Action for Prisoners’ Families seminar In it together: Supporting prisoners' and offenders ' families across agencie

1. Action for Prisoners’ Families seminar In it together: Supporting prisoners' and offenders' families across agencies 18 October 2012 BirminghamPresentation by Vicky Stewart Development Officer at Holding Families

2. Holding Families Vicky stewart 18th october 2012

3. Holding Families Aims • Improve family health and well being by reducing risk and vulnerabilities for children and their families • Reduce significant harm to children affected by parental substance use • Keep the child’s voice at the centre of our service planning and delivery • Improve family communication and relationships • Achieve abstinence or reduction in parental substance misuse • Achieve negotiated family goals

4. Holding families model • Weekly one-to-one sessions • Fortnightly group work sessions for parents • Fortnightly one-to-one sessions for parents • Family Meetings • Added value: • Referral into treatment for substance misuse • Contribution to children’s services assessment and review process • Children’s group work • Support for concerned others • Signposting to services & information sharing

5. Hmp Buckley hall planned model • Fathers engage with CARATS wherever appropriate for treatment • Dads attend the fortnightly Holding Families Group session delivered in the prison by Holding Families • One to one sessions for dads with Holding Families • CARATS workers trained to deliver one to one sessions for dads • Family Meetings take place in school holidays and weekends • Children supported by Holding Families children’s worker • Links with agencies, social workers and lead professionals in the community and maintain regular contact • Support and signposting for mums and carers by Holding Families coordinators

7. How are we unique?

9. HMP buckley hall pilot • Commenced working with 8 fathers in custody and their families in the community • Two dads have been released on Home Detention Curfew • Two dads have been transferred • Group and one to one sessions are being continued in the prison with the four remaining at HMP Buckley Hall • One to one and family support has continued through the gate with released dads • Visits booked to continue work with dads in the two other prisons- consideration of video link for family meetings • Independent evaluation commencing with Arun Sondhi and Team at Therapeutic Solutions • Family work on-going with all families

10. Emerging themes (prison aspect) • Prisoners released without through care • Main focus for prisoners is on employment being the solution to all problems • Limited support or information for families other than POPS • The dads perception of their families is often very different to the reality • Agencies in prison face similar difficulties with multi-disciplinary working as those in the community • Parental anxiety of Holding Families supporting children in the community

11. Emerging themes (community) • Services supporting families are not aware of dad being in prison • No CAF’s completed for any children to assess their needs after dad placed in custody • Parental substance misuse is not emerging as a priority for children and parents and carers living at home • Parental substance misuse and its links to offending continues to be a priority for services and wider community • Families are more anxious when dads are returning home than when they are serving sentences • Only one partner identified as substance user in community

12. Final Thoughts Any questions?

13. contacts Vicky Stewart Holding Families Development Officer vstewart@earlybreak.co.uk 0161 7233880