440. Hon Alison Xamon to the minister representing the Minister for Corrective Services:
I refer to the engagement of Aboriginal community organisations in prisons and at Banksia Hill Detention centre, and I ask:
(a) for each prison and for Banksia Hill Detention Centre, please advise:
(i) which, if any, Aboriginal-controlled community organisations currently deliver programs at the facility;
(ii) which, if any, Aboriginal-controlled community organisations currently undertake other activities at the facility;
(iii) the nature of the program delivered or other activity undertaken by each organisation;
(iv) how many prisoners/young people are engaged in the program/activity; and
(v) how regularly staff from the organisation visit the facility to deliver the program/activity?
Hon Stephen Dawson replied:
The Department of Justice (the Department) currently has arrangements with various Aboriginal-controlled community organisations to deliver programs and other services at prisons across Western Australia (WA). There are currently two ways in which organisations can be engaged with the Department for this purpose:
Through funded arrangements which are specified and managed through a service agreement between the Department and the organisation including a set funding level for the delivery of the specific service; or
Through a ‘volunteer services’ arrangement, where a community organisation may submit a request to the Department to deliver their specific program or service to offenders in prison, or in the community, on a voluntary basis without funding from the Department. This may include volunteer based organisations or organisations who receive funding through Commonwealth or other State agencies. The Department does not maintain data on the number of prisoners engaged with these services or the number of visits by these services to the prisons as they are not engaged and managed through a service agreement.
(a) [See tabled paper no 985.]
[Tabled paper 985 - http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/publications/tabledpapers.nsf/displaypap...$file/tp-985.pdf]