Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 478 | 24th March 2017

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In this week's edition...

CLINKS RESPONSE: charity sector sustainability

Clinks responded to the Lords Select Committee on Charities’ call for evidence on the sustainability of the charity sector. Our response reflects direct consultation with our members and various surveys, primarily Clinks’ State of the Sector reports and our in depth work on the impact of recent changes to probation. Clinks has made nine recommendations to the Committee, shining a light on the diverse voluntary sector, valuing volunteering, better strategic involvement of organisations, support for grants and a different approach to commissioning. Read the response here

CLINKS BLOG: children affected by imprisonment

In this blog, Clinks Policy Officer Oonagh Ryder looks at how support can be improved for children affected by the imprisonment of a parent. On the 6th March, Clinks co-hosted a roundtable with the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, to explore difficulties faced by these groups of children—who are often invisible to policy or service providers and in need of the most support. Oonagh reflects on the key points raised, including how over 200,000 children are affected by parental imprisonment each year, with no overall government or agency support. Read the blog here

CLINKS SURVEY: last week to tell us about Transforming Rehabilitation

This is your last chance to take our survey tracking the voluntary sector's role in Transforming Rehabilitation. There are only a few days left to share your experiences and the impact that Transforming Rehabilitation has had on your organisation. Over 165 of you have shared your experiences so far, a huge thank you to all of you. We're keen to hear from as many different organisations as possible, so we can represent all of the sector. This will lead to clear recommendations for government, the Ministry of Justice and probation providers. With further changes happening to the prison and probation services, it's more important than ever that we hear from you. The survey should take about 20-30 minutes to complete. The survey closes on the 31st March. Take the survey here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: prison staff perspective on suicide

‘Preventing prison suicide: Staff perspectives’ is a report which forms part of a series by The Howard League and the Centre for Mental Health aimed at preventing suicide in prison. Based on examples given by prison staff of positive approaches in their workplaces, the report identifies four key steps to address prison suicide: engaging the whole prison estate in collaborative working towards ‘stepped care’ – supporting people with the lowest appropriate service in the first instance and ‘stepping up’ as clinically required; recognising the role of key partners such as peer mentors, gym staff and chaplains in preventing the escalation of problems; investing in staff training and support; and developing robust assessments for identifying issues. Read more here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: supporting children and families of prisoners

Nepacs has partnered with NHS South Tees Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to release a guide to supporting children and families of prisoners for health and social care professionals. The guide will be available online from Nepacs and the CCG, and sent to health and social care professionals in the south Tees area. Helen Attewell, Nepacs chief executive, said: “When a loved one goes to prison, it can be an extremely difficult experience for families...We hope that this guide will provide health and social care professionals with the awareness and information they need to better support prisoners’ families and children, and to be able to signpost them to the most appropriate service". Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: mental health of children

Action for Prisoners’ and Offenders Families has published a guide for professionals and organisations working with children and young people to raise awareness of the impact on child mental health of the imprisonment of a parent, carer or close family member. 'The impact of parental imprisonment on the mental health of children and young people' explores the impact of parental imprisonment on children, such as having to care for younger siblings, experiencing family break up and dealing with stigma. It highlights a number of key issues including a sense of loss and grief, low self-esteem and inability to concentrate on schoolwork. Read more here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: police and women

Research published by Prison Reform Trust reveals significant variations in how police forces deal with women who come into the criminal justice system. 'Fair Cop? Improving outcomes for women at the point of arrest' provides solutions and examples of positive work being delivered by police to tackle low level, non-violent crime committed by women. The report also finds that opportunities are being missed to intervene early, reduce women’s offending and protect the public. Read more here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: young people and gang violence

YouTurn Futures has been tasked by Luton’s Community Safety Partnership to commission two distinct pieces of work. They are inviting invitations to tender to develop training packages for: A Knife Crime Prevention and Gang Awareness programme for pupils in Year Groups 6 and 7 in Luton as part of the National Personal Health and Social Education framework and training packages for professionals providing services to young people (aged under 25) at risk or involved in serious youth violence through gang affiliation. Find out more and apply here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: peer led models

An evaluation from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) has shown that St Giles Trust’s peer-led approach through its use of Peer Advisors delivers £8.54 in social and economic returns for every £1 invested in the programme. The Programme trains serving prisoners, former prisoners, people with convictions and disadvantaged adults to become Level 3 qualified caseworkers – known as Peer Advisors – to deliver St Giles Trust’s frontline services. Read more here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: employment for people with convictions

Blue Sky has won the Third Sector Business Charity Award for its partnership with Veolia. The partnership has now employed over 220 people with convictions in six years as part of Veolia’s local authority contracts. Only 7% of those employed have re-offended, eight times less than the national average. Kate Markey, Blue Sky's Managing Director said: “This award is testimony to the hard work and dedication of Veolia’s local contract managers and Blue Sky’s frontline staff working together to make opportunity count for ex-offenders”. Read more here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: youth courts

The Centre for Justice Innovation is looking for youth courts in England and Wales who are interested in developing problem-solving approaches in youth court. They believe that youth courts have the opportunity to build on existing elements of practice to further reduce crime and improve wider outcomes for children, victims and families. One such response is the enhancement of problem solving within youth court. While components of problem-solving are already embedded in youth court, they aim to develop these, to introduce further components, and to measure their impact. Expressions of interest are being accepted until 21st April. Find out more and apply here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: four new prisons

Justice Secretary Elizabeth Truss has unveiled plans for the building of four new prisons in England and Wales creating 5,000 prison places. The new prisons will be in Yorkshire, Wigan, Rochester and Port Talbot. The plans are part of the government’s commitment to build up to 10,000 modern prison places by 2020, backed by £1.3 billion to transform the estate. Read more here

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: celebrating Roma culture

Hibiscus Initiatives is holding a day of celebration and awareness-raising of Roma culture [7th April, London, free]. There will be interactive workshops, art, music and food in collaboration with The Roma Support Group, art therapist Alessandra Agnese and musicians from Sandel Piticu Band. The day will explore past and contemporary histories, Roma identities, diversity and cultural practices, challenge the stereotypes and beliefs surrounding the Roma and how to engage with Roma communities. To register contact Kelly O’Sullivan at kelly@hibiscus.org.uk

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: social enterprise and recidivism

SERIF is holding a conference [11th May, Swindon, free] that will look at the potential contribution of social enterprise and mutuals to reducing reoffending and to the delivery of the prison reform agenda. Confirmed speakers include Pamela Dow (Ministry of Justice), Fran Findlater (Bounce Back), Fiona Sample (Oswins) and Dave Nicholson (Plowden Lecture). The event will stimulate discussion and debate both about the policy context for social enterprise and mutuals and how they can best be made to work in practice. Find out more and book here

NON-MEMBERS' EVENTS AND TRAINING

  • NAYJ 2017 AGM ‘The State of Youth Custody’ | 10th May, London, free for members/£60 for non-members | Details

FUNDING: engagement with Muslim prisoners

The Ministry of Justice has announced a grant fund opportunity of £100k to support engagement with Muslim prisoners. Muslim prisoners are over represented in the justice system. The grant will go to organisations that are looking to answer key questions, such as whether the perceived cultural, social and economic conditions of Muslim communities has a significant role to play in this disproportionality and improve outcomes for these service users. The deadline for applications is 24th April. Find out more and apply here

AWARDS: supporting young people

Leap Confronting Conflict has opened applications for the 2017 Lighting the Fire awards. The award categories are for young leaders, inspirational adults who support young people and a project or partnership working to help young people manage conflict. You can nominate anyone who you feel goes the extra mile and who deserves recognition for their work, for example a probation officer, prison officer or youth worker. The deadline for nominations is 7th April. Read more here

AWARDS: Welsh volunteers

The 2017 Wales Volunteer of the Year Awards is open for nominations. The awards recognise and reward groups and individuals in Wales who have made an outstanding contribution to their community. Nominees must live in Wales, or undertake their volunteering work in Wales. Nominated groups must be based in Wales. The judging panel will select one winner and two runners up in each category who will receive an engraved trophy, and all eligible nominees will receive a certificate of commendation. The deadline for nominations is 21st April. Find out more here

PUBLICATION: evidence based commissioning

Catch 22 has published its seventh Programme Insight, a briefing on evidence-based commissioning, challenges to adopting it and how these might be overcome. Titled 'Commissioning possible', the Insight considers key issues evidence-based commissioning is presenting to commissioners. It then offers learning from the Realising Ambition delivery organisations on the role that evidence has played as they have engaged commissioners with their preventative services. It also examines the Realising Ambition Confidence Framework, a resource that can assist commissioners to make more informed decisions about which services and which organisations can achieve better outcomes for children and young people. Read more here

FEATURED VACANCY: Prison Based Restorative Justice Manager

Belong is seeking a Prison Based Restorative Justice Manager [£35,000 per annum plus expenses, HMP The Mount, full time]. The position provides an opportunity for a reliable, organised, energetic restorative justice facilitator. Belong has partnered with HMP The Mount to deliver a restorative justice service. The program will build on a service model developed in other prisons, applying restorative justice interventions in response to violent incidents and conflicts at the prison. The successful applicant will have solid experience of working within the criminal justice system and preferably the prison service, with a track record of securing stakeholder engagement in programs and communicating effectively with individuals from a range of backgrounds. The deadline for applications is 5pm 9th April. Please email your CV and a detailed covering letter explaining the skills and experience you would bring to this role to enquiries@belonglondon.com

CLINKS MEMBERS' VACANCIES

Vacancies on the jobs board this week include: a Gap Development Worker with Changing Lives [Various locations], a Play Practitioner with Ormiston Families [HMP Highpoint], an Administration Project Assistant at Sova, a Recruitment: Project Worker Families with Hibiscus Initiatives [Gatwick], a PA to Chief Exec and Team Administrator with Revolving Doors [London], Floating Support Workers x2 with Social interest Group [Luton], a Senior Communication Officer with RAPt [London], Senior Visitors Centre Workers with Spurgeons [London], and a Night & Weekend Support Worker - ReConnect with Housing for Women [Lewisham]. For more information about these vacancies, and many more, click here

TIPS OF THE WEEK

  • Tip of the week I: Four nights in a 4* hotel in Barcelona from £199. Details
  • Tip of the week II: Free pop up travel dog bowl. Details
  • Tip of the Week III:  One year's full vehicle breakdown cover for £27. Details

EXTRA INFORMATION

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