Putting ‘Justice’ in Recovery Capital: Yarning about Hopes and Futures with Young People in Detention

Abstract

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people are over-represented in Australian youth detention centres and the justice system. In contrast to deficit-focused approaches to health and justice research, this article engages with the hopes, relationships and educational experiences of 38 detained youth in Western Australia who participated in a study of screening and diagnosis for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. We report on a qualitative study that used a ‘social yarning’ approach. While the participants reported lives marred by substance use, crime, trauma and neurodevelopmental disability, they also spoke of strong connections to country and community, their education experiences and their future goals. In line with new efforts for a ‘positive youth justice’ and extending on models of recovery capital, we argue that we must celebrate success and hope through a process of mapping and building recovery capital in the justice context at an individual and institutional level.

‘That thing in his head’: Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal Australian caregiver responses to neurodevelopmental disability diagnoses

“…It was also considered to be appropriate for non‐Aboriginal participants in the study (for more details on the yarning method, see Hamilton et al . 2020a, 2020b). It is important to note that while two Aboriginal fathers participated in this research, there were barriers to how much these participants could share with a female researcher, and so we focus on female caregivers in our analysis.…”

A Delphi yarn: applying Indigenous knowledges to enhance the cultural utility of SMART Recovery Australia

“…Video (i.e. face-to-face) rather than phone conferencing, is also more aligned to Indigenous ways of communicating [ 29 ], and could help establish trust and rapport between participant and researcher [ 80 ].…”

Justice capital: A model for reconciling structural and agentic determinants of desistance

“…The Banksia Hill Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD) prevalence study, the first of its kind in an Australian youth detention centre, found high rates of FASD (36% of all participants/47% among Aboriginal participants) and neurodevelopment impairments (89% of all participants exhibited three or more domains of severe brain impairment) (Bower et al, 2018). In addition to understanding more about the benefits and challenges of undergoing assessments and diagnosis for neurodevelopmental disability in a justice setting the qualitative study focused on understanding more about the participants’ strengths, hopes and positive relationships (including peers, family, cultural background and relationships with country), the future, their aspirations and the things that mattered to them (Hamilton et al, 2020a).…”

“…In the context of the Australian youth detention population, Hamilton and colleagues (2020a) argued that institutions can have the best education, training and rehabilitation strategies, but any rehabilitative efforts will be ineffective if the very profound effects of having a neurodevelopmental disability are not considered, and appropriate neurodevelopmental and cultural resources to support the young people are not made available. It is the availability of these resources and the meaningful pathways, supported by inter-personal relationships, that are at the heart of the concept of IJC.…”

“…From this perspective, IJC proposes equitable access to services and resources in institutions like courts and prisons, including access to the benefits which a recovery- and rehabilitation-focussed institution affords. On this basis, Hamilton and colleagues described the need for a model of justice capital as ‘improved understanding of recovery capital in the justice context and to consider strength-based, future-focused assessment models for recovery’ (2020a: 12).…”