The co-design of an Indigenous and community-led culturally responsive prevention framework to reduce the incarceration of children

This study addresses the disproportionate incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Australia by co-designing an Indigenous community-led, culturally responsive prevention framework. Building on three prior studies – a scoping review and two qualitative studies with Elders, community members, and children – the research employed an iterative co-design process grounded in Indigenist and decolonising methodologies. Participants engaged in single and group yarning interviews to refine framework components, ensuring alignment with cultural values and community priorities. The resulting framework, Transformative healing and Adungadoo pathways, comprises three interconnected levels: universal outcomes for thriving children, connected families and empowered communities, rights-based systemic reforms, and culturally grounded program elements across the life course. Findings highlight the need for holistic, healing-informed and strengths-based approaches that disrupt colonial drivers of child incarceration and promote self-determination. This work offers a practical, community-driven model for justice reinvestment and systemic transformation.