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Welcome to the EuroPris Knowledge Management System. The table below shows questions and responses from European National Agencies. Select a question for more information or use the filters on the left to narrow down questions based on Agency or Category.
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Introduction: The EuroPris Family Relations Expert Group, of which Swedish Prison Service is part of, are interested in gathering best practice on interventions which are undertaken in your Prison System and which are directed towards enabling prisoners to enhance their family relationships and engage them in their role as a family member, as a partner and a parent. . Your input will be invaluable to inform a future working paper based on this subject.
We do not have any professional or team with exclusive task of Community involvement and the community follow up of the inmates’ children.
Is this Community involvement and the community follow up of the inmates ‘children led by the penitentiary system’ professionals in collaboration with public services or social organizations or is it led by social entities in agreement?Activities in the field of community involvement and the community follow up of the inmates‘ children are mostly led by the penitentiary system professionals in collaboration with Centres for Social Work. We could point out our good practice of collaboration with those institutions. Penitentiary system professionals in some cases collaborate also with other organisations or NGOs which are somehow involved with the prison system or with the field of community work.
What kind of penitentiary monitoring is performed with the inmates’ children in the community?Collaboration with Centres for Social Work and Prison service could be illustrated in different aspect of addressing inmates’ life, needs and conflict situations. Activities are related to children’s visits especially if there are some obstacles with other partner or any other difficulties. Involvement of Centres for Social Work could be also seen in situations where there are some behaviour difficulties with children or other worries from the side of prisoners in relation to their children. Centres for Social Work are covering all these working area and in the form of collaboration between prison staff and Social Centre Staff penitentiary monitoring could be performed.
In the Community involvement and the community follow up with the inmates’ children what is the role of volunteers?We do not know in our context of any volunteers who are involved in follow up with the inmates’ children. In cooperation with some NGOs we have excellent experience with volunteers who accompany prisoners during their prison sentence and afterwards and through this involvement in some cases also particular questions of community involvement or relations with family members could be addressed.
Does your Penitentiary System have some kind of specialized service that supports the special needs of the inmates’ children and their families?Unfortunately we do not have any such service.
Community Resource Unit has, among other things, to boost the community and this includes the promotion of external organizations that support children of prisoners
Is this Community involvement and the community follow up of the inmates ‘children led by the penitentiary system’ professionals in collaboration with public services or social organizations or is it led by social entities in agreement?Two things: a) Networking and coordination with other government entities and b) Grants to organizations and volunteering
What kind of penitentiary monitoring is performed with the inmates’ children in the community?- Accompaniments of children (up to 3 years) in nursery school out of jail - There are programs in external and specialized units offering activities including strengthening the parent / child relationships - Educational, cultural and sports
In the Community involvement and the community follow up with the inmates’ children what is the role of volunteers?Volunteers receive a compulsory course of 20 hours of training provided by the Department of Justice. They can also receive training specific to their own organizations
Does your Penitentiary System have some kind of specialized service that supports the special needs of the inmates’ children and their families?- Financial aid is offered by penitentiary social services for school dinners - school supplies - - Community Resource Unit promotes the collaboration of organizations in these types of action (counseling, self-help groups ...) - The multidisciplinary teams, mainly social workers, organize group activities and monitoring of individuals with regard to the resolution of situations / cases of special needs
If you have good experiences/best practice you would like to share, you can upload up to two attachments.no
For some time now every prison has had at least one Family Contact Officer (FCO). The FCO is a member of prison staff who is responsible for encouraging and maintaining links with families. The main role of the FCO is to offer support and advice for relatives who may have concerns about a family member in custody. As well as liaising between the visitors and the prisoners the FCO can also put visitors in touch with SPS partner agencies who can provide advice, mutual support and understanding. Additionally, the Throughcare Support Officer (TSO) role has been created by SPS to support offenders on their journey into desistance by working with them to prepare them for, and successfully make, the transition from custody to community. Throughcare support officers work collaboratively with the prisoner, families, colleagues and our partners to develop an asset-based, individualised plan – “one person one plan”. The existence of a supportive, trusting and constructively challenging professional relationship can support desistance and it is therefore important that there is continuity of support between custody and the community. SPS are working with partners to improve transitions and outcomes during the first twelve weeks following release in the immediate post-release period, a period which is known to be critical and risky. Throughcare support officers act as an advocate on behalf of those leaving our care with partner agencies and encourage their motivation to change through sustained engagement with key services. Community reintegration planning (SPS Throughcare) focuses on strengths (assets) as well as needs, and on the development of positive networks in the community. Transition from custody to the community is effectively managed in an approach that seeks to minimise the risk to the public and to support a safe transition to the community.
Is this Community involvement and the community follow up of the inmates ‘children led by the penitentiary system’ professionals in collaboration with public services or social organizations or is it led by social entities in agreement?SPS works closely and collaboratively with a wide range of statutory public services and voluntary (Third Sector) organisations such as Families Outside to support the partners and children of those in custody. The SPS recognises that the Third Sector has a distinctive contribution to make across public policy challenges, and justice in particular, and that the Third Sector can often reach where the state and the market cannot. Public Social Partnerships (PSPs) have been formed to support returning citizens on release from custody to assist them reintegrate with their families and re-establish themselves in their communities.
What kind of penitentiary monitoring is performed with the inmates’ children in the community?See responses to Q1 and 2
In the Community involvement and the community follow up with the inmates’ children what is the role of volunteers?See responses to Q1 and 2
Does your Penitentiary System have some kind of specialized service that supports the special needs of the inmates’ children and their families?See responses to Q1 and 2
If you have good experiences/best practice you would like to share, you can upload up to two attachments.yes
Services to prisoners and their children are provided in partnership with prisons by a range of specialist charities who work with prisoners families and children both in prison and in the community. These services along with a number of others including local authorities include Barnados, PACT and Spurgeons.
Is this Community involvement and the community follow up of the inmates ‘children led by the penitentiary system’ professionals in collaboration with public services or social organizations or is it led by social entities in agreement?Prisons do not have responsibilities for the children of prisoners, however there is collaboration with the range of professional services as required such as the Multi Agency Public Protection Agency (MAPPA) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/multi-agency-public-protection-arrangements-mappa--2
What kind of penitentiary monitoring is performed with the inmates’ children in the community?The National offender Management Service does not monitor the children of inmates in the community. Any such activity would be addressed by partners who work with the families and children of prisoners in custody and may continue this work according to the needs of the family, in the community.
In the Community involvement and the community follow up with the inmates’ children what is the role of volunteers?Work with children of families would be provided by other agencies as appropriate, such as social services or the Department for Education.
Does your Penitentiary System have some kind of specialized service that supports the special needs of the inmates’ children and their families?Family services providers who partner with the prison, deliver a range of services to prisoners and their families through visits services. In some prisons family days are delivered where families and their children can spend time together in a relaxed and as normal an environment as possible. Some prisons provide homework clubs where children can spend time with their parent in prison and engage in learning. Family learning opportunities are also available where the education provider or a charity provide learning such as parenting, family relationships, budgeting and money management. Family engagement workers are employed in some prisons who work with prisoners and family members inside the prison and can continue such relationships in the community. Their services can include improving relationships and counselling.
If you have good experiences/best practice you would like to share, you can upload up to two attachments.no
Yes there is a professional involved with this task Community involvement and the community follow up of the inmates’ children. In the Dutch language it is the 'staffunctionaris ketensamenwerking'; translated as staff officer chain collaboration. The education requirements are an academic education.
Is this Community involvement and the community follow up of the inmates ‘children led by the penitentiary system’ professionals in collaboration with public services or social organizations or is it led by social entities in agreement?It is a co-operation of the internal staff officer chain collaboration with the external volunteer organization and public or social organizations.
What kind of penitentiary monitoring is performed with the inmates’ children in the community?In the Dutch prison system there are no methods of monitoring of the inmates' children.
In the Community involvement and the community follow up with the inmates’ children what is the role of volunteers?The volunteers have the role of communication between the inmates and their children. They are trained by the volunteer organizations and they get every year at least an internal corporate training expertise.
Does your Penitentiary System have some kind of specialized service that supports the special needs of the inmates’ children and their families?Yes we have at least 4 times a year a special day for inmate parents with their children. Volunteers bring the children from their homes to the prisons. The inmates can play with their children in an apart section of the prisons without the direct surveillance of guards.
If you have good experiences/best practice you would like to share, you can upload up to two attachments.no
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Yes, in accordance with the Law, representatives of the resocialisation field in the penitentiary system (i.e. those working in the Latvian Prison Administration central board and places of imprisonment) collaborate with governmental and municipal institutions (custody courts, social services, extra-familial care institutions, including custodians, foster families) about children’s rights protection issues regarding inmates’ children (issue about the children's right to contact with their imprisoned parents, extra-familial care services payment order, questions connected with solving inmates' social problems while their children are placed in extra-familial care etc.).
Is this Community involvement and the community follow up of the inmates ‘children led by the penitentiary system’ professionals in collaboration with public services or social organizations or is it led by social entities in agreement?Yes. The Latvian Prison Administration is also collaborating with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) registered in the Republic of Latvia and organizing different events aimed at inmates’ children by providing gifts and cards made by inmates or by organizing summer camps. In the Christmas of 2016, all children in the women prison Medical department (with mother and child section) were gifted toys, including educational toys. In the women prison Medical department (with mother and child section) children with their imprisoned mothers can stay until the age 4. With the previously mentioned event the tradition, performed by NGOs for more than four years now, was continued. The main activities of NGOs are supporting inmates’ children and this event is carried out at the same time as the workshops of making cards for inmates that are fathers, as well as the community effort to prepare gifts for other inmates’ children. In addition, in the summer several children of inmates’ are provided with a chance to spend their free time appropriately and educationally in summer camps for free.
What kind of penitentiary monitoring is performed with the inmates’ children in the community?Currently, penitentiary monitoring is not performed with inmates’ children in the community; however, it is planned.
In the Community involvement and the community follow up with the inmates’ children what is the role of volunteers?Until now there have been no activities regarding the Community involvement and the community follow up with the inmates’ children.
Does your Penitentiary System have some kind of specialized service that supports the special needs of the inmates’ children and their families?Yes, the State Probation Service supports the special needs of the inmates’ children and their families in the cases when the child has committed a crime. Latvian Penitentiary system will be undergoing reforms in the fields of providing children rights, as well as responsibility distribution from the liability law.
If you have good experiences/best practice you would like to share, you can upload up to two attachments.no
The Danish Prison and Probation service has 2 family houses where prisoners can serve the whole or a part of their sentence in the house together with their children and receive help and counseling from a team of family therapists, socialworkers and pedagogues. The team is in close contact with the social authorities outside. When the social workers or contact persons (prison guards) in the prisons are constructing the individual plans for the imprisonment and the time after the imprisonment the inmates are always asked about their family situation.
Is this Community involvement and the community follow up of the inmates ‘children led by the penitentiary system’ professionals in collaboration with public services or social organizations or is it led by social entities in agreement?It is not a rule to notify the social authorities when a person with children is imprisoned, but the Prison and Probation Service is obliged to coordinate the individual plans with the social authorities. As a rule the inmate has to give his or her consent to the coordination.
What kind of penitentiary monitoring is performed with the inmates’ children in the community?For this question I can refer you to The Ministry for children and Social Affairs: www.english.sm.dk
In the Community involvement and the community follow up with the inmates’ children what is the role of volunteers?SAVN is a NGO association for relatives to prisoners. You can contact them for further information on: www.SAVN.dk
Does your Penitentiary System have some kind of specialized service that supports the special needs of the inmates’ children and their families?In all prisons and local prisons there are appointed ‘children officers’. They are mostly prison guards or social workers. The ‘children officers’ are trained to be specially aware of the importance of contact between the prisoner and his or her children, on the importance of having appropriate visiting facilities and also on providing information to the children and family outside. The ‘children officers’ will also consider making special arrangements for the children, help the inmates making cd’s with “bedtime-stories” to the children etc. Besides that it is possible for the inmates in 15 prisons and local-prisons to participate in parenting groups led by a family therapist. The visiting facilities have during the last years been renovated and many places have outdoor playgrounds. 4 prisons have appartement facilities where the family can visit for a whole weekend.
If you have good experiences/best practice you would like to share, you can upload up to two attachments.no
Every prison and probation office in Norway has a child coordinator. The child coordinators are to assist with information, advice and guidance to children and caregivers who are affected by a prison sentence. The coordinator is responsible for the availability of relevant information aimed at the offender's children, families and other affected parties. The child coordinators also hold the responsibility for cooperation with voluntary organisations which offers support and help to children who are affected by having a family member in prison.
Is this Community involvement and the community follow up of the inmates ‘children led by the penitentiary system’ professionals in collaboration with public services or social organizations or is it led by social entities in agreement?It is led by social entities in cooperation.
What kind of penitentiary monitoring is performed with the inmates’ children in the community?The inmates’ children are offered to participate in group discussions with other children in similar situations. They are also offered to participate in activities such as excursion, trips to the cinema / theatre, sports, etc.
In the Community involvement and the community follow up with the inmates’ children what is the role of volunteers?In Norway, the Correctional Service does not use volunteers to follow up inmates’ children during the execution of the sentence or after release. The Correctional Service does, however, cooperate with various NGOs which offer support measures to inmates and their relatives.
Does your Penitentiary System have some kind of specialized service that supports the special needs of the inmates’ children and their families?The Norwegian Correctional Service is organized according to “the import model'. This means that prisons do not have their own staff delivering for example medical, clerical, educational, employment, social or library services. These services are imported from the local community. For example: Doctors who practice medicine in prisons are paid and hired by the local health authorities, not the correctional service. This means that the inmates' health issues are the responsibility of the health authorities (for more details about the import model, see question The responsibility of the Correctional Service in providing these types of services is regulated through the Execution of Sentences Act § 4 (Administrative cooperation). It states that: "Correctional Services shall by engaging in cooperation with other public services arrange for convicted persons and persons in custody on remand to receive the services to which they are statutorily entitled. Such cooperation shall lead to a coordinated effort to supply the needs of convicted persons and persons in custody on remand and to assist them to adjust to society". This means that the special needs of the inmates’ children and their families will be catered for by other government agencies, such as The Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs.
If you have good experiences/best practice you would like to share, you can upload up to two attachments.no
There is no expert or a team that deals exclusively with this issue.
Is this Community involvement and the community follow up of the inmates ‘children led by the penitentiary system’ professionals in collaboration with public services or social organizations or is it led by social entities in agreement?Community involvement and the community follow up of the inmates ‘children is not the responsibility of the prison system. Neither the Social Services does not follow the prisoner's children in an organized way, except for individual cases, when the respective family is previously registered in Social Care Center or at the request of a family member who is not in prison.
What kind of penitentiary monitoring is performed with the inmates’ children in the community?There is no penitentiary monitoring performed with the inmates’ children in the community.
In the Community involvement and the community follow up with the inmates’ children what is the role of volunteers?There is no organized follow up of children of prisoners in the community.
Does your Penitentiary System have some kind of specialized service that supports the special needs of the inmates’ children and their families?During the EU campaign for children whose parents are in prison, various lectures on the family themes are held for prisoners and their family members, as well as joint creative workshops and performances for prisoners and their children. One NGO co-financed travel expenses of children to visit their parents in prison. Treatment staff advises inmates on family issues. Prisoners can be included in the program "Prisoner as a parent".
If you have good experiences/best practice you would like to share, you can upload up to two attachments.no
The Communities are organised in various non-profit associations from which numerous staff members are active in prison to organise not only sports activities, education, well being and health care initiatives but also various projects aiming to enhance the relationship between inmates and their relatives in general and between inmates and their children more specifically. Since the community workers all depend from the community associations, the Belgian Prison Service does not provide them with a training themselves. In addition to the community staff members the psychosocial service within each prison make an effort to optimize the relationship between inmates and their children, paying special attention to their problems and sensitivities. They ensure a close follow-up of the inmates in this regard.
Is this Community involvement and the community follow up of the inmates ‘children led by the penitentiary system’ professionals in collaboration with public services or social organizations or is it led by social entities in agreement?Since 1994 the Belgian Prison Service has a cooperation agreement with the Flemish Community (Dutch speaking) regarding the structural offer of education, work after release, sports, culture, well-being, health care, etc. The Belgian Prison Service does not have a similar agreement with the French speaking community solely because their working structure and the organization of non-profit associations is completely different of that of the Flemish Community. But the work of both Communities is similar. The most important difference is the degree of structural offer. On both sides there is a decent follow up by both the federal as the regional level.
What kind of penitentiary monitoring is performed with the inmates’ children in the community?Every prison pays special attention to the organisation of visits of inmates’ children. Separate visiting occasions are organised in close relationship with the community workers. The ministerial circular letter 1715 of 5 July 2000 specifically mentions the request of all prisons to pay sufficient attention to the affective relationships of inmates with their relatives. The circular letter obliges all prisons to organize a children’s visit at least once a month for every inmate. Some prisons even organize these children visits every week, mostly on Wednesday afternoon when there is no school. In most prisons there has been a structural investment in child-friendly infrastructure: separate visiting area, children’s play corner, toys, etc. For the design of the new Belgian prisons it has been an important point of attention to meet the infrastructural needs with regards to inmate-child relationship. In addition, each prison receives an allowance to promote visiting initiatives between inmates and their children.
In the Community involvement and the community follow up with the inmates’ children what is the role of volunteers?The community workers are no staff members of the Belgian Prison Service but they work closely together with the prison staff members. In addition to these community staff members, there are many volunteers active in prison who are also connected to the non-profit associations. They accompany and organize visits between inmates and their children as well as numerous projects and initiatives to enhance the relationship between inmates and their children. Examples are special visits on certain occasions (Christmas, Easter, Father’s Day, …) An agreement is set up between the prison and the association in which the staff members of the association provide support and the prison takes care of the equipment.
Does your Penitentiary System have some kind of specialized service that supports the special needs of the inmates’ children and their families?No
If you have good experiences/best practice you would like to share, you can upload up to two attachments.no
In the Finnish prisons there is no team that works exclusively with these matters, but I will tell you what we do have: - Each prison and community sanctions office has a staff member that is responsible for matters to do with children and with families. Children in this context means prisoners that are under 18 as well as imates' and clients' children. These staff members have other responsibilities as well, this is only one small part of their duties. - Finland is divided to three criminal sanctions regions, and each region has its own regional work that has to do with these matters. For exmple, yearly seminars and regular meetings with all the responsible staff members in the units (mentioned above). The regional systems vary from each other a bit, but basically this is the way it works. - In prisons these people are usually staff members working with rehabilitation matters; social workers, psychologists, staff working with addiction matters; they are hardly ever staff members working on the security matters (i.e. prison guards or senior prison guards). - When a person comes to prison his/her situation is looked into and if he/she has underaged children whose guardian the inmate is, contact is taken to the social services. - Our policy is to strengthen the family ties of inmates' and clients' and this we do among other things through a special short program that is in use in many prisons and some community sanctions offices. - One unit is nationally responsible for placing women and prisoners who come to prison with children; the staff of this allocation unit are therefore well trained in these matters. - When drawing up the sentence plan of the inmate the allocation unit takes consideration to the situation of the family and they keep themselves aware of problems that are present, f.ex. those that are given over from one generation to the next (being sentenced to prison). - Finally, the allocation of the inmate is decided according to where his/her family lives.
Is this Community involvement and the community follow up of the inmates ‘children led by the penitentiary system’ professionals in collaboration with public services or social organizations or is it led by social entities in agreement?The work is mainly led by the Criminal Sanctions Agency. Naturally there is collaboration with the social services. We also have some close NGO-partners working with these matters, and a lot of co-operation is done with them. If a prisoner has his/her small child living with him/her in prison they are placed in Vanaja open prison, where they have a special family ward. This ward is run by an NGO. If the parent is working or studying the children will be in normal daycare outside of the institution. Remand prisoners with small children are placed in Hämeenlinna prison, on a family ward, run by the same NGO as in Vanaja open prison. The decisions of the children living in prison are made by municipal child wellfare authorities, and they also pay for it.
What kind of penitentiary monitoring is performed with the inmates’ children in the community?There is no other penitentiary monitoring of the inmates' children in the community than contact to the social services when the inmate is starting to serve his sentence in a prison. If a mother/father comes to meet the spouse in prison with children and there is something that worries the prison guard, he is to take contact with social services (for instance, if the person coming to the meeting with children is intoxicated). Main responsibility for working with the children and families in general is with the social services, according to the principle of normality.
In the Community involvement and the community follow up with the inmates’ children what is the role of volunteers?Volunteers are not used systematically. However, several NGOs are active in this area.
Does your Penitentiary System have some kind of specialized service that supports the special needs of the inmates’ children and their families?The penitentiary system has very little of this kind of work. The regions organise summercamps for inmates with families; they are recreational and their goal is to strengthen the ties of the inmate to his spouse and children. These camps (also at other times than summer) are usually organised by an NGO. About good practices: I have no files that I can upload because they are in Finnish. However, I will write a short description in english of a working method that we use in Finland.
If you have good experiences/best practice you would like to share, you can upload up to two attachments.yes
Attachments:
Within the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) there is no one professional or team dealing exclusively with this task. Those entering custody are, however, asked about contact with their families and children. Where the prisoner gives permission NIACRO’s Family Links team (who are funded by NIPS) provide immediate practical information, advice and support to the family. If a family member wishes to take up the offer they can be assisted with topics such as visiting their relative, transport to the prison, housing rights, managing money, engaging with school and accessing other services. NIPS also works in partnership with Barnardos NI to provide a range of services to imprisoned parents E.g. Parenting and relationship courses, extended family visits, parenting together programmes which involve bringing both parents together in the prison to discuss parenting and the needs of their children and an intensive Families Matter Programme which involves the imprisoned parent moving to a landing which is specifically tailored to focus on families.
Is this Community involvement and the community follow up of the inmates ‘children led by the penitentiary system’ professionals in collaboration with public services or social organizations or is it led by social entities in agreement?In recognising that maintaining family life can have important benefits NIPS works in partnership with other organisations in the public, private and voluntary sector that deliver services to families to support the co-ordination and integration of these services to meet the needs of those in custody and their families. Within each prison there is a Prisoner Development Unit which works in conjunction with other prison departments and partner agencies to support, challenge and motivate prisoners to help them prepare for their return to the community at the end of their sentence. Where appropriate this will involve contact with family members living in the community.
What kind of penitentiary monitoring is performed with the inmates’ children in the community?There is no penitentiary monitoring of prisoner’s children in the community.
In the Community involvement and the community follow up with the inmates’ children what is the role of volunteers?Not applicable
Does your Penitentiary System have some kind of specialized service that supports the special needs of the inmates’ children and their families?The NIPS considers that delivering a desistance based approach should help to ensure that the individual is put at the heart of the rehabilitative process in order to secure a better outcome for the individual, their family and the wider community of which they are part. Focus is placed on encouraging families to assist the process by promoting the following principles: • providing a source of practical and emotional support; • by supporting the individual to positively occupy their time; • by reinforcing new, positive identities (for example as a good parent rather than as a person in custody); and • by recognising positive changes. The NIPS makes a significant financial contribution towards the cost of maintaining links between individuals and families. There is currently some practical support to help people in custody maintain family links. For example, each prison should have a Family Support Officer available to offer support and guidance; Child Centred and Extended Visits are offered to eligible individuals in order to create special opportunities for parents/grandparents to bond with their children/grandchildren; Barnardos work with anyone in custody who is a parent/carer and are particularly engaged in a Families Matter programme; NIACRO’s Family Links facilitate a range of support services including assistance with transport, and access to advice and guidance; Prison Fellowship hosts some family groups and PeoplePlus NI provide support for visitors through the services provided at the Visitors’ Centre/Hall at each prison establishment (these include refreshments, pleasant waiting areas, childcare, practical and emotional advice and signposting to other agencies). Further examples of areas where positive family support is evident are: • Skype facilities at all establishments • opportunities for different types of visiting experience constantly being sought. E.g. Sunday lunch visits which allows families to sit down together for a meal; and • the development of familiarisation visits for family members when a prisoner transfers to a different location to illustrate the opportunities available on site and in the community.
If you have good experiences/best practice you would like to share, you can upload up to two attachments.no