Resorting to Youth Court in order to impose youth protection services on a family is one of the most important and consequential decisions that child protection workers must take. This study sought to determine the factors associated with this decision in cases where the security and development of a child are considered endangered. The sample used in the analyses comprised 2264 children for whom the events reported were considered substantiated and whose security and development were considered endangered. The variables investigated concern characteristics of the child, the parents, the family, the maltreatment suffered, and the services received. Results of hierarchical multiple regression analysis show that parental cooperation, chronicity of situations (prior use of youth protection services in past five years and duration of maltreatment/behavioural problems), child’s vulnerability (young age and number of service needs), severity of situations (abandonment of child, presence of emergency measures and criminal charges), and certain familial risk factors (social welfare and frequent changes of residence) proved strongly associated with the decision to recommend recourse to Youth Court.