Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 418 | 11th December 2015

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In this week's edition....

CLINKS EVENT: our AGM

Our 17th Annual General Meeting & Reception [27th January, London] will provide an opportunity for you to meet members, network with funders and policy makers, and hear about the activities of Clinks over the last 12 months. As well as allowing us to carry out business that is vital to our work, it is also the opportunity for you to exercise your right to elect our trustees. This is a members only event; book a place today here

CLINKS MEMBERS OFFER: free consultancy support

Clinks is offering up to five days of consultancy support for around 50 Clinks members. This member benefit is designed to strengthen organisational and financial sustainability in the voluntary sector. Clinks will cover the cost of up to five days of consultancy support which will be delivered by professionals on our Consultants Directory. To identify a consultant you would like to work with please search the directory, or, Clinks can help you find someone with the appropriate skills and experience to meet your requirements. The deadline for applications is 28th February 2016. If you are interested in accessing consultancy support, please click here to access the guidance document

CLINKS BLOG: visiting a drug and alcohol recovery service

Joe Gardham recently visited a user-led drug and alcohol recovery service in Morecambe, and has shared six observations from his visit. Joe says: "The Well is led by Dave Higham, who spent 30 years from the age of 12 in and out of borstal and prison. Upon release from his last sentence he tried to access local services, but soon realised they weren't there when he needed them most - on evenings and weekends. And so The Well was created - a space for everybody and anybody, with the feel of a social club rather than a formal service. People come and go as they please, finding a safe haven where they can share with others in recovery, or just find some peace and a hot drink." Read the full article here

CLINKS GUEST BLOG: women's desistance

In the final part of her guest blog series, Rebecca Gomm considers how building resilience to support recovery can inform trauma-informed care and makes suggestions which the voluntary sector may wish to engage with. Rebecca says: "Trauma informed practice does not replace specialist interventions which support women offenders, although it is an approach which provides an emotionally safe platform from which to start and continually engage with women. Building resilience to support the recovery process can then proceed, based on having re-established relational resources, building self-efficacy and working in an empowering way, in order for futures to be re-built." Read the full article here

CLINKS GUEST BLOG: mental health and wellbeing

'We all need to be equipped to spot mental health and wellbeing needs' is the first in a two-part series by Linda Bryant, Director of Criminal Justice Services at Together for Mental Wellbeing. Linda says: "Too many people pass through the Criminal Justice System without their mental health and wellbeing needs being recognised. With 70% of the prison population having some kind of mental health problem, but less than 1% of ex-offenders living in the community being referred for mental health treatment, our work to support vulnerable individuals is not yet done." Read the full article here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: latest prison factfile

Prison Reform Trust has published their latest Prison Factfile. It states: "The prison service will be clinging to the hope that the worst is over, that after three years of drastic cuts prisons will slowly settle into diminished routines and staffing levels—a new impoverished normality. The evidence of this briefing gives little cause for optimism. Violence and disorder have risen sharply. Suicides continue to rise, and the reductions achieved through so much effort in the previous decade have been reversed. Levels of purposeful activity were judged unacceptable in three-quarters of prisons inspected." Download the briefing here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: inspecting probation services

HM Inspectorate of Probation will be undertaking an inspection of early work undertaken by the National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies in Hertfordshire during the week commencing 18th February 2016. If you have any queries about this, please contact HMI Probation (Enquiries) mailbox at Enquiries.HMIProb@hmiprobation.gsi.gov.uk

FUNDING: accessible health care

NHS England are inviting applications for grants to support the implementation of the Accessible Information Standard in social and health care settings. Up to £15,000 will be awarded to each successful applicant to support activity with outputs and products that can be shared to support others implement the Accessible Information Standard. The deadline for applications is 17th December. Find out more and apply here

FUNDING: restorative justice in the Midlands

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson is launching a new fund to support restorative justice projects in the West Midlands. Grants totalling £375,000 will be available to organisations who work with victims, enabling them, if they want to face their offender, to explain how the crime has affected them. The deadline for applications is December 31st. Find out more and apply here

CLINKS PARTNER'S EVENT: women's desistance from offending

'Building resilience for recovery: Insights into women’s desistance from offending' is an Academy for Justice Commissioning evening seminar [14th January, London, free] featuring Rebecca Gomm, PhD Researcher at Durham University. Based upon service user insights, this free seminar will discuss the context of women offenders' lives, charting what it was – and who it was that supported them to desist from offending. Based upon a qualitative study, within an urban setting, desistance from offending will be discussed within a framework which accounts for layers of recovery. Rebecca will also consider how the commissioning process can be usefully informed to support the recovery process by considering how individual resilience can be built. Book your place here

CLINKS PARTNER'S EVENT: developing a payment by results tool for commissioners

Russell Webster is running workshops [18th January, London & 2nd February, Coventry] to collect people’s experience of Payment by Results (PbR) in order to develop a tool to help commissioners decide if it is the right approach. Russell says: "The key findings from a recently completed literature review will be shared in four workshops and I am very keen to ensure that each workshop is attended by individuals who have been involved in PbR schemes whether as commissioners, providers, frontline workers, service users or researchers." Book your place here

NON-MEMBERS' EVENTS & TRAINING

  • 'The 'good prison' redefined - The Mandela Rules' | 29th February, Egham, free | Details
  • 'Restorative Practice Awards' | 15th April, London | Details

PUBLICATION: children's experiences of prison visits

'Locked Out: Children’s experiences of visiting a parent in prison' is a research report from Barnardo's based on conversations, interviews and focus groups with children who visit their father in prison. Twenty five children and mothers spoke to Barnardo’s in focus groups and many more shared their experiences during prison visits. They told Barnardo's that some changes need to be made to help them feel more comfortable about accessing their right to have contact with their father in difficult circumstances. Download the report here

PUBLICATION: latest lessons in youth justice

Beyond Youth Custody’s most recent review outlines the latest lessons from research, policy and practice in the resettlement of young people since the last update in July 2015. The review considers custody population trends for children and young adults, noting differences relating to gender and ethnicity, and explores the implications of such trends for resettlement of children and young people. Recent developments in the custodial estate such as increased violence within establishments, the introduction of 30 hours of mandatory education a week for those under 18, and the announcement of the review into the youth justice system are explored; as well as the findings of several recently published research studies that highlight the particular vulnerabilities and safety of young people in custody. Download the update here

PUBLICATION: devolving criminal justice

A new report by Transform Justice, 'Rehabilitation Devolution', argues that if local agencies are made responsible for paying the costs of incarceration, they are more likely to take steps to reduce its use. The report proposes transferring responsibility for meeting the entire costs of custody for under 18's to local authorities and police and crime commissioners (PCCs); work to identify the best ways of transferring that responsibility to a more local level for young adult and women offenders; and inviting PCCs to chair new Justice and Safety Partnerships (JSPs). Involving judges, probation, prison, local government and health, the JSP’s would introduce greater regional voice in the system and provide a body to which criminal justice budgets might be devolved over time. Download the report here

OPPORTUNITY: creative writing scholarship

Author Kit de Waal is to fund a creative writing scholarship at Birkbeck, University of London, for a budding writer from a low-income household or a marginalised background. Among those being targeted by the scholarship are care leavers, ex-prisoners, members of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities, people with a disability and those of low socioeconomic status. The scholarship is for a student who would not otherwise be able to afford the course; it will pay for them to complete Birkbeck’s part- time Creative Writing MA over two years from October 2016. It will also include a travel bursary to enable the student to travel into London for classes, and Waterstones vouchers to buy books on the course’s reading list. The deadline for applications is 15th February. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBERS' VACANCIES

Job vacancies this week include: An Outreach Support Worker (Female) with New Dawn New Day Ltd [Leicester], Community Case Workers, an Assistant Support Worker and a Hospital Support Independent Domestic Violence Advocate with Changing Lives [Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Newcastle, Blackburn and Darwin], a Trustee with Community Chaplaincy Association [London], an Engagement Team Member with User Voice [South East], Resettlement Brokers with Nacro [South East], a Trainer Assessor and a Resettlement Caseworker with St Giles Trust [Staffordshire, Yorkshire and Humber], an Achieve/Talent Match Co-ordinator with Back On Track [Manchester], and a Policy Officer with Revolving Doors Agency [London]. For more information about these vacancies, and many more, click here

TIPS OF THE WEEK

  • Tip of the week I: A 3-night break in Prague, including flights, is £99 per person. Details
  • Tip of the week II: Get London's West End theatre tickets from £10 for performances between 1st January and 12th February. Details
  • Tip of the week III: An overnight stay for two at a 16th-century former monastery in North Yorkshire is £99. Deal includes dinner and breakfast. Details

EXTRA INFORMATION

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Designed, composed and circulated every Friday by...

Joe Gardham and Ben Watson

Clinks