The Kids Research Institute Australia researcher Hayley Passmore will use a prestigious Churchill Fellowship to investigate better ways to support young people in detention who are affected by neurodisability.
Awarded annually by the Winston Churchill Trust, the Fellowships enable people from all walks of life to travel internationally to gather insights and knowledge that will benefit Australia.
This year, 112 Australians – including 15 from Western Australia – have been named Churchill Fellows, although due to the COVID-19 pandemic, recipients will have to wait to make the most of their Fellowships.
Dr Passmore was part of The Kids Research Institute Australia’s ground-breaking Banksia Hill Project, which found nine out of ten young people at the Banksia Hill Detention Centre had at least one form of severe neurodevelopmental impairment, or neurodisability.
In response to the findings, Dr Passmore developed and delivered Reframe the Behaviour, a well-received training intervention designed to help the justice workforce better understand neurodisability and to work more effectively with young people affected by it.
The training program, which is helping to transform the way authorities manage and support vulnerable young people within the justice system, has sparked interest from other arms of government as well as other states across Australia.
Nevertheless, Dr Passmore said more needed to be done to help support young people with neurodisability involved with the justice system, where there was limited capacity to provide appropriate management and support.
“Therapeutic interventions and programs currently used – such as mental health, anger and behaviour management, and drug and alcohol programs – are not neurodisability-informed, and therefore unlikely to have the desired impact,” Dr Passmore said.
“This project will enable me to explore effective and innovative approaches used internationally to manage youth in detention and secure facilities who have neurodisabilities.”
Dr Passmore intends to travel to New Zealand, Canada, England and North America to gain first-hand insight into approaches currently being applied in those countries.
“This will enable the translation of novel models of care to the Australian context, and inform policy and practice change,” she said.
Dr Passmore, whose work on the Banksia Hill Project was recognised when she was named a finalist at the 2019 WA Premier’s Science Awards, said she was honoured to be awarded a Churchill Fellowship.
“I was actually very surprised to be awarded a Churchill Fellowship so early in my career as it’s internationally recognised and so prestigious, but I am feeling very grateful for the trust and also for my wonderful mentors, who have supported me to be able to do this work,” she said.
“I see this project as a missing piece of the puzzle here in Australia and I know that there’s so much we can learn from our peers internationally. This will provide me with the opportunity to do that.”
Given that international travel will not be possible for some time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trust has decided not to offer new Fellowships in 2021, and to instead concentrate on offering high level support to Fellows who are yet to travel.
“All untravelled Churchill Fellowship recipients have been granted an extended timeline to undertake their Fellowships to allow them the opportunity to experience the real-life benefits of meeting ‘in person’ with their international counterparts,” Churchill Trust CEO Adam Davey said.