Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 426 | 19th February 2016

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In this week's edition....

 

CLINKS BLOG: what's keeping our members awake at night?

Clinks CEO Anne Fox has written a blog about her recent travels around the country, finding out what keeps our members awake at night. Anne reflects: "Members are worried about money, that there’s not enough of it, that it’s hard to get and that in trying to get enough it stifles their ability to be strategic. Members are comforted by their legacy and history and above all by the commitment of their staff and volunteers and the success their clients and service users have achieved in their own lives." Find out what else our members had to say here

CLINKS CASE STUDY: supporting ex-service personnel released from prison

Our latest case study focuses on Clinks member Northern Learning Trust, and their delivery of the Veterans Employment Support Project; an employability project in the North East of England, targeted at offenders who have served in the Armed Forces. The Northern Learning Trust is well known for delivering community-based learning to groups who have been excluded from education, but less well known for their work with offenders. They have created a peer-to-peer model in which ex-service personnel, both paid and volunteers, provide services to other ex-service personnel who have been to prison. Download the case study here

CLINKS RESOURCE: Directory of Offender Services

Our Directory of Offender Services has the information and contact details of over 900 organisations that work with offenders. You can search by various filters, such as region, area of work, number of service users and more. It’s also free to list your organisation – use the Directory of Offender Services here

CLINKS OPPORTUNITY: developing income generation training

Are you a trainer with a good general knowledge of criminal justice, and experience of income generation for the voluntary sector? Clinks is seeking trainers to work with to develop new courses to help the sector diversify their sources of income and strengthen their sustainability. If you are interested, please contact Kate at kate.aldous@clinks.org

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: Nacro responds to NHS pledges

Nacro have responded to this week's NHS announcement by saying: “Too many people with mental health problems present at crisis point, whether this be in A&E, police custody or prison. Their problems are left undiagnosed and unsupported in the community resulting in costly consequences for individuals, their family and blue light services. We hope measures announced today will be the start of a system that is more effective, better resourced and more responsive to people’s needs. We need to make sure that the millions of people affected by mental ill health no longer suffer in silence and have access to the same care and treatment expected for physical ill health.” Find out more here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: problem-solving courts

The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice and the Lord Chief Justice have established a joint working group to examine models of problem-solving courts and advise on the feasibility of possible pilot models to be taken forward in England and Wales in 2016 to 2017. The Ministry of Justice's objectives for problem-solving courts are to: achieve offender behaviour change through a model of judicially supervised rehabilitative programmes; encourage innovation in the use of judicial disposals and improve compliance with the orders of the court; and deliver a swifter and more certain response to crime and to reduce reoffending. Find out more here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: managing young people who offend

The Ministry of Justice has published 'What works in managing young people who offend?'; a review of international literature produced to inform youth justice policy and practice. The review focuses on the impact and delivery of youth justice supervision, programmes and interventions within the community, secure settings, and during transition into adult justice settings or into mainstream society. It does not, however, include studies that focus on early years prevention programmes, crime prevention or reduction strategies or community based approaches that did not involve the direct management of young people who have offended. Download the review here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: earning and spending money in prison

'Life in prison: Earning and spending money' is a findings paper from HM Inspectorate of Prisons; part of a series which focuses on daily life in prisons and young offender institutions (YOIs) holding young adults (aged 18 to 21). The paper found that a large number of prisoners – nearly 20% – reported entering prison with money problems. It is important that prisoners are provided with opportunities to improve their financial management skills and manage any debts they may have on entering prison, especially if the debt will continue to grow while the person is in jail. Download the paper here

FUNDING: employability in London

Grants of up to £10,000 are available to organisations in London (excluding City of London, Hackney, Newham and Tower Hamlets), for projects that improve people's life skills, education, employability and enterprise. Projects should be run by people directly affected by the issues being dealt with, and priority will be given to small, locally-based groups or organisations in areas of disadvantage that have a clear understanding of the needs of their community. Funding can be used to cover core costs, salaries and project costs. The deadline for applications is 1st March. Find out more and apply here

FUNDING: promoting community cohesion

Grants of either £2,500 or £5,000 are available for projects which foster cross-community cohesion and understanding. Priority will be given to applications which involve or benefit a large number of young people (ten or more) and deliver a sustained programme of activity over a number of weeks/months, with key milestones. Projects must take place within the former West Midlands county boundary, South Essex or East London, or the Medway area of Kent (postcodes ME1-12 and ME14). The deadline for applications is 18th March. Find out more and apply here

FUNDING: education for economically disadvantaged pupils

The EEF, The Bell Foundation and Unbound Philanthropy are offering funding to schools, local authorities, networks, research institutions, universities or other non-profit organisations that are interested in evaluating teaching and learning approaches, as well as intervention programmes, for the purpose of raising the attainment of economically disadvantaged pupils. Past EEF grants have ranged from £90,000 to £1.8 million. The application deadline is 1st April. Find out more and apply here

FUNDING: play schemes for disadvantaged children

Grants of between £500 and £1,500 are available to help community groups in the UK to run summer play schemes for the benefit of disadvantaged children aged five to 18 years. Play schemes should be local schemes lasting for two to six weeks with strong volunteer support. Some priority will be given to projects which show they are inclusive of children from refugee families, and show BME involvement. The deadline for applications is 20th May. Find out more and apply here

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: neuro linguistic programming

'An Introduction to Neuro Linguistic Programming' is a Metanoeo CIC event [22nd March, Liverpool, from £5] for anyone who works with people and wants to find out how NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) might be useful to their practice. NLP looks at the unconscious processes we use to produce behaviours. The session will give participants a basic knowledge of how NLP can help develop effectiveness in working with people and becoming more effective in their own lives. Find out more and book here

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: questioning trends in violence

For the 2016 Eve Saville memorial lecture [12th April, 6pm, central London, donations], Professor Sylvia Walby OBE of Lancaster University presents ground-breaking new research questioning official claims that violence has been declining in England and Wales since the mid-1990s. Find out more and book your place here

CLINKS PARTNER'S EVENT: demonstrating value in mental health services

'Demonstrating value' is a webinar [1st March, 14.00 - 15.30, free] delivered by members of the Health and Care Voluntary Sector Strategic Partner Programme, to help voluntary sector organisations explore how to demonstrate the value of their services working with people with mental health problems in the Criminal Justice System. The voluntary sector is often asked to demonstrate the added value it brings in engaging under-served communities, but this can be difficult to quantify. This can be especially complicated when working with people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, where data may not be triangulated with that on mental health and other vulnerabilities. The webinar will use current case studies to discuss the challenges of evaluation, explore alternative methods for demonstrating value, and identify the data required to build an effective case to demonstrate the value the voluntary sector brings. Sign up for the webinar here

CLINKS PARTNER'S EVENT: commissioning and user engagement

'Commissioning better public services through user engagement' is an Academy for Justice Commissioning evening seminar [15th March, Manchester, free] featuring Gary Copitch, Chief Executive of People’s Voice Media. Gary will discuss the principles of effective and fulfilling user engagement in service commissioning. During his talk Gary will share how People’s Voice Media captures the story of users through the innovative Community Reporter programme and then uses these stories to inform better commissioning. He will also explain how these stories have been used to inform better service design using examples from the health and criminal justice policy fields. Find out more and book here

CLINKS PARTNER'S EVENT: reframing criminal justice messages

'How can we reframe the debate on criminal justice?' is a FrameWorks Institute event [7th April, London, free] that presents two years of research into reframing criminal justice messages. Reframing offers us techniques and tools to communicate more effectively. After decades of an arms race between politicians to seem tougher on crime, the public is still sceptical about a less punitive Criminal Justice System. Nearly half the UK population still supports the death penalty and seven in ten think sentences are too soft. So advocates and experts have a mountain still to climb to change the debate on criminal justice. Find out more and book your place here

OFFENDER HEALTH: NHS to invest in mental health services

NHS England has this week pledged to transform mental health care help more than a million extra people and invest more than a billion pounds a year by 2020/21. The announcement came in response to findings by an independent Mental Health Task Force, whose report highlighted that one in four people will experience a mental health problem in their lifetime and the cost of mental ill health to the economy, NHS and society is £105bn a year. The report also recognises the prevalence of mental health problems among people in contact with the Criminal Justice System, and calls on the Ministry of Justice, Home Office, Department of Health and NHS England to work together to improve care pathways for health in the justice system. Download the report here

RESOURCE: restorative justice in custodial settings

The Restorative Justice Council has launched an information pack on restorative justice in custodial settings. It is a resource for prisons, young offender institutions (YOIs) and other custodial establishments aimed at making high quality restorative justice more widely available. The pack outlines two potential delivery models that prisons may adopt – developing restorative justice capacity within the prison and creating a supportive environment in the prison to enable external agencies to deliver restorative justice. It also covers frequently asked questions on restorative justice in custodial settings and includes articles on how partnership working with external providers works in practice. Download the pack here

RESOURCE: family visits video

Ormiston Families have produced a short film, aimed at children, about what life is like in HMP Bedford. Children and family members are all curious to know what goes on inside a prison and this short film from a prisoner Dad's perspective should help to curb this curiosity and anxiety. It can be used as a supporting tool for children who have a Dad in any prison. Watch it here

CLINKS MEMBERS' VACANCIES

Our members' vacancies this week include: a Centre Director with Newcastle Law Centre [Newcastle], a Line Worker with P3 Charity [Hull], a Substance Misuse Recovery Worker with EDP Drug & Alcohol Services [Newton Abbot] and a Data Lead Administrator, a Resettlement Officer, a Case Manager, a SPARC Practitioner and a Mentoring Co-ordinator with Lincolnshire Action Trust [HMP Whatton, HMP Lincoln, HMP Stocken, Lincoln Courts, Lincolnshire] View these and other vacancies here

TIPS OF THE WEEK

  • Tip of the week I: Book 3 nights in Prague with flights from £139pp Details
  • Tip of the week II: 2 night stay in the Cotswolds for £109pp including meals, cream tea and a bottle of wine Details
  • Tip of the week III: Get 40% off online or in store with the Body Shop Details

EXTRA INFORMATION

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