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HMP Risley

‘The Family’ An Engagement Strategy for

families of Offenders

29/05/2018

Governor Nicki Smith

_________________________

Author:Carl Bailey

Review Date:May 2019

HMP Risley – Resettlement Prison

Our Vision

HMP Risley aspires to be an outstanding, safe, decent and secure Resettlement Prison.

We will deliver rehabilitation services, both directly and through inclusive partnership agreements that will achieve the right outcomes for offenders, their families and the

communities into which they will be released.

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The Family

OMU Attendance at Sentence plan

boardsHEALTH

Meeting post diagnosis of

serious medical condition

MENTAL HEALTHCare planning

EDUCATION AND

ACTIVITIESCelebrating

success

TTG6 week release

planning

PROGRAMMES

Post programme reviews

SMSRecovery planning

CHAPEL Help and supportt

VISITSFamily Days

Phoenix Futures

ACCTReviews

Family Forum

The Family

Introduction and Aims

HMP Risley’s strategy for ‘The Family’ has been produced following consultation with key stakeholders including family Services, Head of OMU and Residential, operational staff, members of Offender’s family who volunteer to be part of the Family Forum and Prisoners.

This strategy aims to achieve the commitment made in our vision ‘achieving the right outcomes for offenders and their families.’

HMP Risley by the very nature of being a prison establishment is a closed community and the majority of the focused work that is undertaken in partnership with the Offenders that reside within the closed walls is undertaken without connection to their families. Yet all but a very few Offenders will be released and return to live with their families.

Family who, could inadvertently undermine work and progress made simply because they are not aware of what has been completed or what is expected, if they are informed and involved they would support Offenders in remaining focused on work that has been undertaken and to undertake actions agreed as part of their release plan.

It was further felt that we needed to explore ways in which we could seek to provide opportunities for our Offenders to be engaged in the lives of their families to feel that they were able to support and advise them whilst they are in prison. In this policy commitments have been made to support greater engagement and improve the outcomes for Offenders and their families.

Rather than introduce new work our approach is to seek opportunities to engage an Offenders family in work that is already underway. The engagement of an Offenders family member will only be done with the permission of the Offender.

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Delivery and Governance

In order to ensure that ‘The Family’ remains at the centre of our focus and that the commitments listed in this strategy are delivered and progress made, the Family will be a standing agenda item at the monthly Reducing Reoffending policy committee meeting.

Reducing Reoffending – Pathways

Education, Training and Employment

This is a large pathway with many different agencies and partners working together to offer opportunities for Offenders to achieve qualifications, practice and gain skills to improve their chances of gaining training and employment on release. Offenders often work extremely hard and progress well, it was felt that these achievements should be shared with family members. Further there are opportunities to help Offenders to maintain contact with and support their children.

Our commitment as a Prison is to involve the family when and where ever possible. There have been instances in the support of ACCT, at presentations to prisoners and family days -when family members have come in to the prison in support of their family member.

Attitudes thinking and Behaviour

HMP Risley is currently commissioned to deliver the Thinking Skills Programme (TSP) and RESOLVE. These programmes could be set as sentence plan targets for many offenders to complete and if not completed in custody could be set as a licence condition. The successful completion of these offending behaviour programmes can demonstrate a reduction in the risk of reoffending.

These programmes encourage participants to act pro socially and to practice problem solving, consequential thinking and interpersonal skills such as assertiveness, during and after the programme. This often involves practising new techniques outside of the group room, participants often try these with family members. We offer participants the opportunity to invite up to two adult family members to attend post programme reviews, to enable them to see and comment on any changes they have seen by the participant. We also offer the opportunity for participants to consent to information about the programme they are attending to be sent home so that family are better informed as to exactly what the programme is and how they can assist the participant.

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Drugs and Alcohol

CGL services are set up to support substance misuse Offenders in addressing their addictions in a sustainable way.

The services have an eye on the family support mechanisms which can be sometimes crucial to an Offender reducing their misuse.

CGL are based on C wing the current substance misuse wing running courses and sessions to help the prisoners on their path to recovery.

Physical and Mental Health

Offender Health commissioners have commissioned Bridgewater Trust to deliver primary health services and 5 Boroughs Partnership to deliver primary and secondary mental health services for offenders.

Bridgewater Trust – primary health services:

Offenders can receive life altering medical diagnosis whilst in custody and embark on sometimes long and difficult treatment plans. In most cases the diagnosis is delivered by a Doctor in an external NHS hospital whilst the Offender is accompanied by two or more Prison Officers. A serious diagnosis received whilst accompanied by a family member is difficult enough but to receive this whilst accompanied by ‘strangers’ must amplify the distress.

It is not possible due to the fact that, the prison does not know of the diagnosis in advance and further because of security of the escort, to have a family member accompany the Offender to the appointment. However we will aim to involve the family at the first available opportunity.

We have had instances of serious ongoing medical treatment whereby a family member has attend the external hospital.

We will continue to inform next of kin in the event of a serious medical emergency and will consider appointing a family liaison officer.

We will continue to permit family attendance at outside hospital at the earliest opportunity in the event of acute illness and following 5 days in NHS hospital for routine medical treatment.

We will offer family the opportunity to stay in the Primrose suite. This is a palliative care suite that was funded by Kings Fund and designed to support and care for Offenders and their families in end of life.

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Many Offenders have enduring mental illness or experience difficulties with mental health whilst in custody. Involving family can help practitioners to understand history and behaviour and also encourage Offenders to engage with treatment.

Accommodation, Debt and Finance

NOMS commission Purple Futures to deliver these Resettlement services in the last 3 months of the Offender’s sentence.

Shelter as part of Purple Futures are mandated to ensure that Offenders are supported in settled accommodation on release and that any debt that exists is identified and that a debt action plan is agreed. Further that Offenders are supported to open a bank account to help support payment of wages from employment secured on release or benefits if employment education or training has not been secured.

Children and Families

This in essence is at the heart of this strategy. HMPPS have commissioned Phoenix Futures to deliver and manage services for families by managing our Visitors Centre, supporting families when they visit by sign posting to other services both in the prison and outside and by providing a crèche worker for visits. They provide an environment in the Visitor’s centre where families feel relaxed and supported when attending the prison to visit. They are also a vital information sharing link who enable up to date information to be passed to and from families at the earliest opportunity.

Phoenix Futures help put on family days every year, the focus being on families with children, with appropriate activities being provided. The family visit facility is open to all prisoners subject to certain requirements and can be accessed via our application process.

The Family Forum meets on a quarterly basis, providing family the opportunity to raise issues, concerns, and suggestions for improvement in the prison with senior Managers.

We will expand the Visitors centre, to include the provision of a ‘Greet on Release’. This will also become a multidisciplinary Through the Gate process, key to this is the mentoring Scheme which is proving very popular.

There are many new initiatives planned for this year including improved information for visitors, a ‘sweet’ bag option for visits where visitors can purchase confectionary for prisoners who are then able to take goods back to their residential unit. Alongside this we have increased the amount of money families are able to bring in to purchase items at the tea bar and an improved waiting area is being developed.

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Improving our visits booking service has also been one of our priorities, as a result an enhanced visit booking allowance is being introduced which will enable the families of the most progressive prisoners to book a visit whilst in the establishment.

A large car park is available for visitors to park and the visitors centre has easy access for disabled visitors as does the visits hall which also allows access to toilet and baby change facilities.

Visitors with a hearing impairment should advise the visits Department in advance of the visit so that arrangements can be made, wherever possible, to hold the visit in a quieter section of the hall.

Visitors with a sight impairment should contact the visits department in advance of the visit so that arrangements may be made to allocate a table that is close to the visits desk, as appropriate.

Chaplaincy Team

Our chaplaincy team are a multi faith team that provide both faith and pastoral support and guidance to all Offenders of all faiths at sometimes the most difficult times. The chaplaincy team notify an Offender of a serious illness or death of a family member and will support them throughout their grieving process and application to attend a funeral.

On occasion Offenders partners are also in custody and their children enter care and often adoption. The chaplaincy team have offered invaluable support to Offenders for in these cases facilitating pre adoption visits and working closely with social services to provide memory boxes.

Chaplaincy will continue to support and facilitate requests for marriage and civil partnerships (in line with prison service instructions)

Safer Custody

At times Offenders can undergo periods of acute crisis where they have thoughts of suicide or actively attempt to take their win life or engage in self-harm behaviour. Engaging family members can often positively support Offenders through this period of crisis and assist in their recovery. Offenders are asked at the point of opening an ACCT if they wish to have their family informed and involved.

Family have been invited to attend ACCT case reviews and this has proven to be beneficial in an individual’s recovery.

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Offender Management Unit

All offenders are assigned a named Offender Supervisor or Manager whilst they are in custody, their role is to work with the offender to produce a sentence plan that will address their offending behaviour and improve their chances of leading law abiding and purposeful lives on release.

The role of the Offender Supervisor is to both support individuals and at times to challenge non engagement or lack of progress in sentence plans. Family members involvement is vital in cases where progress has been difficult or it is felt that support would be beneficial to positively influence engagement in the Sentence plan. The OMU will try to involve the family in sentence plans however this can prove difficult and sometimes counter – productive.

Other support measures and initiatives that assist prisoners and so re integration with their families:

New Key Workers – Staff inter actions to assist prisoners through their sentence.

Variety of workshops including; bicycle repair, call centre, textiles and so on.

Specific programmes such as Rise Up and Horse care.

Mentoring scheme for those being released to help them from gate to services that will help the Offender.

Comprehensive education services with a variety of class options.

Skills in Barista that are accredited.

Achieve to help with release especially around work and Housing.

OMU department to deal with specific sentence plan issues

Shelter service that deals directly with release plans.

Healthcare services including Mental health and a Gym with a varied session plans, both to aid with prisoners health and wellbeing.

Programme courses to address Offending Behaviour.

CGL to help prisoner with addictions.

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