Lay summary
As experienced by Indigenous peoples globally, Māori experience unjust mass incarceration, impacting on the health and wellbeing of not only those who are incarcerated but their whānau and communities. Community re-entry is an important opportunity to address the adverse impacts of incarceration on individuals and whānau and will be an important part of the transition away from the system of mass incarceration. Our kaupapa Māori mixed-methods research addresses contemporary challenges in an area of critical health and justice need for Māori, responding to the vision of a society that prevents harm, addresses its causes, and promotes wellbeing. ‘TIAKI’ focuses on community re-entry wellbeing. We will use routinely collected Government data to understand community entry pathways for Māori and the factors which influence wellbeing outcomes after release. We will support whānau with lived experience of incarceration as researchers to develop strategies for self-determined pathways supporting positive community re-entry wellbeing.