Throughcare service preventing crime in north Australia

When Rebecca (not her real name) was released from prison in the Northern Territory, she was determined not to go back again.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that more than 75 per cent of Indigenous Australians released from prison are returned within a year.  However, the results of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) Throughcare Service show that with a little support, those odds can be beaten.

The NAAJA Throughcare Service was recently featured in the Closing the Gap: Prime Minister’s Report 2013.

The service is funded by the Australian Government’s Indigenous Justice Program and provides strength-based individual case management and referral services to help people rebuild their lives when they are released from prison or juvenile detention.

Throughcare workers help their clients access the services they need, such as rehabilitation, accommodation, employment, education, training, health, life skills, and reconnection to family and community.

In Rebecca’s case, a NAAJA Throughcare worker met with her while she was in prison. Rebecca had high needs as she had been evicted from her home by her family. She had not finished high school but was keen to turn her life around.

The Throughcare worker helped Rebecca to develop a post-release plan that included help with completing her high school education, as Rebecca wanted to pursue further vocational opportunities.

Upon her release from prison, Rebecca started and soon completed her schooling. Her Throughcare worker kept in touch with Rebecca, giving her advice when she faced set-backs, and helping her with referrals for legal and counselling services.

Rebecca is now enrolled in a government employment program and her Throughcare worker is confident she will find employment when she completes the program.

Since the NAAJA Indigenous Throughcare Service commenced in February 2010, only 13 per cent (22 out of 168) of Throughcare clients were returned to prison while under the supervision of the Throughcare workers.

The success of NAAJA’s Indigenous Throughcare Service was also recognised when it won an Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Award from the Australian Institute of Criminology in 2012.