The evaluation of the Community Support for …

1 The evaluation of the Community Support for Offenders families service2 The evaluation of the Community Support for Offenders families serviceThe evaluation of the Community Support for Offenders families service 3 ContentsGlossary 4 Summary 61. Context Parental offending and its impact Family Support and desistance The family and policy on offenders Family interventions The CSOF service 142. The evaluation evaluation questions and approach Methods Analysis Ethics Strengths and limitations of the approach 183.

2 The Community Support for Offenders families model Inputs Participants Activities 204. Findings Operational delivery 24 Service outcomes Learning 515. Implications 56 Appendix 1. CSOF grant obligations 60 Appendix 2. Research methodology 61 Appendix 3. families supported through the CSOF service 63 Appendix 4. Partner agencies 67 References 71 AcknowledgementsThis evaluation was carried out by Fiona Ward, Research Consultant seconded to the Barnardo s Strategy Unit, with Support from David Dutchman, evaluation Officer, and overseen by Dr Sophie Laws, Assistant Director for evaluation and Impact.

3 The report was edited by Laura Blazey, evaluation Officer. We would like to thank the National offender Management Service (NOMS) for funding the evaluation , the Community Support for Offenders families (CSOF) staff for all of their assistance, and the families and local stakeholders for taking part in interviews. We are grateful also to members of the CSOF research advisory group for their advice and Support , and to the peer reviewers appointed by the National offender Management Service for their useful comments as part of the quality assurance The evaluation of the Community Support for Offenders families serviceBasic custody screeningA standardised tool for assessing the needs and risks that a prisoner presents.

4 The new expanded tool includes questions about family composition and caring responsibilities. It will become operational as part of the Through the Gate operating Common Assessment Framework is a process whereby practitioners can identify a child or young person s needs early, assess those needs holistically, deliver coordinated services and review and families PathwayNOMS developed nine offender pathways to reduce re-offending. These are accommodation, education, training and employment, health, drugs and alcohol, finance, benefits and debt, children and families and attitudes, thinking and behaviour, abuse and sentenceA non-custodial sentence combining punishment with activities carried out in the Transforming Rehabilitation, 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies will be responsible for the management of offenders categorised as low to medium risk of harm, and supervising short-sentence prisoners after release.

5 These will become effective in National Probation Service case management system that was rolled out across England and Wales during cessation of offending or other antisocial FirstFamilies First was set up in Wales in 2010 to play a key role in addressing child poverty. It works with local authorities to provide co-ordinated Support and a range of projects to help families experiencing multiple difficulties. The TAF (see below) oversees and co-ordinates the services families SentenceDeveloped by Action for Prisoners families , this is a training course for professionals who work with the families of prisoners and offenders.

6 It aims to raise awareness about the criminal justice system and issues facing prisoners families , explore issues facing families and help practitioners to identify ways to Support Information Hub on Offenders Children and their families for Professionals ( ) has been funded by the Department for Education since 2013. Delivered by Barnardo s and Partners of Prisoners and families Support Group, it aims to integrate working across agencies that Support children in offenders families , and increase awareness and knowledge of the issues that affect these children.

7 It provides an information and advice service for practitioners and those responsible for strategic development and Family Support services operate only in Wales and focus on families where parents have substance misuse problems that affect the welfare of their children. IFSS teams started work in 2010 and operate throughout Wales. Local authorities and health boards are required to work together to establish the service and provide Support / services to Walls Schools AccordPart of the Big Lottery-funded Invisible Walls Wales (a partnership between G4S, HMP Parc, Barnardo s, Gwalia Housing Association, Bridgend County Borough Council and the Welsh Centre for Crime and Social Justice).

8 It aims to work with individual schools in Wales to offer Support and guidance to pupils who have a parent or close relative in evaluation of the Community Support for Offenders families service 5 NPSU nder Transforming Rehabilitation, the National Probation Service will be responsible for the management of offenders who are categorised as high risk of offender Assessment System is completed by an offender Manager. It is used to measure the needs and risks of offenders and covers offending history and current offence, social and economic factors (including access to accommodation; education, training and employability; financial management and income; lifestyle and associates; relationships; drug and/or alcohol misuse) and personal factors (such as thinking and behaviour; attitude towards offending and towards supervision; emotional factors such as anxiety and depression).

9 offender ManagerThe person in the probation service with allocated responsibility for assessing what each offender requires, engaging the offender in planning and co-ordinating delivery, establishing interventions to Support and facilitate change, reviewing progress and evaluating outcomes, taking enforcement action, and motivating when pre-sentence report is written by an offender Manager following an interview with the offender . It includes information about why they committed the offence, how they feel about it now, and what their background, family and work circumstances are.

10 It is used to inform the decision about the most appropriate sentence for the Around the Family is part of the Common Assessment Framework and additional assessment processes in Wales. It is a multi-disciplinary team of practitioners established on a case-by-case basis to Support a child, young person or of changeA framework that is widely used to describe the journey towards a programme s ultimate goal. It identifies the inputs, participants involved, activities and resulting outcomes. It illustrates how, over time, the achievement of short-term outcomes lead to intermediate outcomes, which contribute towards to the attainment of the long-term goals for a Wales Accord on the Sharing of Personal Information is a framework for services directly concerned with health, education, safety, crime prevention and social wellbeing.