The Chance for the Sentenced

1. The Chance for the Sentenced National conference under IS EQUAL project 17 – 21 September 2007, Slovakia

2. Project The Chance for the Sentenced The target group: released convicts and parolees from penitentiary, re-education and correctional institutions, and foster homes, juvenile delinquents, endangered persons and persons close to them, particularly the underage Work with clients – 3 levels: • education (group work) • individual work with a client – field work - work in the Consulting and Information Centre (CIC)– equipped with a computer room • virtual counselling

3. Educational activities

4. Educating clients • 3 primary types of courses focused on: • Development of personality - development of communication and social skills, coping with strains and stressful situations, solving problems in a constructive way etc. • Preparation for labour market: - in Orava region – individual action plans - in Spiš region – practical training in workshops /The course participants can acquire skills instrumental in seeking employment, they create their own advertisements, applications, and covering letters, they rehearse job interviews, obtain elementary legal knowledge aimed at improving participants‘ awareness of functioning of the labour market and the general society. The course enables them to communicate with potential employers on the phone or by email. In Spiš region the course includes training in various workshops, such as blacksmith‘s, carpenter‘s, tailor‘s, weaver‘s, woodcarver‘s – which enables clients to gain practical working skills and habits necessary for succeeding in the labour market and effective reintegration into the society./ • Computer courses

5. Individual work with a client • It is carried out in the CIC in Orava and Spiš regions • Services provided to the clients: • assistance in increasing qualification • assistance in finding accommodation • assistance in finding employment • assistance in integrating into the society and building a self-reliant existence (solution of miscellaneous problems – personal, family, social)

6. Who does individual work with clients • Necessity to work with stakeholders /Working with clients requires cooperation with different specialists who deal with our target group. We have created a multi-disciplinary team consisting of lawyers, psychologists, educators, social workers, sexologists, policemen. /

7. Volunteers • Social work students, community social workers, pensioners • Why they are chosen: target group – juvenile delinquents, convicts during and after the sentence term – volunteers – close in terms of age –positive influence of peers • Training for work with clients at risk - 40 hours – content: communication with clients at risk, personality of a pathological client, social work ethics, rules of behaviour in penitentiary institutions. • Supervision for volunteers - – since it is volunteers (students of the clients‘ age) that work with the clients in Sučany, they may need protection from the burn-out syndrome and other negative psychological effects related to working with this specific type of client. Our volunteers therefore attend regular supervisory meetings where under the supervision of experts they can discuss the ways, methods and procedures they apply in work with their clients, verify their appropriateness and subsequently solve encountered problems.

8. System of work • The contact of a social worker with the client during and after the sentence term • Selection of suitable clients. • Entry permits from penitentiary authorities • Selection of trained volunteers (work in pairs) • Contact with clients already during the term of their sentence • Contact with clients after their release

9. System of work • Contact with clients in custody – volunteers contact clients already in prison so that they can become familiar with them and once the client has served their sentence they can get information about services available for them from different organizations and institutions. Volunteers talk to the clients, help to plan their life after release and try to motivate them to lead a proper life – they are clients‘ positive example. It is out objective to make the clients interested in collaboration with us also after their release, (at least over the period of 1 year) which period is considered to be critical. • We provide services to released clients – mainly aimed at finding employment or completing education (our clients are underage and many of them have not completed primary education, not to mention secondary one). We also provide assistance in solving other problems, for which we use our internal and external specialists according to the nature of clients‘ problems.

10. Statistics(as of August 31, 2007) INDIVIVUAL FIELD WORK WITH CLIENTS: • clients in prison: 4 underage clients in Sučany • Released clients: 13 clients either released or on parole from Orava region and 5 from Spiš region • 3 clients returned from a re-education center to Orava region • 35 clients from the Romany community in Spiš Individual work with clients in prison: EDUCATION (in Orava, Spiš and in prison in Sučany): • 18 teenagers attending primary or secondary schools coming from a problematic environment • 48 trained volunteers • 200 participants in PC courses • 120 participants in Effective Communication courses (personal development) • 120 participants in preparation courses for field workers

11. Batik workshop 2006

12. Painting on glass 2005

13. Practical training

14. Contact: • Konzultačné a informačné centrum EDUKOS J. Ťatliaka 8 026 01 Dolný Kubín tel.: +421 43 586 35 39 mobile: +421 915 869 571 www.edukos.sk e-mail: edukos@edukos.sk

15. Thank you for your attention Lenka Lášticová Social worker of EDUKOS