On the Consistency of Court Dispositions in the Child Welfare System: A Research Note

An analysis of 4,706 cases of ‘complaints’ under the Child Welfare Act, dealt with by the Children's Court during a two year period, indicated significant differences between the dispositions made in respect of the same complaints by special children's courts in urban areas, by ‘declared’ children's courts in country areas, and by such ‘declared’ courts in areas of Aboriginal concentration. Some of the differences were thought to be attributable to pragmatic and circumstantial considerations associated with the courts' locations. However, significant dispositional differences not attributable to circumstantial factors, that were found between special urban courts, suggested that the observed disparity in dispositions has also a substantive relationship to the courts' differing conceptions of what constitutes the best interest of the child. The findings are discussed in the light of the literature, and some measures that could reduce the existing disparity are suggested.