Abstract
Young people with FASD are overrepresented in justice systems worldwide. There is an estimated 30,000 children and young people with FASD in New Zealand, many of whom will not have a formal diagnosis. The unique cognitive profile of a young person with FASD presents a challenge for the youth justice system. The brain damage caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol can lead to a series of cognitive difficulties manifested in a pattern of behaviour that can lead to criminal offending (such as impulsivity, suggestibility, and an inability to consider consequences). Compounding the difficulties faced by these young people is their vulnerability in a justice setting, and the likelihood of recidivism due to difficulties with learning and problems with memory. Currently in New Zealand there is no specific legislative or policy guidance on how to manage young people with FASD in the youth justice system. Given this absence, this thesis considered i) what are the common presentations of FASD and why do they present such a problem for the justice system; ii) why the current legislative and policy context is inadequate for young people with FASD; and iii) how can New Zealand’s youth justice system be improved for young people with FASD?
This qualitative research focused on FASD as a lived experience, including family life, justice system involvement, and professional knowledge and attitudes. It included 39 participants, comprising: two young people, 12 parents, one teacher, one school principal, one education sector service manager, one psychologist, five paediatricians, four social workers, one Youth Aid Police officer, two Youth Court judges, one youth justice service provider practice manager, one director of a youth justice service provider, one youth forensic alcohol and other drug clinician, and six key stakeholders.
The New Zealand Disability Strategy and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities require impairment and disability to be viewed through the lens of the social model of disability. Individuals are not to be defined or described in terms of deficits, but first and foremost by their strengths. This research found that young people with FASD are kind, creative, intelligent, and confident. It also found that for these young people and their families, the brain damage sustained by prenatal exposure to alcohol causes an extensive array of learning, behavioural, and parenting challenges. Compounding these challenges is a lack of awareness and understanding of the disability among professionals in the education, justice and health sectors in New Zealand, and a lack of formal support pathways in the justice system. The diagnostic process for FASD in New Zealand needs urgent, formal recognition through funding streams and training programmes, which would enable the early identification of FASD in children and reduce the risk of secondary disability (including criminal offending) among young people.
Recommendations from this thesis include developing formal diagnostic guidelines for FASD in New Zealand; incorporating formal training for FASD into the tertiary curriculums for teachers, and for all justice professions likely to have contact with young people, implementing a mandatory, robust screening service for FASD in the Youth Court, acknowledging FASD as a mitigating factor in sentencing legislation, and extending the legislative jurisdiction of the youth justice system to all young people aged 24 or below.