Early Help Inside Out Family Outreach Worker

Jigsaw are a West Yorkshire charity that provides support to people in prison and their friends and family. 

We understand that when someone goes to prison everyone is impacted, including their family and friends. We aim to make this time easier for all those affected.

Jigsaw’s Inside Out Service, provides community-based child and family centred, strengths-based support to alleviate the impact of parental imprisonment and support children and families in West Yorkshire to thrive. 

Alongside family support, the Inside Out Strategic Lead delivers awareness raising and capacity building workshops with schools, early years services and Family Hubs across West Yorkshire, to increase understanding about the impact of imprisonment on children, challenge discrimination and develop community-based services that are responsive to families’ needs.

The Early Help Inside Out Family Outreach Worker is a new role, that extends and embeds the Inside Out support service into Bradford’s Early Help offer. 

You will provide direct support to parents/carers and children (aged 5-18) in Bradford, who have a loved-one in prison, as well as to professionals supporting families. Support will be provided through Family Hub drop-in clinics, parent/carer peer support groups and children and young people’s activity groups. 

Alongside family support, you will work with the Inside Out Strategic Lead to deliver awareness raising and capacity building sessions with Early Help practitioners, to increase understanding about the impact of imprisonment on children. 

You will be part of the small but mighty Inside Out team, working alongside two other part-time Family Support workers (who work across West Yorkshire) and the Strategic Lead. 

The service aims to achieve the following outcomes for children and families affected by imprisonment in West Yorkshire:

• increase feelings of being listened to, supported and included in decision-making

• improve emotional wellbeing  

• increase understanding of the prison system and how it impacts on them
• increase support to maintain contact with their family member in custody (if appropriate).
• increase access to joined-up, early support in their community.

Key tasks, duties & responsibilities

• Support the development of the Inside Out service by raising awareness of and promoting the Inside Out offer in family support services to enable access to the service, support information sharing agreements and establish referral pathways.
• Provide compassionate, trauma-informed, inclusive, family-centred support, information and advice via Family Hub drop-in clinics (there are 6 Family Hubs in Bradford) to families with a family member in custody.
• Provide support, information and advice to Early Help colleagues working across Bradford’s Family Hubs, to support their understanding and awareness of the impact of parental imprisonment on children and families. 
• Undertake initial assessments with parents/carers and children and young people, supporting family members to identify their own needs and access support.
• Co-ordinate and deliver peer support group for parents/carers in Bradford with a partner/child in custody, developed in consultation with parents/carers and Early Help colleagues. 
• Co-ordinate and deliver a range of peer support activity groups for children and young people in Bradford impacted by parental imprisonment, developed in consultation with children/young people and Early Help colleagues. 

• Support children and families with lived experience of parental imprisonment to inform the delivery and development of the Inside Out service, ensuring that their views/experiences inform: training delivery, strategic development and evaluation of Inside Out services.

• Support the Inside Out Strategic Lead in delivering training on the impact of parental imprisonment to multi-agency practitioners.

• Work in partnership (where relevant) and maintain positive and professional relationships with Adult and Children’s services, Family Hubs, schools, early years and family support providers and prisons across the statutory and voluntary sectors. 
• Ensure that Jigsaw and partner agencies/local authority Safeguarding Children policies are adhered to at all times and that children feel welcomed, valued and safe. 

• Using the Jigsaw database maintain comprehensive and contemporaneous records of all contacts through the use of recording and monitoring systems. 

• Maintain close working relationships with Jigsaw Support team and family engagement workers at HMP Leeds and HMP Wealstun.
• Attend Jigsaw monthly staff meeting to provide updates on the service.

• Attend the Inside Out team meeting every Wednesday to support reflective practice, team working and peer support.
• Attend bi-monthly supervision with the Strategic lead and take responsibility for continuous professional development and identifying training needs. 

• Support the use of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) with regard to children and young people who may be at risk, and support closer working between prisons, Probation Trusts, the CAF co-ordinator and team, Local Authority Children’s Social Care, Local Safeguarding Children’s Board and Children’s Services such as Family hubs.
• Support the Inside Out evaluation consultant to undertake service evaluation activities, including provision of case studies to demonstrate impact and breadth of work.
• Adhere to prison security, safeguarding and public protection protocols and to escalate any concerns in a timely manner.
   
• Undertake all relevant mandatory training including prison security awareness. 

• Maintain records of own annual leave, sickness etc.

• Undertake any other duties commensurate with the post as required