Healthy Community Healthy Mind: An Evidence-based Culturally Sensitive Aboriginal Child and Adolescent Mental Health Program

This brief report describes an area of promising practice and a model of care that encapsulates the intersection of non-Indigenous methods and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being, and doing. The Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative (BADAC) Aboriginal Child and Adolescent Mental Health Program provides evidence-based mental health practice integrating the cultural knowledge and lived experience of Aboriginal staff, clients, and families. The program focus is on building trust with community and clients. This paper presents the outcomes from the first year of the program. Data from referral and assessment processes and outcomes for the young people their families and the community provides preliminary insights into the value of the BADAC model of care. A case study provides a qualitative, in-depth insight into the experiences of a participant in the program. This preliminary evaluation is limited in scope; however, the outcomes are promising and will guide future development of the model to improve mental health for Aboriginal children and young people in the Ballarat district.