PhD Candidate: Hayley Passmore
PhD Title: Improving the management of young people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in detention
Summary
Health and justice professionals across Australia are urging for an increase in services to better support young people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) involved with the justice system. Knowledge of FASD among young people sentenced to a period of detention is increasing, with a prevalence study ascertaining that 36% of young people sentenced to detention have FASD, and 89% are severely impaired in at least one area of neurodevelopmental function. However, previously there has been little investigation into the capacity of custodial staff to identify and manage young people in Australian detention centres with FASD or similar impairments, nor have there been published interventions aiming to develop environments appropriate for those with FASD in detention.
Hayley’s PhD research has used mixed methods to determine the current knowledge and practices relating to FASD and neurodevelopmental impairments among the custodial workforce at Banksia Hill Detention Centre, the only youth detention centre in Western Australia. These data informed the development and evaluation of training resources (a series of short, educational videos) which are currently being implemented to the custodial workforce at Banksia Hill Detention Centre, and evaluated using mixed methods. The aim of these resources, and the ultimate objective of Hayley’s PhD research, is to build capacity among the custodial workforce regarding FASD and other neurodevelopmental impairments by upskilling them in the management strategies most appropriate for young people in detention with such impairments.
Supervisors
- Professor Carol Bower: FASD Research Australia Centre of Research Excellence; Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia
- Professor Jonathan Carapetis: Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia
- Clinical Associate Professor Raewyn Mutch: Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia
- Associate Professor Sharyn Burns: Curtin University
- Associate Professor Guy Hall: Murdoch University
For more information about this PhD contact Hayley Passmore