The Walk of Life program: Australian Crime Prevention & Child Protection

The presentation will discuss ways programs can address multiple complex needs by incorporating strategies from multiple disciplines – (crime prevention, community policing, feedback informed treatment, social work, indigenous cultural interaction, vocational training, bush adventure therapy), using multiple institutions working collaboratively (Education, Police, Universities, Registered Training Organisations, traditional owners).

Senior Constable Mark Cartner

Senior Constable Cartner has been a Queensland police officer for over 20 years, he has worked in the Child Protection and Investigation Unit since 2003. He spent almost 10 years leading a child abuse team responsible for child protection matters in remote aboriginal communities in the Cape York region. For most of his adult life he has worked for the protection of children in his professional, volunteer and personal life. Of German, Scottish, English and Indigenous descent (Imman and Bundalung), he has an interest in bringing cultures together as typified by his own heritage.

Will Dobud

Will Dobud has worked predominately with adolescents in the private and public sector. Coming to Australia from the United States in 2009, Will built True North Expeditions, a non-profit program in Adelaide, SA, providing adventure therapy experiences and social work services for adolescents from all over the country. In 2015, Will was awarded the Australian Postgraduate Award for research promise and conducted his PhD focusing on client experiences in outdoor therapy. Will’s ongoing research and publications focuses on participant experiences of care in a variety of settings and exploring what works to deliver more effective social work services. Will is particularly interested in Feedback-Informed Treatment, the Outdoor Therapies, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy – basically asking the questions, how can we get routinely better at delivering better outcomes for those who seek our counsel.