Observing the Strong Culture, Strong Families program as an innovative Indigenous justice program and more

Abstract

The purpose of Discussion Paper is to describe the observations of the Tjillari Justice Strong Culture Strong Family program run for Aboriginal male detainees and their families in the Alexander Maconachie Centre, which is a prison and remand centre in the Australian Capital Territory. The paper aims to draw on the observations to examine and explain the program in the context of (1) parenting in prison and the creation of positive parenting experiences, (2) connecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander detainees to family, identity and culture in the context of desistance and restorative justice; and, (3) understanding the program as an innovative Indigenous justice program. The research also asks important questions about the policy and wider justice context in which such programs are developed and take place.

The research is generated from a formalised collaboration and partnership between the two authors, Deborah Evans who is CEO of Tjillari Justice Aboriginal Corporation and Associate Professor Deirdre Howard-Wagner who is a Senior Fellow in CAEPR. This collaboration emerged from the researcher being approached by Tjillari Justice Aboriginal Corporation (‘Tjillari’) to assist with the research needs of the organisation. It is an example of community-initiated rather than researcher-led research. Show more