Child and Family Welfare Association of Australia Inc. (CAFWAA)

CAFWAA Symposium 2003

When care is not enough: the potential of treatment models in out of home care

Keynore Speakers

Richard W. Small, Ph.D. Since 1985, Dr. Small has served as the Executive Director of the Walker Home and School, a non-profit organization base in Needham, Massachusetts, providing a range of services to troubled children, their families and the professionals who serve them. An author, educator, and consultant to child welfare programs around the world, Dr. Small holds a Masters Degree in Education from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in Social Welfare from the University of Washington School of Social Work. He has also served as Staff Director of the Massachusetts Governor’s Advisory Committee on Children and the Family and is a member of various professional organisations including the National Association of Social Workers.

Dr Dorothy Scott, OAM, is currently the Executive Secretary of The Ian Potter Foundation where she is on secondment from her position as Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at The University of Melbourne. She is well-known in the field of child welfare as a practitioner, educator, researcher, expert witness and policy adviser

Dr. Paul Delfabbro is a graduate of both Arts and Economics, and completed a Ph.D. in psychology at University of Adelaide in 1998. After a 3-year appointment at Flinders University in the Department of Social Administration and Social Work, he obtained a full-time lecturing position in the Department of Psychology, University of Adelaide, where he lectures in learning theory, developmental psychology, and applied methodology and statistics. He is currently chief investigator on an ARC-funded project examining International and Australian best practice models for children with high-support needs in out-of-home care, in collaboration with colleagues at Flinders University, University of Toronto, and in many Australian non-Government and Government agencies.

Dr Judy Cashmore is an Honorary Research Associate at the Social Policy Research Centre UNSW. She has a research background in child protection, out-of-home care, leaving care and the participation of children and young people. Judy is Chairperson of the NSW Association of Childrens Welfare Agencies and is active in the National Child and Family Welfare Research Coalition

Other presenters

Dr Frank Ainsworth is Research Scholar and Lecturer (Adjunct) at the School of International, Cultural and Community Studies, Edith Cowan Australian University, Western Australia and runs Evaluation and Research Services – a consultancy service.Dr

Howard Bath is a clinical psychologist and Director of the Thomas Wright Institute, a non-for-profit organisation that provides consultancy services for organisations working with clients with complex needs. He also provides some direct treatment services for children and young people with problematic sexual behaviours.

Jenny Howell is a psychologist in private practice who provides assessment and treatment services for sex offenders. She is also a consultant to a new residential treatment program for young people with sexual behaviour problems and is accredited with the NSW Child Sex Offender Counsellor Accreditation Scheme (CSOCAS)

Dr. Patricia Hansen is Head, Department of Social Work, Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick, NSW. During her career she has worked in health care and child and family service agencies in both Britain and a number of Australian states.

Dr Diana Boswell received her post graduate clinical training in school psychology at the University of Toronto. Since then she has worked in child and adolescent mental health, education, corrections and child welfare fields, with a special interest in effective interventions for young people with complex needs and challenging behaviours. She has developed training packages, run numerous workshops and taught courses at university graduate level. She is a certified presenter for the intensive Life Space Crisis Intervention program.

Justine Harris has been the Clinical Director of Youth Horizons Trust for over four years, an organisation providing both community and residential treatment options for young people with severe conduct disorder. The service operates in the Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions and caters for over 60 young people at any one time. She is also currently a supervisor for the Department of Corrections Reducing Youth Offending Programme who are a licensed MST provider. Justine is a Clinical Psychologist who has previously worked for the Psychological Service of the Department of Corrections and for the Regional Alcohol and Drug Service (RADS). Whilst at Corrections her work involved assessment and treatment of a wide range of offenders and for a time provided group treatment at Te Piriti Sexual Offenders Unit. At RADS Justine was employed as a psychologist and supervisor and specialised in services for clients with a dual diagnosis and also provided treatment groups for both victims and perpetrators of violence who had substance abuse problems. She also supervised the methadone clinic at CADS south for a brief period.

Dr. Naamith Heiblum completed a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Missouri – Columbia. She has extensive clinical and research experience in adolescent antisocial behaviour, with a specialisation in effective treatments for youth offending. She is currently the Clinical Director of MST New Zealand, providing training and support to agencies in Australasia seeking to disseminate MST

Paul Testro is a consultant committed to excellence in policy and practice in his work with government and non-government agencies in regard to the safety and well being of children, young people and their families. He has previously been a Senior Officer with the Department of Families (Queensland) and has over 20 years experience in the field.

Colleen Clare has thirty years experience in organisational management in counselling and the State and Commonwealth Public Service. She has taught from pre-school to tertiary level in three countries and is a member of the Australian Psychological Association. Coleen has worked extensively in the areas of children with special needs, behavioural management, domestic violence, work and family and with families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.  She is currently CEO of the Childrens Welfare Associaton of Victoria (CWAV).

Fr Graham Jackson is CEO of Marist Youth Care and a Board member of CAFWAA. He also on the Board of the NSW Assocation of Childrens Welfare Agencies. Graham chaired the NSW Alternate Care Committee from1984 – 1992 and was CEO of Burnside from 1986 – 1991. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and a member of Defence for Children International.

Nigel Spence is the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Childrens Welfare Agencies (ACWA). He has undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in social work and has worked for more than 20 years in the community services field, principally the child welfare sector. Before working at ACWA he held positions as a caseworker, manager and section director in child welfare organisations and was responsible for the development and management of foster care, residential care, family support and leaving care services. Nigel has worked in out-of-home care in England and in 1994 was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study services for homeless young people. As CEO of ACWA he is extensively involved in policy, research and advocacy on child, youth and family issues.

Jan Owen AM, Executive Director Social Ventures Australia received an Order of Australia (AM) for her contribution to children, young people and community services in Australia, having contributed over 20 years experience in the not for profit sector in Australia. Jan has successfully established, operated and advised numerous foundations and community organisations during this time and was awarded a 12 month fellowship to the Peter F Drucker Foundation of theUSA for leadership and innovation - the first non U.S. based fellow. Jan chairs the Child Welfare’s Leadership and Management Institute in Sydney for leaders of community service and not for profit organisations.