Cleveland Dodd inquest: Youth justice officer assigned to teen never saw him during Unit 18 stint
Key points:
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Cleveland Dodd was never seen by a worker assigned to him, one of “significant failings in providing psychological services” to the tragic teen, his inquest has been told.
- Cleveland fatally self-harmed in his cell 87 days later in the early hours of October 12, dying in hospital a week later with his distraught family by his side.
- Anthony Crocker told the expedited probe on Friday that the 16-year-old was not visited once by his allocated youth justice officer after arriving at the scandal-plagued facility.
Cleveland Dodd was never seen by a worker assigned to him, one of “significant failings in providing psychological services” to the tragic teen, his inquest has been told.
Counsel assisting the coroner Anthony Crocker told the expedited probe on Friday that the 16-year-old was not visited once by his allocated youth justice officer after arriving at the scandal-plagued facility on July 17 last year.
Cleveland fatally self-harmed in his cell 87 days later in the early hours of October 12, dying in hospital a week later with his distraught family by his side.
Mr Crocker said the boy should have had weekly contact with the officer.
“How can someone have 13 weeks in one of your facilities and that not happen?” the lawyer asked former director-general Adam Tomison.
Mr Crocker acknowledged the officer was “loaded up” with 30 cases, which was twice as many as the benchmark workload under the industrial agreement.
The bulk of the responsibility had to lie at the Department of Justice’s feet, Mr Crocker said, and Dr Tomison agreed.
“Who knows how October 2023 would have panned out if the officer had seen Cleveland as he should have in the preceding 13 weeks?” Mr Crocker added.
Advertisements for youth justice officer positions on the WA Government website describe the role as requiring the use of “appropriate counselling”, developing intervention plans and working with other services.
On the week starting August 5, the inquest will hear from two mental health workers who saw Cleveland at Unit 18.
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