Videos of Conference Presentations
Video Production by Roger Ellison of Video Media
Child Rights Informed
Christian Whalen: Child-Rights approach to Youth Justice
Christian Whalen is a child and youth advocate, deputy ombudsman in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, and a board member with CANFASD, the Canadian national research network for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. He was the legal counsel to the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission.
Kate Bjur: Therapeutic Youth Detention
Kate Bjur is the executive director for advocacy and research at Peak Care Queensland, the peak body for child protection. In 2023 she travelled around the world, visiting six countries as part of a Churchill Fellowship project investigating best practice in youth crime prevention and therapeutic models of youth detention.
David Heilpern: Overrepresentation of First Nations People
David Heilpern was the youngest magistrate in Australia when he was appointed in 1998. He is now Dean and Head of Discipline (Law) at Southern Cross University. His writing and research is now focussed on judicial education, drug law reform, Aboriginal overrepresentation in the criminal justice system and environmental activism. David will be talking about the overrepresentation of First Nations children in detention and the recent overblown “crime wave” obsession.
Binnie O'Dwyer: Perspectives from the Coalface
Binnie O’Dwyer is a criminal defence lawyer at the Aboriginal Legal Service in the Northern Rivers. Binnie has a background of environmental activism and a passion for justice, understanding the need for Aboriginal people to have a voice in the legal system.
FASD Informed
Elizabeth Elliott: FASD in Australia
Dr Elizabeth Elliott is a Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of Sydney and head of the New South Wales FASD assessment service at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
Professor Elliott will describe common pathways from FASD to the child protection and justice systems, strategies to prevent justice contact and incarceration, as well as opportunities for upskilling justice professionals to understand and manage individuals with FASD.
Dr Mansfield Mela: FASD informed Youth Justice
Dr Mansfield Mela is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Director of the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science and Justice Studies at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Dr Mela says that at least one of every three individuals interacting with professionals in the youth justice system is diagnosed or diagnosable with FASD or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. A system revamp is necessary to avoid the ineffective approach of using longer sentences and stiffer restrictions to respond to the needs of youth with FASD.
Sharon Dawe: Early Assessment Changing Lives
Sharon Dawe is a Professor in Clinical Psychology at Griffith University and a visiting fellow at Oxford University. She is the co-developer of the Parents Under Pressure program for families affected by substance misuse. This talk is about the benefits of early assessment for children aged 3 to 7 years and an evidence based approach to supporting young children and their families.
Lisa Butcher: Prevention and Youth Justice
Lisa Butcher is a Clinical Psychologist who has worked with Autism Spectrum Australia, HeadSpace, and Youth Justice. She is a 5th generation musician and has her own podcast, Psych on the Mike. Lisa’s talk is about early intervention and prevention of involvement with the criminal justice system. She discusses assessment, diagnosis, and prevention, finishing with a song highlighting the importance of giving young people a voice.
Harmony Moki: FASD and Youth Justice in Aotearoa
Harmony Moki is completing a Masters thesis which explores the lived experience of Rangatahi or young people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in youth justice residences in Aotearoa. Harmony’s passion for FASD research stems from the experiences of her brothers, whose journeys are marked by suspected and confirmed FASD. She uses a Kaupapa Māori approach; inclusive, collaborative, respectful, and empowering, recognising the importance of whanau or family, community, and culture.
Trauma Informed
Judy Atkinson: Youth Our Future Listening Learning
Emeritus Professor Judy Atkinson AM PhD has Jiman-Bundjalung and Anglo-Celtic heritage. Her work focuses on healing the traumatic legacies of colonisation across its generational impacts.
To Judy, Youth Justice means being willing to listen and learn while working together with youth to help open different pathways for their future.
Michelle Cowan: Transgenerational Trauma and Incarceration
Michelle Cowan is an Aboriginal woman from Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung country. She is an Aboriginal Specialist Trauma Counsellor in private practice in Grafton New South Wales.
Michelle talks about the complexities of transgenerational and intergenerational trauma, combined with expectations of living in a combined world. Past events continue to impact many Indigenous families and communities and Michelle is frustrated by the imprisonment of Aboriginal people at the world’s highest rates.
Support and Accommodations
Lorana Bartels: ADHD and Youth Justice
Lorana Bartels is a Professor of Criminology at the Australian National University and Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Canberra and the University of Tasmania. Lorana will be talking about approaches that will support young people with suspected or confirmed ADHD at all stages of justice system involvement. There is often little understanding of ADHD in schools, healthcare, child protection, and the youth justice systems.
Vanessa Spiller: Protective Strategies
Dr Vanessa Spiller is a Clinical Psychologist and the foster parent of a young person living with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Her expertise lies in working collaboratively with organisations, families, and people impacted by FASD. Vanessa’s talk is about the increased risk of involvement with the criminal justice system for people living with brain-based differences, such as FASD. They are vulnerable to being both offenders and victims of crime and require support and interventions to develop life skills.
Amber Allen: Communication and Youth Justice
Amber Allen is a speech pathologist with a passion for social justice ignited upon discovering that 90% of children involved in the juvenile justice system in Australia suffer from undiagnosed language disorders. Amber proposes actionable solutions to this language gap, including mandatory language assessments and professional development training for those working with young people in education, healthcare, and justice.
Lisiane Messine: Youth Justice in the Cook Islands
Lisiane Messine is the senior social worker in child protection at the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Cook Islands. She is from the island of Aitutaki and notes that family and community relationships are highly valued in the Cook Islands.
Lisiane says that the youth justice system in the Cook Islands emphasises the care and protection of children, rehabilitation, community involvement, and culturally sensitive approaches.
Todd Heard & Damian Spohr: Prevention Through Early Intervention
Todd Heard is a proud Wonnarua man, an Aboriginal Clinical Psychologist, and Director of We Care, an Aboriginal organisation providing NDIS, Allied Health, and Child and Family services across New South Wales. Damian Spohr is a Clinical Social Worker and Senior Manager for We Care.
They talk about We Care’s holistic biopsychosocial approach, centred on attachment and connection as foundational elements for healing and mitigating risks of interaction with the criminal justice system.