The Kids Research Institute Australia youth justice researcher Dr Hayley Passmore has been named an AMP Foundation Tomorrow Maker in recognition of her efforts to better support young people in detention who have neurodisability.
Dr Passmore is one of 27 outstanding individuals across Australia who will share in $1 million of grants from the AMP Foundation’s Tomorrow Fund this year.
The fund was launched by the AMP Foundation in 2014 to support talented and inspiring individuals who are working towards a goal that will benefit the community, but need a little help to get there. Since launching, the program has provided $8 million in grants to 334 Australians working across a wide range of fields.
Youth mental health researcher Dr Penelope Strauss received one of the grants in 2018 to support the next phase of her ground-breaking Trans Pathways project, focused on the mental health and access to health services of trans young people. Dr Passmore will use her $35,000 grant to expand Reframe Training, the evidence-based training program she delivers to frontline staff working in the youth justice system.
With qualifications in psychology, criminology and child health, Dr Passmore has more than 10 years’ experience working within the adult and youth justice systems, and with vulnerable children and families across Western Australia.
She was part of the Banksia Hill Project, which found 89 per cent of youth at the Banksia Hill Detention Centre had at least one severe neurodevelopmental impairment – and most had not been previously identified. Her research indicated that a lack of knowledge, inadequate training and inconsistent information sharing reduced custodial staff’s ability to care for young people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and other impairments.
Working with custodial officers and young people at Banksia Hill, Dr Passmore created the Reframe Training program to improve staff awareness of neurodisability in young people and help them provide appropriate support. Reframe Training uses a mix of drama and documentary film styles to illustrate the daily struggles of young people in the justice system who are living with brain impairments. Her next step is to develop a Reframe train-the-trainer program for staff in the justice, police, education, community services and child protection sectors across Australia.
“Almost all young people who end up in the Australian youth justice system have complex needs that make it difficult to navigate the systems around them,” Dr Passmore said.
I am passionate about creating pathways to help these vulnerable young people avoid becoming involved in the justice system to begin with, and improving the lives of those who are already there. By expanding Reframe Training, I aim to increase the capacity of frontline professionals to recognise, reframe and respond to youth living with neurodisability.
Head of the AMP Foundation, Helen Liondos, said this year’s AMP Tomorrow Fund program had attracted many high achievers who worked steadfastly to create positive change, despite all that 2021 threw at them.
“Every year we are amazed by the level of talented and enterprising people this program reveals, and 2021 has not disappointed,” she said. “This year’s recipients are extraordinary individuals, with resilience and optimism in bucketloads.
“Around two-thirds of our winners are female, which reflects the higher rate of women we’ve seen applying to be Tomorrow Makers over the past three years. Our Foundation has drawn a lot of inspiration from all 27 recipients, and we know the community will too.”
For the full list of 2021 Tomorrow Makers, plus profiles and videos, visit ampstomorrowfund.com.au.