TABLE 6.

Life Course Health Development Conceptualization of Canada’s Youth Justice Minimum Age Law Related to Thriving

LCHD Child Justice Principle: Supporting Every Child Gives Them the Opportunity to Live a Healthy Life and Avoid Justice System Involvement
Salient Ideas	Exemplar Quotes
Belief that all children can thrive	“I think that we look at the [disruptive] behavior and think there’s a reason or cause of the behavior, or there’s even looking at that raw screen approach. What are the lagging skills, what are the pieces, and we have a responsibility as educators to start to tease those out and build those successes for a child. But our fundamental belief is that all children can be successful.” Elementary school principal
Community supports enhance the well-being of children	“For the average person who is committing a traumatic event on another person, they themselves also experienced trauma as a response. So, as part of a treatment plan, we want [children] to heal because we know if they are healthy, they are less likely to self-medicate with hard drugs, which leads them to commit crime, which leads them to harm other people, which leads to all of the things that impact our communities and individuals and themselves.” Law enforcement officer

“Thriving” indicates optimal health development that promotes survival, enhances well-being, and protects against disease.¹⁸