Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 307 | 9th August 2013

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In this week's edition...

CLINKS NEWS: Partnership Finder - are you registered?

Primes and commissioners will soon be using Partnership Finder to identify potential supply chains, so if you’re not already registered then now is the time to do so.  Check to see if you’re registered here, and if you’re not then follow these simple instructions to add your organisation.

CLINKS OPPORTUNITY: grants for innovative BAME services

Clinks, with funding from NOMS, are providing up to eight small grants of £1,500 each to support the development of innovative approaches to improving resettlement outcomes for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) offenders. Applications are open to umbrella organisations and service providers from the VCSE sector in England and Wales.  We particularly welcome applications from specialist BAME, user-led organisations and those that focus on particular BAME communities. For more information, click here

CLINKS RESOURCE: improving your evidence

As part of the Improving your Evidence project, Clinks and NPC held a series of events in June and July on ‘What makes good evidence?’ We heard from commissioners, researchers and service providers on what they saw as high quality evidence of impact. We have also developed new webpages structured around the support VCSE organisations told us they need on evidencing their impact; including attributing outcomes, shared measurement, collaboration, good practice and training and consultancy. Further resources to help organisations evidence their impact and undertake high quality research and evaluation will be added as the project progresses. You can read a summary of the panel discussions and access the webpages here

CLINKS RESOURCE: updates to our Transforming Rehabilitation page

We've uploaded the presentation Bates Wells Braithwaite made at their July conference, which aimed to help the VCSE Sector engage with the Transforming Rehabilitation programme. You can find it here. We've also uploaded the latest spread sheet of organisations listed on the MoJ's PIN, download it here

CLINKS TRAINING: Volunteering in prison

Do you work with offenders in prison, or would you like to learn how to support and train staff and volunteers to work with offenders in prison?  Back by popular demand, our one day course [9th October, London, from £120] is developed from our 'Volunteering in Prison' resource pack, and is designed to support trainers and/or volunteer co-ordinators to manage and support volunteers and mentors. To find out more and book your place, click here

CLINKS TRAINING: Volunteering with offenders in the community

Does your organisation work with offenders in the community?  Would you like to learn how to support and train staff and volunteers working with offenders in the community?  Our very successful two day ‘train the trainer’ course [13th & 14th November, London, from £220] is developed from our 'Working with Offenders in the Community' resource pack and is designed to support trainers and/or volunteer co-ordinators who manage and support volunteers. The training of mentors also features extensively. To find out more and book your place, click here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: Members join forces for prisoners' family welfare

Clinks Members Pact, POPS, NEPACS and Jigsaw Visitor's Centre have launched a new alliance to develop and deliver family support services to offenders and their families in prisons and communities across England and Wales. They plan to share good practice and learning, and to encourage the government, local authorities, and the private and voluntary sectors, to focus on families as part of the strategy to reduce reoffending. The charities collectively provide prison and community based support services, including family caseworkers, prison visitors centres, parenting and relationship education programmes, and services for offenders’ children. Together they provide a range of services in 50 of the124 prisons and prison clusters in England and Wales. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: women's centre wins award

The Nelson Trust’s ISIS Women’s Centre has won the Howard League for Penal Reform’s prestigious 2013 Community Programme – Women’s Award. ISIS provides a safe women-only space and a dedicated team of female staff and volunteers, creating a safe and environment for women who have often experienced trauma and abuse, with emphasis on outreach, engagement and a holistic approach. ISIS Service Manager Rose Mahon said: "If you can help someone to feel safe and respected and valued, then you can motivate them to make real change in their life. You can build their confidence and self-respect, help them to tackle addiction, abusive relationships, homelessness and mental health issues. Because these are often the factors that have overwhelmed vulnerable women and left them feeling out of control of their lives.  With support and determination the women who come here can achieve amazing things." Find out more about ISIS here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: notice of inspection of adult offending work in Northamptonshire

HM Inspectorate of Probation will be inspecting work in Northamptonshire during the weeks commencing 23 September 2013 and 7 October 2013.  Local providers who work with people supervised by the Probation Trust, or with victims, may be contacted by a probation inspector to discuss their work. The inspection will focus on work with violent offenders. If you have any queries about this, please contact HMI Probation admin mailbox at admin.hmiprob@hmiprobation.gsi.gov.uk

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: examples of promising practice in work with young offenders

As part of the Youth Justice Board's commitment to understanding more about the evidence base in youth justice, their Effective Practice Classification Panel, comprised of independent academics, has been working to assist them with identifying examples of 'promising' practice - i.e. those that have employed a rigorous approach to their design or demonstrate early evidence of effectiveness. Following the recent meeting of the panel, YJB have announced three examples of practice classified as 'promising'.  These are: Resettlement Consortia pilots; Resettlement Support Panel pilots; and Swansea Bureau. Find out more about these and more here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: Transforming Rehabilitation blog

Russell Webster has recently posted a number of interesting, short blogs around the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms. 'Will the new Transforming Rehabilitation market work?' looks at market stewardship, and argues that outsourcing probation is a high risk strategy; 'What can Transforming Rehabilitation learn from the Work Programme?' states government is failing to manage outsourced contracts properly; and 'The risky business of Social Impact Bonds' says Social Impact Bonds will not become commonplace until their costs are reduced substantially. Read all three blogs here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: MoJ events planned on women offenders

MoJ have asked us to circulate a 'save the date' notice for some events they are planning in September. Debra Baldwin from MoJ says: "The work on the Transforming Rehabilitation programme of work is moving rapidly towards the start of the competitions stage. I am particularly keen that the organisations in the women's services VCSE sector are as sighted on the relevant issues as they can be in order that they can navigate the next stages effectively and with full knowledge of the priorities for female offenders. To that end, I propose to host two workshops on the Transforming Rehabilitation Programme. For now, the dates will be 23 Aug (morning) in London, and 29 Aug in the North (location and timing tbc). Please hold the dates in your diary.  It would be particularly helpful if you could confirm your intention to attend one of the events by reply. We will be in touch with further details in the near future." Contact Debra via email here Debra.Baldwin@justice.gsi.gov.uk

COMMISSIONING: welfare services for children and young people in South Wales

Cardiff Council is seeking the provision of a Youth Offending Triage Service for Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. The Triage service is designed to divert children and young people who have committed a first offence or a less serious offence away from crime and anti-social behaviour and prevent them from entering the CJS. The successful tenderer must be able to demonstrate an understanding and experience of engaging children and young people from diverse backgrounds with varying levels of vulnerability away from crime using restorative approaches. The total contract value is £720,000. The deadline for applications is 19th August. Find out more here

COMMISSIONING: housing support services for offenders in West Sussex

West Sussex County Council is seeking the provision of housing related support services for offenders living in West Sussex. The deadline for the five year, £3m contract is 9th September. Full details here

FUNDING: community safety and crime prevention in Cheshire

Local voluntary and community groups and organisations in Cheshire, including registered charities, can apply to the Crime Prevention Fund for grants of up to £5,000 for community safety and crime prevention projects in the local community. Applications will be considered favourably which address the needs of victims or witnesses or which aim to tackle re-offending. Match funding is required for all applicants and applications can be submitted at any time. Find out more here

FUNDING: help to get broadband in Manchester and Salford

The SuperConnected scheme is provided from the Government's Urban Broadband Fund, designed to boost business development and contribute to Manchester and Salford achieving 'super-connected city' status. Through the initiative, vouchers will be issued to meet the physical costs of getting a fast broadband connection directly into your charity's premises. Vouchers offered under the initiative cover up to £3,000 of broadband connection costs. To be eligible you must be an SME, charity or not-for-profit organisation, within Salford or Manchester City Council's boundaries, employ less than 250 staff and have a turnover of less than £43m. The deadline for applications is 30 September 2013. Find out more here - Salford | Manchester

FUNDING: make Wales a fairer place

The Welsh Government's Equality and Inclusion Grant 2014-17 seeks to support third sector or community organisations working individually or together on projects that tackle inequality and discrimination and help make Wales a fairer place. A total of £1.6 million is available to support revenue costs incurred in the day-to-day running of the organisation or project. The Welsh Government's Fairer Futures Division will hold workshops in September to discuss the application form and answer any questions applicants may have on how to apply for funding. Find out more and attend a workshop here

FUNDING: collaborate on a dream project

Funding is available for organisations to deliver the project they have always dreamed of, but never had the opportunity to bring to life. Organisations are encouraged to collaborate to provide a more efficient service. All applications must, therefore, come from at least two organisations that have joined forces. Organisations can apply for grants of between £100,000 and £250,000 to deliver an innovative, creative and original project that will last up to two years. Projects must cover: encouraging healthy living, social enterprise, or environmental sustainability. The deadline for applications is 20 September 2013. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: working creatively with women in criminal justice settings

'co|Create' is a Creativity Works forum [24th September, Bristol, £25] for artists, facilitators, creatives and professionals working with vulnerable adults that will explore the potential of partnership working; the challenges of working within custodial settings; and how responsive creative projects with professional artists may reach core issues. It will also present 'the re|source': a way of mapping creative development for participants, artists and projects. The key speakers will represent artists, support/development workers and prison staff. Book your place here

CLINKS MEMBER'S TRAINING: how to lead drama workshops

Synergy Theatre is running a series of training sessions on how to engage ex-offenders in drama. Over eight sessions [Monday and Wednesday evenings: 19, 21, 28 August and 2, 4, 9, 11 & 16 September, 6.30pm-9pm in central London, free] learn how to lead drama workshops for young people and some of the theatre and facilitation techniques involved, then try out the skills you have learned in a real workshop setting.  No experience is required, just commitment and a willingness to give it a go. The deadline to apply for a place has been extended to 14th August. Download the flyer here

NON MEMBER'S EVENTS & TRAINING

  • 'Bidding to Manage and Deliver Probation Requirements' | 2nd September, Stroud or 11th September, Leicester, £100 | Email
  • 'Managing Risk in the Criminal Justice System' | 3rd September, Stroud or 10th September, Leicester, £100 | Email

PUBLICATION: gang associated girls

'A need to belong' is a Centre for Mental Health report that claims gang associated girls are the most vulnerable children in the youth justice system. Based on a literature review and analysis of health screening initiatives, the report found that young women involved with gangs had more than double the number of vulnerabilities than the other girls who were screened after arrest. Just over a quarter were identified as having a suspected mental health problem and 30% were identified as self-harming or at risk of suicide. Download here

OFFENDER HEALTH: how does mental health fit into the new NHS structure?

In the new NHS structure, the responsibility for commissioning health services no longer rests with the Department of Health. Centre for Mental Health have produced a diagram of the new organisations which provides a full picture of the new bodies taking over these functions. View it here

OFFENDER HEALTH: Caldicott review on information governance

'To Share or Not To Share? The Information Governance Review' is an independent review of how information about patients is shared across the health and care system. Following a request from the Secretary of State for Health, Dame Fiona Caldicott carried out this review to ensure that there is an appropriate balance between the protection of patient information and the use and sharing of information to improve patient care. Read the review here

OFFENDER HEALTH: NHS Constitution survey

The NHS is exploring how the NHS Constitution can be given greater impact, with a specific focus on ensuring patients are able to get their rights. To help inform this work, they are interested in the views of service users and their carers about which rights are most important to them and where they would want to go for assistance if they felt their rights weren’t properly met. This short survey will run until 16th August. Complete the survey here

CLINKS MEMBER'S VACANCIES

Member vacancies this week include a Job Deal Caseworker with St Giles Trust [Kent prisons/Maidstone], a Temporary Support Assistant at Foundation [Durham], Prison Recovery Co-ordinators with Lifeline Project Ltd [HMYOI Isis], a Programme Co-ordinator with Music in Detention [Bedford], a Youth Advocacy and Opportunities Worker and an Education and Community Care Solicitor with Just for Kids Law [North London]. Further information about these vacancies, and many more, can be found here


TIPS OF THE WEEK

Tip of the week I: a one night stay for two in Canary Wharf, including breakfast and two course dinner is £99. Available mid-week in the holidays and on weekends Sept-Oct. Details
Tip of the week II: Also for £99, two adults can stay at the Winchester Royal Hotel, Hampshire. Price includes breakfast and two course dinner. Details
 

EXTRA INFORMATION

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Clinks

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