One hand washes the other: Realist evaluation framework and First Nations justice programs

Objective: This paper reflects on how the realist evaluation framework and First Nations justice programs can strengthen each other. This relationship will be illustrated with an applied example of a realist approach to the... [ view full abstract ]

Objective:
This paper reflects on how the realist evaluation framework and First Nations justice programs can strengthen each other. This relationship will be illustrated with an applied example of a realist approach to the evaluation of a First Nations parental incarceration program administered in a correctional centre in New South Wales, Australia.

Reflections & Observations:
The impacts of parental incarceration on the family and community are highly contextual. Adverse consequences are concentrated and intensified in minority communities that are over-represented in correctional facilities, such as in First Nation communities in Australia. Service providers supporting families deliver complex interventions for complex issues with empirical research providing little understanding of “what works”. Evaluations have an important role in delivering evidence informed programs; however culturally competent evaluations are still developing in Australia. For First Nations peoples, evaluations can be more complex when considering the historical, cultural, methodological, and bureaucratic contextual factors.

A realist framework provides an opportunity to use theoretically driven evaluations to understand how contextual factors of First Nations peoples interact with program elements to impact the effectiveness of social justice interventions. The incorporation of context into understanding outcome measures and the opportunity to consider Indigenous ways of knowing in program theory development are key traits of the realist evaluation framework that can strengthen the evidence base for First Nations justice programs.

There have been a number of evaluations of First Nations programs that have contributed to strengthening the practices of the realist approach. The authors’ evaluation of a First Nations parental incarceration program has contributed to advancing the realist evaluation practice for micro scale and community led projects, incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing and doing, and combining a synthesis and evaluation in one research project.

Conclusion:
The authors have learnt a number of lessons in the process of our evaluation. However overall, we have noted how the realist framework has the possibility to strengthen First Nations justice programs and in turn how this process can advance the practice of the realist framework.