Abstract

The purpose of this Discussion Paper is to report the observations of the Strong Culture, Strong Families 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.

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