In this month's edition...
Clinks’ State of the sector survey 2023 is now live! This year will be the tenth survey we have carried out to help us to understand the experiences, opportunities, and challenges organisations are facing now. Year after year, we have heard how voluntary organisations have adapted their services and strategies to continue to support people in contact with the criminal justice system and their families. The survey doesn’t take long to complete, and the data is invaluable in Clinks supporting voluntary organisations in the health and justice sector. Click here to take the survey and read our blog post on why your responses are so crucial here.
HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is working with Clinks and other partners across custody and community settings to develop an evidence-based partnership framework for social prescribing, building on and significantly enhancing current practice. Social prescribing has huge potential to counter health inequalities and support better justice outcomes. To inform the framework, we would be grateful if you could let us know about any current or planned social prescribing activity you are aware of or directly engaged in a) within prison(s) or b) involving probation services. We are particularly keen to identify examples of promising practice within the criminal justice system which we can promote to support the development and growth of social prescribing across HMPPS. Read our blog on social prescribing and its benefits, and also find out how you can get involved.
Clinks attended the Health and Wellbeing Alliance in-person working day at the Department of Health and Social Care. The group shared ideas on how the health and social sector can improve outcomes for people with multiple conditions considering the department’s Major Conditions Strategy, as well as discussing how the government can strengthen its use of data to drive action on tackling health inequalities. Clinks highlighted inequalities in healthcare in the criminal justice system, including the lack of continuity and join-up between prison and community healthcare, integrated care systems (ICSs) excluding prisons, and the need for greater transparency on data in hidden populations. Members also shared information on their planned work projects for 2023-2024 and discussed collaboration opportunities.
Clinks is a signatory to National Voices’ Vision of Primary Care, which will be launched and available on their website from 28 June. The vision calls for an end to wrongfully refused registrations in GPs and dentists (such as those experienced by people recently released from prison) as well as the need for NHS England to work in close partnership with people, communities and the voluntary sector organisations to tackle health inequalities.
In celebration of the resilience of refugees as part of Refugee Week, Clinks member Hibiscus launched their latest report, titled: Race, Migration, Criminalisation, and Mental Health, on Thursday 22 June. Funded by Clinks, the report explores the complex issues faced by Black, minoritised and migrant women in contact with the criminal justice system, including violence, financial insecurity, inadequate housing, and barriers to accessing healthcare – all of which have detrimental effects on their mental health.
Written by Simon Scott, Post Graduate Researcher at Nottingham Trent University, our blog: Go in Young, Come out Old- the challenges facing people serving life sentences, explores the profound consequences of ageing in prison. These unique challenges include a loss of social connection, barriers to desistance and rehabilitation, difficulties in accessing social and health care services, as well as limited opportunities to achieve personal goals and develop skills. The blog urges the statutory and voluntary sectors to recognise and address these issues. Read the blog here.
House of Commons debate on draft Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 Order 2023
The Ministerial Committee has debated the draft Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2023, which looks at the criminal records disclosure regime. A profession to be added to the exceptions order is justice system intermediaries, due to the nature of roles involving unsupervised access to vulnerable adults which add to the safeguarding risk. The government urge that employers exercise a balanced judgement to employment of those with convictions, taking into consideration a person’s age, how long ago the offence took place, nature of offence and its relevance to the position in question. Read the debate here.
Surveys to inform resources on safer sleep for babies
As part of the Maternity Consortium's project to coproduce resources to help healthcare professionals work with young parents on safer sleep for babies, The Lullaby Trust have developed two surveys to gather input into the development of the resources. If relevant to you, they would be grateful if you would complete the surveys and/or disseminate to relevant networks. The survey for healthcare professionals asks healthcare professionals who provide care to parents during the perinatal period to share their experiences. The survey for young parents is to gather the experiences of young parents aged 21 and under, who have gone through the maternal health system in the last year. Responses will be used to inform the creation of a video and a written resource that will improve the working relationship between healthcare professionals and young parents during pregnancy, birth and parenthood.
Clinks All England criminal justice forum
The Clinks England criminal justice forum [4 July 2023, 10:00 – 11:30, online, free] aims to bring together partners working across the criminal justice system. These forums provide an opportunity for people to hear about current and future developments and discuss policy and practice affecting their day-to-day work. Often themed around a current issue, the forums also provide the space to share good practice, network with other organisations, discuss the opportunities and challenges your organisation is currently facing and encourage shared learning and peer support. Forums are open to all organisations in England working in the criminal justice system. Book your place here.
Clinks All Wales criminal justice forum
The Clinks Wales criminal justice forum [11 July 2023, 10:00 – 11:30, online, free] brings together partners working across Wales in the criminal justice system. The forums will be held quarterly, providing an opportunity for people working in the criminal justice system to find out about latest government policy developments impacting organisations working in Wales. These events also provide the space to network with other organisations, discuss opportunities for joint working and offer each other peer support. The All Wales criminal justice forum is open to all organisations working in the criminal justice system in Wales. Book your place here.
Local Co-production in Action: Voluntary sector, system and communities
The Health and Wellbeing Alliance’s Experience of Care subgroup is holding an event for Co-production week: ‘Local Co-production in Action: Voluntary, system and communities’ [5 July, 12:00 – 13:30, online, free]. The event will explore why co-production is so important, how to go about doing co-production and showcase good practice examples from across the country. Speakers will include leaders in integrated care systems, the voluntary sector and people with lived experience and representatives of the King’s Fund to talk about their recent "Actions to support partnership” report and resources. They will be giving their perspectives on the value of co-production, sharing their experience of co-production from the front line, and the role of the VCSE in co-production. To register click here.
The Future of Primary Care
National Voices are holding an online national conference [28 June 10:00-16:30, online, free or optional donation] to bring together primary care leaders and teams, voluntary sector organisations and people with lived experience to discuss priority actions for the future of primary care. The event will include high profile speakers and thought leaders and provide a space for reflection and inspiration for future possibilites. The conference marks the culmination of three National Voices-led projects and launch of related reports, which attendees will have early access to. Register here.
Gardening for wellbeing in prisons
Join the Prisoner Learning Alliance (PLA) for a conversation about gardening for wellbeing in prisons, with artist Faye Claridge [18 July, 17:00 – 18:00, online, free]. In 2021, Faye took Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) archive material into HMP Send. The collection documents how POWs set up a horticultural society in Ruhleben internment camp in Germany during WW1. Letters and photographs show the impact gardening had on their mental health. Faye’s RHS project – Plants, Prisons and Potential – draws on these materials to encourage women in prison to consider the role of gardening in their wellbeing. Participants will learn more about the project, and the programme it inspired at HMP Hewell - supported by Novus. They will also consider the benefits of the arts and horticulture in prisons, and how teachers of other subjects could harness them in lessons. Register here.
Prison-based social workers
Cardiff University has published an independent evaluation of the Together a Chance pilot project, run by the Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT), which sought to employ prison-based social workers in two women’s prisons, Send and Eastwood Park. The role of the social workers is to bridge the gap between prison and social services in the community, keeping mothers in touch with their children where it is in the child’s best interest. The report shows the impact that social workers are having in the two prisons in supporting efforts to tackle self-harm and reduce reoffending. The roles have granted more frequent and positive contact between mothers and children, as well as playing a significant role in managing self-harm and risk of suicide. Read the full report here.
Evaluation of integrated advice hubs in primary healthcare settings
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has published a study exploring the feasibility of conducting an evaluation of integrated advice hubs in primary healthcare settings. As part of its Legal Support Action published in 2019, the MoJ committed to testing and evaluating the provision of legal support hubs, and there are initiatives underway to deliver such hubs within healthcare services, including co-located services or “Health-Justice Partnerships”. The initial feasibility study seeks to ensure the most appropriate evaluation design within the two year and three-month time constraint, and the budgetary constraints of the project. The results found many positive outcomes for co-located services including improved socioeconomic circumstances and increased financial security for individuals, and it also highlighted challenges that may guide possible evaluation methods. Read the study here.
Drugs Strategy national outcomes framework
The Home Office has published a document outlining the National Combating Drugs Outcome Framework, which includes supporting metrics to monitor national and local progress and help delivery partners structure their work. The framework sets out three strategic outcomes of reducing drug use, drug-related crime and drug related deaths and harm, and the strategy aims to deliver by reducing drug supply, increasing engagement in treatment, and improving recovery outcomes. A set of 11 headline and 22 supporting metrics are charted in order to monitor progress towards these outcomes. Read more here.
The impact of IPP sentences on wellbeing
Following the government’s rejection of the Justice Select Committee’s recommendation for a resentencing exercise for those serving imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentences, the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) have submitted findings on the impact of this decision, and the sentence itself, on IPP prisoner’s wellbeing. The briefing summarises findings from 24 IMBs submitted between February - March 2023. It found that three apparently self-inflicted deaths of people serving IPP sentences were reported in the four weeks since the government’s decision was announced. IPP prisoners reported increased feelings of hopelessness and frustration which is noted as a catalyst for poor mental health and violent behaviour. It also found that progression pathways were poor with many held in inappropriate prisons where courses needed for parole and release preparation were not accessible. Read the briefing here.
Physical health checks for people with severe mental illness from African and Caribbean communities
Race Equality Foundation has published a report on its findings from a project to better understand whether African and Caribbean people with severe mental illness were aware of and accessing physical health checks, an NHS intervention to detect and treat early signs of physical ill health. From insights gained through co-production sessions, Race Equality Action put together an approach to improving awareness of physical health checks which included: producing accessible information; a training package for voluntary organisations to help improve understanding of physical health checks, their importance and what should happen as a result; and a set of peer navigators/supporters given the clear value in having people with lived experience advocating for attendance to physical health checks. Read the report here.
Young people in transition in the criminal justice system
The Alliance for Youth Justice published an evidence review summarising the policy context and existing evidence on young people turning 18 in the criminal justice system. The review examines young people’s experiences of transition through the lens of racial injustice, safeguarding, exploitation and custody, and shows how policy and practice can be improved. They found that young people in contact with the system are some of the most vulnerable in society, with experiences of poverty, violence, discrimination, mental ill-health and neurodevelopmental disorders and the care system. Experiencing transition with these complex elements, alongside a lack of continuity in support, can leave young people at further a risk of harm, hamper progress and contribute to their continued involvement in the criminal justice system. Racially minoritised young people face cumulative discrimination that impacts their experiences and the support and services around them, including adultification bias, a lack of cultural competency in services and lack of availability of specialist voluntary organisations that play a key role in addressing these shortcomings. Read the evidence review here.
Experiences of peer-delivered suicide prevention work in prison
Co-produced by academics and people with lived experience, a new study has been published exploring peer-delivered suicide prevention work in prison. Whilst mental health peer-support provision is important, the study suggests that the current model could be exploitative, given the inconsistencies in training and conditions within prisons as well as the potential for traumatisation through volunteering. The research team suggests three recommendations: for improved working conditions and respect for prison volunteers; for policymakers to reduce the risk of vicarious trauma; and for voluntary organisations to regularly review volunteer experiences to stimulate change. Read the journal article here.
Learning from deaths of people under probation supervision
The Probation Institute have published a study which seeks to expand understanding of the profile and characteristics of those who died under probation supervision in England and Wales between 2019-2021, with a focus on deaths categorised as self-inflicted and homicide. The article sheds light on what can be learnt from deaths of people under probation supervision to try and reduce them in the future. Researchers found that many risk factors for non-natural deaths align with those for offending behaviour including physical and mental health needs, poverty, family breakdown and substance misuse. There were significant disproportionalities for racially minoritised groups as well as for women. Read the article here.
Tackling maternal health inequalities in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities
Friends, Families and Travellers, in collaboration with Roma Support Group, have published a new set guidance for professionals, offering insights into the experiences of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities relating to maternity care. Delivered as part of the Health and Wellbeing Alliance, the report seeks to contribute towards improving knowledge and understanding of how to approach the planning and provision of maternity services for these groups. It outlines the main barriers to accessing care and recommends that health and social care services are adapted to be more accessible and culturally appropriate, and that service providers engage directly with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller populations and voluntary organisations at a local and national level. Read the full guidance here.
Social prescribing in the criminal justice system – building the evidence base
Clinks has published a blog on development and growth of social prescribing across HM Prison and Probation Service through access to evidence-based information and support. Social prescribing is an approach that connects people with social, emotional or practical needs to activities, groups and services in their community to improve their health and wellbeing. It is being used more and more in healthcare settings, but how can it be better utilised in the criminal justice system? This blog looks at the evidence for social prescribing, the approach being taken to support its growth across prisons and probation and how you can get involved. Read the blog here.
Investment in NHS volunteering
Dr Neil Churchill, Director of Experience, Participation and Equalities at NHS England, has written a blog recognising the need to increase investment into NHS volunteering. He highlights the NHS Volunteering Taskforce, set up to explore how the NHS might encourage people to stay involved in volunteering by boosting opportunities, and welcomes the taskforce’s recent recommendations setting the agenda for volunteering for the next three years. He welcomed the recommendation to invest more in volunteer infrastructure to make it easier for people to become involved, as well as the need for all communities to take part by improving data. Read the blog here.
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This regular bulletin provides Clinks members with the latest news for voluntary organisations involved in the health and care of people in the criminal justice system. To submit content please complete this form.
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