The previous chapter focused on policy, the divergences between England and Wales in terms of social and youth justice policy for children and the implications and potentialities for a distinct Welsh youth justice. We set out the evolution of a negative, restricted, managerialist approach to youth justice in England and Wales since the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 that was grounded in a ‘new youth justice’ of neoconservative correctionalism/individualisation that was animated by risk assessment and risk-focused intervention and the neoliberal responsibilisation of children and families via coerced engagement with nonnegotiable ‘support’ mechanisms. This managerialist ‘third way’ for youth justice was contrasted with the distinctive, children's rights-focused youth justice policy that has emerged in Wales since its partial devolution in 1999. The intended contrast was grounded in policy divergences – an English form of youth justice driven by risk-focused and responsibilising social policies for children compared to the potential for a distinct, progressive and principled form of Welsh youth justice putting children first. However, conclusions regarding national divergences remain at the policy level and local unevenness and variations in implementation at the practice level persist.

In this chapter, we explore the potential for a Children First, Offenders Second (CFOS) model of positive youth justice with children who have entered the formal youth justice system (YJS) and are subject to statutory court-ordered disposals: Referral Orders, Youth Rehabilitation Orders and Detention and Training Orders (Chapter Five explores the use of pre-court disposals). Embedding a CFOS model with children in conflict with the law and the youth justice system requires the adoption of a systems management approach (see Tutt and Giller 1987; see also Haines and Drakeford 1998) to negotiating the stages and processes of decision making regarding children across the youth justice system YJS. We advocate that systems management be facilitated by evidence-based partnership between children (and their families), youth justice practitioners, policy makers and researchers, which prioritises the relational aspects of practice, notably the participation and engagement of all parties (especially children) in the development of youth justice practice.