Reorganising the reintegration of prisoners into society: lessons from a research-driven practise development project (2DA0011)

Claude Haas Senior lecturer, UR INSIDEUniversity of Luxemburg

2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development: The Agenda10th – 14th June, 2010Hong Kong, China

Givenich Penitentiary Center (CPG)Semi-open prisonMaximum capacity of 104 inmates (individual cells)Population composed of male adult offenders No specific admission criteria concerning length of

sentence, types and gravity of crimes committedServices comprise several workshops, a psycho-

social department, an educational department

The EQUAL-RESET project• RESET stands for “Réinsertion Economique et

Sociale par l’Education et le Travail” (Economic and social reintegration of prisoners through education and work)

• Main project focus: Achievement of the recommendations made by the European Council concerning penitentiary work (R (75) 25) and prison education (R (89) 12).

• 6 core partners: Givenich Penitentiary Center, Ministry of Education, National Agency of Employment, Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Agriculture, Chamber of Trades, University of Luxemburg

Main project phases

• Project development and submission (2004-2005)

• Need assessment and literature revue (2005-2006)

• Concept redesign and programme development (2006-2008)

• Concept and programme implementation (2007-2009)

• Troubleshooting evaluation and concept readjustment (2008-2009)

Need assessment Interviews were conducted with both prisoners (52/77) and staff (23/46).

– Interview-questionnaire with prisoners focused on family and social background, educational background, working experience, health conditions as well as perceived problems of reintegration, expectations and suggestions regarding services provided by the prison

– Interviews with staff concerned problems encountered by prisoners regarding their reintegration into society, professional activities, participation in decision making processes, needs and expectations of the staff regarding their mission/role, expectations and suggestions towards EQUAL-RESET project

Collected data revealed the existence of a heterogeneous population regarding…

• type and gravity of committed crime (drug traffic, robbery, sexual violence etc.)

• sentence length (from several weeks to several years)

• education → average educational level situated around 10 years (with no diploma)

• work → instability of working biography with an average number of employers situated around 10

• health → high proportion of drug addiction problems (1/2) and mental health problems (1/3)

and multiple needs in multiple domains like…

A prison population with clear expectations towards prison administration and staff…

• Individualisation and continuity of support• Acceleration of administrative procedures • Better communication and cooperation between

services and staff• Transparency of decision making processes• Valorisation of efforts and autonomy

Expectations which were widely shared by the staff…

• Develop a common conceptual framework • Better coherence in the organisation of activities• Rethink organisation and collaboration between services• Clarify the functions/roles of the different categories of

professionals• Accelerate administrative procedures• Adapt reintegration activities to length of sentence• Facilitate access to a larger variety of programme

activities• Establish sustainable cooperation networks with the

outside concerning work, housing etc.

Conceptual framework: theorical background

• Continuity of accompaniment/care (Partridge, Kemshell...)

• Engagement theory (Beauvois, Joule...)• Motivational interviewing (Miller, Rollnick...)• Need (Andrews, Bonta...) and strenght based

approach (Ward...)

Conceptual framework: structural components

Employability and work

Psycho-criminological

treatment

Health and drug abuse

End-to-end case management

5 programmes+

Education and training

Life skills

Case management principles

• Need, resources and demand centred assessment

• Personalisation of accompaniment• Transparency of decision making processes• Continuous assessment of goal achievement

Coproduction and participation of prisoners

Programmes constructed around 3 axis

• Axis 1: Free access to all prisoners (sport, pedagogical activities…)

• Axis 2: Access reserved in priority to certain groups of prisoners (with no work experience, a very low level of education…)

• Axis 3: Not directly aimed at prison population, but at cooperation and networking with companies and institutions outside prison in order to facilitate access (employers, educational institutions, social services…)

Re-assessment et ajustement du projet d’insertion

Exécution de la peine Case manager Agent de probation

Assessment multidimensionnel et

multiprofessionnel des ressources et besoins

Situation toxicomaniaque

Employabilité

Situation sociale

Case manager :- Projet d’insertion- Plan de traitement pénologique

AdmissionSynthèse de

l’assessment etélaboration de projet

Contractualisation

Compétences scolaires

Compétences de vie

Case manager : - Présentation du dispositif - Screening psycho-pathologique- Screening psycho-criminologique

En cas d’indication

Partenaires externes :SCAS,…

Situation psycho-criminologique

(CM)

PEE

PEF

Convention d’accompagn-

ement

PCV

PPC

Présentation services et programmes

Entretien de transfert

Programmes d’accompagn-

ement

Some lessons learned from 4 years of experimentation

• End-to-end case management as a condition to prevent fragmentation of service delivery, stimulate and enhance motivation as well as consolidate learning

• Networking with organisations outside prison to create new opportunities, reduce stigmatisation and facilitate transition

• Qualification of staff and process documentation as a condition to ensure program integrity

• Transparency and participation as a means of confidence building and programme participation