In 2018, the prisons minister launched the 10 Prisons Project – a 12 month initiative in 10 prisons to reduce violence and substance misuse as part of his wider strategy to stabilise the prison estate. Clinks was commissioned by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service to deliver a family engagement programme, as part of the 10 Prisons Project, with the support of on-site Family Engagement workers from voluntary agencies Pact, Lincolnshire Action Trust and Jigsaw. The programme, delivered in 4 of the 10 prison sites, was led by Polly Wright, Children & families consultant.

The project aimed to support prisons to ensure that the role of ‘families and significant others’ was integrated into decision making and development processes, in order to stabilise the population and support implementation of the wider 10 Prison Project. It focused on three key areas of prison delivery: safer custody, visit provision and roll out of the Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) key worker model.

Over 6 months the programme consulted 150 family members, spoke to staff from across all functions and reviewed Family and Significant Other Strategies, to develop a better understand of current family practice: what was working well and where additional development was needed to further embed a Think Family approach.

Working alongside the prisons and listening to the views of families and staff, the programme developed a range of resources to support establishments in their Think Family working, including a ‘Think Family’ training pack for prison staff, Think Family impact assessment tool and resources for supporting key workers in taking a Think Family approach.

Clinks have published four Think Family briefings which provide insight into current family practice within the prison estate as well as guidance about how to develop a Think Family approach. The briefings cover the following 4 topics:

1. Effective communication with families
2. Developing a Think Family approach for key workers
3. Gateway communication systems
4. Strategic development of a Think Family approach.

The briefings are accompanied by the resources that can be downloaded, adapted and used to support the development of Think Family working.

To download the briefings and resources visit the Clinks website here