Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 436 | 6th May 2016

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In this week's edition....

CLINKS GUIDE: engaging the voluntary sector in prisons

‘The Rehabilitative Prison: Good engagement with the voluntary sector’ is a Clinks Do it Justice guide aiming to provide prison governors and staff with practical guidance on effective engagement with voluntary sector organisations, in order to support rehabilitation within a reformed prison estate. It has been created in collaboration with prison service staff, Community Rehabilitation Companies and voluntary sector organisations. The guide builds on positive experiences and suggests areas of focus that can foster a more co-ordinated approach to partnership work that makes the most of available resources. Clinks' Louise Clarke has written a blog looking at five actions for good prison engagement with the voluntary sector. Read the blog and download the guide here

CLINKS RESPONSE: submission to the Taylor Review

Clinks and our partners have submitted a response to the government's review of the youth justice system led by Charlie Taylor. The review is examining evidence on what works to prevent youth crime and rehabilitate young offenders; how the youth justice system can most effectively interact with wider services for children and young people; and whether the current delivery models and governance arrangements remain fit for purpose and achieve value for money. Clinks has been working with a number of partners concerned with children, young people and youth justice to formulate our submission, not only in response to the interim report published in February 2016 but also to address the broader themes encompassed by the review. The submission draws on feedback from five consultation events with voluntary sector organisations across England and Wales. Download the response here

CLINKS RESPONSE: housing and employment support for offenders

Clinks, in partnership with Homeless Link has responded to the Work and Pensions Select Committee inquiry into housing and employment support for people on their release from prison. In our submission we highlight the need for resettlement support to be offered to prisoners at the earliest opportunity, increased transparency of services commissioned by Community Rehabilitation Companies and the National Probation Service and the need for continued investment in supported housing. Download the response here

CLINKS BLOG: six key developments in health and justice

Clinks' Offender Health Coordinator Hazel Alcraft has written a blog with a quick reminder of six of the key developments in health and justice over the last year, and a look at what might come in 2016-17. She says, "Whatever happens, people in contact with the Criminal Justice System are likely to continue to experience greater health risks and needs than the general population, and addressing these needs will need to remain a high priority if we are to support them to successfully desist from crime and rebuild their lives." Read the blog here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: new name for a volunteering charity

WWV has changed their name to Step Together Volunteering. The charity works with people on the margins of society to transform their lives through community volunteering. They provide intensive one-to-one support for offenders on both sides of the prison gate in Manchester, London, Glasgow and Dorset. Mike Silvey, Director, said: "The change of our charity name is an important milestone in the history of our organisation. The new name reflects the support we provide to our clients, and as an organisation that believes in the transformative power of volunteering, we truly believe that together is better." Find out more here

FUNDING: for deprived coalfield communities

Grants of up to £10,000 are available from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust for 'People into Work' projects supporting people in deprived coalfield communities in the North East, North West, East Midlands, West Midlands, Yorkshire and Kent. The fund aims to make coalfields sustainable and to work towards the point where they can be prosperous, viable and cohesive without support. Projects must work towards one of the following themes: growing the skills of people in order to increase their opportunities; developing pathways to increase the number of people in work; and supporting activities that improve the health and wellbeing of all age groups. The deadline for applications is 10th June. Find out more and apply here

FUNDING: to help homeless people rebuild their lives

Small and medium-sized charities with a turnover of under £1 million per annum can apply for grants of up to £5,000 from Help the Homeless to help homeless people rebuild their lives, re-enter society and live a normal life. Funding is targeted at projects to find practical ways to help disadvantaged individuals return to the community through training or residential facility provision, rather than merely providing short term shelter. The scheme will principally fund capital costs, but may consider revenue costs if necessary to the project. The deadline for applications is 15th June. Find out more and apply here

FUNDING: learning and skills and access to employment

Two new calls have been launched under the European Social Fund strand of the European Structural and Investment Funds for the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP area. For the Learning and Skills call, grants from a minimum of £400,000 are available to run a project providing an effective skills support infrastructure for employers to address identified shortfalls in local development needs. For the Access to Employment call, grants from a minimum of £62,500 are available to run a project providing help to people with multiple and complex barriers by developing innovative solutions to combat poverty and promoting social inclusion. The deadline for applications for both calls is 20th June. Find out more and apply here and here

FUNDING: supporting the veteran community

A single grant of up to £2 million is available from the Ministry of Defence Covenant Fund for a two-year pilot project to set up a single 24/7 multi-media point of contact for veterans seeking assistance. The 'Veterans' Gateway' will refer callers to existing service providers across the UK, and then follow up with the caller to ensure that they received the advice they needed. It will not provide any services but it will filter the right person to the right charity and increase the demand on their services and expertise. The Veterans’ Gateway will be funded as a two year project, with the aim that it become self-financing within those two years. The deadline for applications is 1st July. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: a model for people experiencing homelessness

'Strength in Numbers' is a Homeless Link event [22nd June, Manchester, free] that will look at a strengths-based model for people experiencing homelessness. The model, developed by the Mayday Trust, is based on the premise that homelessness should be a temporary transition, and not only builds upon individual strengths and abilities, but evidences the direct link between increased personal assets and hard outcomes using a bespoke on-line measuring tool. The event aims to address questions such as: How, and in what form can services adapt and survive? And are we seeing more people with ‘complex needs’ or are we retaining and institutionalising people within a broken system? Find out more and book here

NON-MEMBERS' EVENTS & TRAINING

Bloomsbury Book Club with Erwin James | 10th May, London, from £11.24 | Details

PUBLICATION: women-centred working

Women Centred Working initiative, a WomenCentre project, has published 'Taking Forward Women Centred Solutions', a guide to help councils and their partners explore potential benefits that doing things in a ‘women centred’ way can bring to local services and communities. It demonstrates how gendered approaches can help unlock solutions to complex problems and deliver multiple outcomes for vulnerable women and their families whilst making better use of public resources. The guide offers practical suggestions for ways in which councils can benefit from incorporating women-centred thinking into existing practices, and sets out the business case for integrated, community-based support. Download the guide here

PUBLICATION: how are people affected by destitution?

'Destitution in the UK' is a Joseph Rowntree Foundation report that aims to define destitution in the UK, looking at how many people are affected, who they are, and the main pathways in and out of destitution. Evidence on the causes, scale, trends and distribution of destitution in the UK is difficult to find, as is data on the characteristics of those affected and the impact it has on them. This report looks at the impact and experience of those people directly affected, and finds that destitution is closely linked to broader poverty, and that tackling destitution requires action on the fundamental drivers of poverty, as well as better emergency support for those in crisis. Download the report here

PUBLICATION: performance measurement in prisons

Reform has published 'Unlocking prison performance', a paper that seeks to lay out a new model for performance measurement in prisons. It argues that current productivity measures are fundamentally flawed, and that for the most part they remain sector-level analyses focussed on the volume of outputs produced, rather than the quality of the services or their value to citizens - a problem, they say, that is evident in the prison service. The paper proposes a new model for measuring performance – one which is focussed not only on ensuring decent living conditions for inmates, but also assesses the ability of prisons to improve inmates’ life-chances after prison, which is of wider value to society. Download the report here

PUBLICATION: commissioning for councils and the voluntary sector

A report by New Local Government Network (NLGN), in partnership with LankellyChase Foundation, finds that raising the scoring for social value in the commissioning process could have a profound effect on how local government works with its partners and on the outcomes it is able to deliver for citizens. In the report 'All together now', NLGN sets out an approach to joint working between the voluntary sector and local government to tackle the challenges of severe and multiple disadvantage. NLGN's Dr Claire Mansfield said: "What we found through our research is that if all key partners work together we can create a commissioning process that focusses on the needs and ambitions of people. It is only by doing so, that councils can truly achieve the maximum value from their commissioning process." Download the report here

OPPORTUNITY: assess your impact and produce a business case

Optimitry are offering exclusive access to a new online impact and evaluation tool to road test and provide feedback to support its development. The ‘show our impact’ tool’s step-by-step process allows organisations to input data on their intervention, service users, costs, activities and outcomes. The tool then calculates cost effectiveness and a summary of the impact in an easy to read business case report. Optimity would like to invite volunteers to work with them to tweak the tool and improve it. To volunteer please email max.mayhew@optimityadvisors.com

FEATURED VACANCY: Prison Support Officer

Samaritans is looking for a Prison Support Officer [£28,199 to £29,028 per annum, Surrey] to support the delivery of their work in prisons through their 'Listener' peer support scheme. The Prison Support Officer will be supporting volunteers to deliver a high quality and consistent approach to running Listener schemes and will be coordinating and contributing to specific projects relating to the ongoing development and improvement of the scheme. If you have experience of planning and leading on projects, facilitating meetings and preparing papers and reports along with excellent presentation skills to deliver presentations to a range of audiences then this could be the role for you. The deadline for applications is 12th May. Find out more and apply here

FEATURED VACANCY: Case Managers

Achieve North West Connect is looking to employ a number of confident and performance-driven Case Managers [£25,617 per annum, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire] who can positively engage disadvantaged offenders into education, training and employment. They are delivering NOMS CFO’s ‘Services to improve the employability of disadvantaged ex-offenders in the North West’. The role is to engage and work with eligible offenders, providing a case management approach to the delivery of bespoke interventions to offenders on a one to one and group basis. This will include the delivery and assessment of accredited courses and employability-related training. The closing date for applications is 13th May. Find out more and apply here

CLINKS MEMBERS' VACANCIES

Job vacancies this week include: a Chief Executive of Circles UK [Reading], a Director of Prison Reform Trust [London], a Case Manager with Catch22 [HMP Exeter], a Community and Custody Case Worker with Changing Lives [HMP Foston Hall, Nottingham] and a Volunteer Co-ordinator with NEPACS [Durham]. 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 Budapest is £169 with flights from London or Manchester. Details
  • Tip of the week II: O2 customers get a free 500ml bottle of water at Boots via the Priority app until 11th May. Details
  • Tip of the week III: Get a three-course set menu at Pizza Express for £12.95 until 8th May. Details

EXTRA INFORMATION

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