIOLOGY AND OTHER;GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE