IMPROVING OFFENDERS SKILLS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN LEEDS

Transcription

1 IMPROVING OFFENDERS SKILLS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN LEEDS A PILOT PROGRAMME

2 IDENTIFYING COMMON PROBLEMS AT INTERSERVE WE PROVIDE A RANGE OF SERVICES TO PEOPLE ON BEHALF OF THE UK GOVERNMENT INCLUDING PROBATION, EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EMPLOYABILITY SERVICES AND HEALTHCARE. ONE AREA WHERE WE PROVIDE ALL OF THESE SERVICES IS LEEDS In Leeds, we realised that we were seeing the same people in several different parts of our business, for example, those people who we supervise on probation are often the same people walking through the doors of our learning and employment business looking for support in getting into work. We realised that offenders would benefit from a more tailored plan to help them reduce their offending behaviour, remove barriers to achieving personal goals and provide them with skills to help them get into employment. As such, we decided to take a different approach to try and join up our services so that one practitioner would deliver a personalised service based on the needs of the individual. We wanted to provide a specialised service to a pre-selected cohort of PG9 customers within the city. PG9 customers are defined by government through current Work Programme contracts as those furthest from the labour market, with the most complex needs. People in this group will often be serving community orders for offending or have been recently released from custody. In effect, they are prison leavers or on probation.

3 REDUCING THE PING PONG EFFECT OF MULTI-AGENCY SERVICES SIMPLIFYING THE REHABILITATION JOURNEY By working across our business, we designed a pilot programme for those PG9 service users. The aims of the pilot were to: Simplify the rehabilitation journey Prevent individuals from being bounced between services Double the employment rates of the cohort; and Halve the re-offending rates of the cohort. To deliver this, we focused on the strengths of individuals and provided them with a wide range of support. This included: One-to-one job coaching Ongoing weekly support to improve work skills and job opportunities A flexible drop in programme to allow them to complete other appointments such as probation and court appointments and job centre sign on Access to employability skills courses, general and key skills development Access to a careers and guidance advisor and support in exploring options Developing specific CVs, cover letters and speculative letters for particular job choices Access to financial advice, giving individual advice and support with financial or debt issues or back to work calculations Access to health practitioners, ongoing support through advice and condition management programmes and referrals to other external support agencies; and Access to suitable job opportunities, using local employer contacts for job matching and applying for up to date job vacancies specifically gained for service users at Interserve. Working with the PG9 group, it was clear that there were many challenges for them to overcome. They are often double sanctioned which means they may be required to carry out community payback at the same time as being required to actively look for work. Clearly they cannot be in two places at once. This can be difficult for both the service user because they cannot comply with conflicting orders and challenging for the case managers who are trying to support them through the process. WE ALSO SAW THE NEED TO LINK UP THE TRAINING REQUIREMENTS. BEING ON PROBATION IS CLEARLY A PUNISHMENT BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THEY NEED TO REHABILITATE IN ORDER TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES AND BREAK THE CYCLE OF RE-OFFENDING So there needs to be a balance of stick and carrot providing a mix of life skills, support, advice, training and access to employment. Multiple agencies are ultimately seeking to do the same thing to reduce offending, equip them with the necessary skills and support to help them get into work and improve life chances. During the pilot we saw that different agencies were doubling up on appointments, for example, the need to check in with probation might clash with the need to meet a counsellor. By providing all the services under one roof, we were able to reduce the travel costs for the service user and meet them in one place.

4 INITIAL FEEDBACK AND RESULTS ARE PROMISING SCALING UP THE PILOT PROGRAMME By bringing together the experience of our in-house training experts and our probation professionals, we were able to provide an intensive, personalised service focused on the needs and aspirations of the offenders. We looked beyond commissioned contractual boundaries to an approach that places the service user at the heart of the service. By working in this way, it enabled the service users to focus on their strengths, set achievable goals, access the necessary resources and support and get access to jobs and training. This approach is also more efficient in terms of resources, without compromising on service quality, as it offers a one stop shop approach which is also less stressful and more achievable for the service user. Although this pilot was with a small cohort, the initial results were promising: 36% ENGAGED WITH THE PROGRAMME 21% UNDERTOOK FURTHER TRAINING 31% MOVED INTO EMPLOYMENT Sample size was too small to be statistically significant FEEDBACK FROM SERVICE USERS HAS ALSO BEEN ENCOURAGING: Of course I face difficulty getting employed due to my criminal record, but Interserve gave me focus, advice and hope that in due course I will be able to find a path into employment. Due to Interserve s constant encouragement I never felt conscious of my past, and they were always very encouraging and patient. The next step is to repeat the exercise with a larger cohort taking on board the lessons learnt from this small pilot. By joining up services, providing a streamlined process and a single point of contact for offenders, we saw good levels of engagement. To improve this further there are new developments to be taken into phase two including: More effective mechanisms for sharing data between probation and employment teams Further developing joint case management techniques, for example, extending the length of time that the joined-up support is provided ideally beyond four weeks which is not long enough Increasing the size of the cohort and testing in other areas Establishing evaluation criteria for the project Engaging with policy makers and commissioners to identify more effective ways of commissioning services to promote the single view concept further Improving the experience for service users by: Enhancing facilities and ensuring more access to things like private rooms for consultation Greater access to the most effective interventions and for these to be delivered in a personalised manner, for example, by offering a choice between one-to-one or group delivery The development of a joint record of achievement celebrating the service user s achievements so they can see what they have achieved and provide to potential employers; and More employer engagement to generate greater number of offender safe employment opportunities.

5 Case Study ALTHOUGH PRISON WASN T EASY, PRISON WAS THE EASY PART. IT S THE REST OF YOUR LIFE THAT S THE HARD PART. After my release from prison, I was put on Interserve s pilot to help ex-offenders as the job centre didn t know what to do with me. They called me hard to place as I didn t have alcohol or drug problems, I didn t lack skills, wasn t a victim of rape, and I didn t need advice on how to manage money. I didn t need any sort of support that s usually provided when people are released from prison. I was given a case manager from Interserve, Richard, who became my point of contact. He was great. He was non-judgemental, spoke to me as a person and gave me the confidence to carry on. I think he thought I was a bit of a pain as I asked loads of questions and didn t need much in the way of CV help. What he was able to do though was look at me as an individual, my skills and experience, and he helped me set some short-term goals. He also put me in touch with people who ran training courses, workshops and a volunteering centre. He then got me thinking about a long-term goal and how I could use my skills in the future. As a result of being on the pilot, I got a Level 2 qualification in Information, Advice & Guidance, have started an Open University degree and am currently working as a volunteer peer mentor with St Giles Trust. I m helping support people who are released from prison. What I ve learnt is that when you are in prison, all your decisions are made for you. So when you get outside, even the simplest decisions like which bus to get on can be very difficult for even the most capable people. I figure that something good has to come of my experience. In addition to helping others voluntarily while I study, I ve just got a new job working at Interserve. I need to earn money to pay the bills and I want to pay my debts. I ve now got my sights set on putting my bad experience to good use. If I can make a living from helping others, then everything I ve been through starts to make sense. Female service user, from PG9 pilot programme FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS STUDY, PLEASE CONTACT: citizen.services@interserve.com

6 I am the lowest of the low when it comes to employment. I m an educated, hard-working professional but with a criminal record. I got involved in an unhealthy relationship and was pressured into making some bad decisions and I ended up in prison for fraud. I m not making excuses and I take full responsibility for what happened. Female service user