Evaluating the Establishment of a PCYC in Woorabinda: Final report

Woorabinda is a discrete, Indigenous community located 178 kilometres south west of Rockhampton, Central Queensland. Established in 1927 as an Aboriginal reserve under the government policy at the time, the impacts of removal, dispossession and colonisation on the community of Woorabinda is ongoing more than 90 years after the community’s establishment. Community engagement and support services within the town are available; however, most services are operated on a drive in, drive out basis. Woorabinda is currently under an alcohol management plan, however its proximity to commercial liquor outlets (50 kilometres) reduces the effectiveness of this strategy. Woorabinda Aboriginal Shire Council (WASC), in collaboration with the Queensland Police Service (QPS) and other youth support services proposed to fund a PCYC in the community as a centre piece to a youth precinct. The precinct would provide local youth aged 12-25 years with focused support services to disrupt and deter youth crime through targeted community re-engagement programs and activities. The QPS approached the Office of Indigenous Engagement, CQUniversity, suggesting the university walk alongside the strategies and conduct research over the three-year implementation of the PCYC. The research gauged community perceptions and evaluated the impact that PCYC activities have on youth crime and community harmony. Project aim: The primary aim of this Community-Led Research (CLR) project was to examine the impact of the PCYC on youth behaviours in the Woorabinda community, including measurable impacts (both qualitative and quantitative) on crime rates, youth engagement, youth health and wellbeing, and community harmony. Methods: The project used a mixed-method approach combining both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, underpinned by a community-led research (CLR) methodology. The project was co-designed with youth attending the PCYC program in Woorabinda. Quantitative and qualitative measures were used to assess the program’s implementation processes, effectiveness and community acceptability over the initiative’s first 3 years of operation (January 2020-December 2022). Impact was measured through a longitudinal, Community-Led Research (CLR) methodology and mixed-methods design involving repeated data collection techniques completed prior to the program, at completion of the program and progressively as the project proceeded. The project took a strengths-based approach generating new insights into community-driven planning and community development.