IN YOUR WEEKLY LIGHT LUNCH...
CLINKS BRIEFING: youth justice
CLINKS TRAINING: Achieving effective service user involvement
CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: vital service cut
FUNDING: new grants programme for the South West
FUNDING: lots of new opportunities posted
FUNDING NEWS: £40m social impact bond will require VCS partners
COMMISSIONING: community payback provider list for the North West and Wales
AWARD: for disabled entrepreneurs
CONSULTATION: support for young parents in education or training
CALL FOR EVIDENCE: national service provision for people with multiple and complex needs
EVENT: latest Koestler art exhibition opens soon
EVENT: presenting the views of young people
EVENT: offender employment
TRAINING: understanding child brain injury
TRAINING: youth justice
TRAINING: free management webinars
PUBLICATION: justice reinvestment
PUBLICATION: meeting the mental health needs of women offenders
RESOURCE: equalities act for charities
RESOURCE: free legal advice for charities
OPPORTUNITY: for older people to inspire others
OPPORTUNITY: to support a restorative justice documentary
OPPORTUNITY: paid internship for recovery project
OPPORTUNITY: help to improve the experience of young women in the CJS
VACANCIES IN THE CJS
TIPS OF THE WEEK...
CLINKS BRIEFING: youth justice
The youth justice system in England and Wales is a complex set of arrangements involving local authority children's services, probation trusts, NHS services, Ministry of Justice, a range of commissioned voluntary sector organisations, as well as the police, Crown Prosecution Service, youth courts, prisons, and private sector service providers. Although there has been a recent substantial reduction in the number of young people (under 18 years) in secure settings, the current daily figure of approximately 2,000 is still among the highest in Europe per head of population. Our latest briefing provides an introduction to the youth justice system, recent developments, sentencing and processes, policy, and looks at future issues. Download it at: Clinks Briefings.
Service users should have a central role in our organisations: their experience and views will ensure your services are as effective as they can be, and being involved will help build their confidence and skills. But how do you support service users to make a real contribution? With interactive sessions led by experienced trainers and service users, this new one-day training course from Clinks [27th September, Birmingham, £90 VCS] in partnership with Revolving Doors Agency will help you identify how to achieve and implement service user involvement across your organisation. Book your place now at Clinks Training.
Clinks received news recently that HMP Holloway and NOMS have decided to terminate the pact First Night service at HMP Holloway women's prison. The service has run for over ten years ad worked with great care, compassion and professionalism to minimise the anxiety and the risk of self-harm of women coming into HMP Holloway, six nights a week. CEO of pact, Andy Keen-Downs, said: "We sincerely hope HMP Hollway and NOMS will continue to offer the same level of compassionate care, and a joined up approach to meet not only the needs of the women, but also of their children and those caring for them".
South West Foundation will shortly be opening a new Community Grant Programme for the South West. is aimed at supporting voluntary and community organisations with charitable aims, to deliver projects that will help and support people furthest removed from the labour market to pick up the skills and confidence that will enable them to move toward employment. This particular programme covers all of the South West (excluding Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly). Grants up to £12,000 will be available although it is envisaged that most grants will be in the region of £6,000 to £8,000. There are a number of information seminars planned for September and October throughout the South West. Find a seminar close to you at: South West Foundation.
New funding opportunities posted on the VCS Network since the last Light Lunch include support for riot-affected organisations; rural start-up charities; and social enterprises. View them, and lots more at: Clinks VCS Network.
The Office for Civil Society has announced four local authorities [Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, Birmingham and Leicestershire] will run pilots, totalling £40m, offering contracts to charities and social enterprises to tackle 'the pointless cycle of crime and deprivation'. Each council will devise a contract that specifies targets for families, which might include an increase in school attendance, a fall in criminal behaviour or a reduction in drug or alcohol abuse. Charities and social enterprises will then bid for the contracts and find private and social investors to give financial backing. The tenders are expected to open early 2012. Full details at: Clinks VCS Network.
Greater Manchester Probation Trust is advertising for providers to apply to join a Qualified Provider List (QPL) of organisations that can offer cost effective, innovative and quality approaches to the delivery of Community Payback in Greater Manchester, Wales, Cheshire and Merseyside. The QPL is expected to be in place by December 2011, for an anticipated duration of four years. Once established, only providers on the QPL will be able to deliver these services for the Trusts. The deadline for organisations to register their interest is noon on Friday 14 October 2011. Completed applications must be submitted electronically by noon on Friday 21 October 2011. To register an interest, email cp-provider-team@manchester.probation.gsi.gov.uk.
The Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs in the UK seeks out and celebrates business ability by recognising an exceptional disabled entrepreneur. The 2011 competition is open to disabled entrepreneurs on the management board, and with ownership, of any business in the UK. Eligible businesses must have an annual turnover above £10,000 and have been trading for between one and five years. The Award carries a prize of £50,000, to be reinvested in the winner's business. The deadline for receipt of entries has been is 2 September 2011 at: Clinks VCS Network.
The Department for Education is seeking the views of young parents, young people, parents, schools, colleges, work-based training providers and other stakeholders on options for the future of the Care to Learn childcare support scheme for young parents in education or training in England, from September 2012. Care to Learn provides non income-assessed support for childcare and associated travel costs to young parents to enable them to complete their education, gain qualifications and enter employment. The consultation presents four options: move to a discretionary fund; link support to income; change the weekly rates paid; or change the age criteria. Responses to the consultation should be submitted by the closing date of 28 October 2011 at: DfE.
Do you deliver or know of services that provide dedicated holistic support to people with multiple and complex needs? If so, Revolving Doors Agency want to hear from you by the 9 of September when our official call for evidence comes to a close! As part of its SPARK project Revolving Doors is mapping services or multi-agency partnerships across England supporting adults with multiple and complex needs in contact with the criminal justice system. Information will be disseminated to local and national decision-makers to showcase best practice and help us to make the case for more and improved local responses, as well as a coordinated national policy response for this group. If you believe you provide such a service or have knowledge of one please visit the SPARK homepage for further details on how to promote the work of your service to a wide audience, as well as the chance to win a £50 John Lewis voucher.
This year's Art by Offenders exhibition [opens 21 September, Southbank Centre, free] is richer and more varied than ever - with poetry, theatre, dance, debate and an experiential life-size prison cell. This year's curators are volunteers from the Magistrates' Association, a ground-breaking exploration of judgement, art and crime. Visitors will have the chance to vote for their favourite pieces and write feedback and comments to the artists. A must visit for everyone working in, or visiting, London! Full details at: http://www.koestlertrust.org.uk/.
'Life Outside: Collective Identity, Collective Exclusion' [14 September, London, free] is a report launch, film screening and reception event that explores young people's perceptions of themselves as separate from the rest of society, how the conditions and restrictions that are imposed on them when they leave prison criminalise and exclude them further and the importance of positive relationships with professionals, their families and communities. Full details and RSVP at: Clinks VCS Network.
'The National Employment Offender Network Conference' [13 October, Nottingham, £162] aims to bring together the key national and local partners working with unemployed offenders to: Learn about the latest developments in the offender employment field; Review how the good intentions of the Work Programme and NOMS Co-financing are working out in practice; Provide a showcase for projects to share good practice; Consider how to influence the future direction of European Structural Funds. More details and bookings at: CESI.
The Child Brain Injury Trust is providing free training over the next year for organisations working with young offenders, or those at risk of offending. The one day workshops provide an opportunity to understand how and why a childhood acquired brain injury can affect the way a young person thinks, feels and responds. More importantly the workshop provides strategies to help you support and work with these young people in a way that is suitable to their very different needs. Venues include London, Midlands, Wales, and North West. For more information, visit: Child Brain Injury Trust.
Just for Kids Law are running their 'Youth Justice Training' course [16 September, Bristol and 1 October, London, £100 VCS] which cover all major aspects of the youth justice criminal system through a variety of presentations, put together and delivered by a specialist team of youth advocates and criminal defence lawyers, as well as interactive workshops with former young clients. The courses are suitable for anyone interested in youth justice and carry 5.5 CPD points (SRA-accredited). Find out more and book your place at: Just for Kids Law.
PNE Development is holding a series of free webinars for people working in the voluntary sector. The sessions will cover a range of management topics, including 'Building Effective Teams' [20 September] where you'll discuss tips and techniques for building an effective team; and 'Social Media: Best Practice for the Voluntary Sector' [27 September] where you can discuss how to get the best from the leading social media platforms, aided with recent case studies from the sector. This webinar is intended for staff with little or no knowledge of social media. To register, visit PNE.
'Redesigning justice: Reducing crime through justice reinvestment' is a new report from ippr that demonstrates how a process of justice reinvestment could be made to work in England and Wales. It is split into three parts - the cost of prison; local alternatives to prison; and making justice reinvestment work. The report finds that low-level offenders should be diverted to the most appropriate rehabilitation, community-based penalties should be used instead of short sentences; local authorities should have responsibility for reducing reoffending and the budget to manage short term offenders; and the probation service should be devolved to local authority controlled. Read the report at: ippr.
An article in the current edition of the journal 'Advances in Dual Diagnosis' considers the mental health needs of women offenders in the light of early findings from Revolving Doors' partnership project with Anawim women's centrein Birmingham. The article, 'A way through the woods: opening pathways to mental health care for women with multiple needs', reports on the pilot in which a mental health nurse is seconded to the women's centre one day a week. The aim of the pilot is to support women with multiple and complex needs to access mental health care from mainstream services as part of a holistic package of care. Download it at: Revolving Doors.
'Equality Act 2010: What do I need to know?' is a useful summary guide for VCS service providers, from Government Equalities Office, that tells you how the Equality Act 2010 changes how you have to act in order to prevent and address discrimination when you provide goods, facilities and services to the public. Download it at: Home Office.
LawWorks is an independent charity and is the working name of the Solicitor's Pro Bono Group. The charity exists to encourage and support solicitors to carry out pro bono work to support individuals and communities who are unable to afford legal support. Their Initial Electronic Advice is an automatic web-based system which provides brief legal information in response to straightforward legal queries. It is designed to assist not-for-profit organisations and individuals who cannot afford to pay for solicitors privately. You need to register (free) to use it at: http://www.lawworksiea.org.uk/.
Media for Development's Older Persons Project is looking for individuals with inspirational stories. These individuals need to be ex-offenders who are over 50 and are happy to discuss their story on tape. You will not be required to use your real name or be identified in any way, but they would like to use real stories with real voices for this new Resettlement Program. If you are an organisation who may have someone that would be a fantastic inspiration for older offenders or you are an individual, get further details at: Clinks VCS Network.
BBC Panorama have asked Clinks to circulate this opportunity for organisations working in restorative justice: "We will be exploring what it is and how it works and what the benefits are - from putting 'Bobbies back on the Beat' to putting the victim at the centre of the system - giving them a voice and empowering them. As part of the programme we are hoping to feature face to face conferences between victims (or relatives of victims) and offenders. We are very aware of the difficulty of accessing such cases to film and the duty of care we have as programme makers to the people we film. We would deal with all cases with the upmost sensitivity and care and would work alongside the relevant agencies and organisations to make sure all protocols are followed. If your organisation or agency is involved in face to face restorative justice and thinks you may be able to help we would very much like to hear from you. Please contact us on: joanna.grace@bbc.co.uk or 0208 0081022.
A paid internship opportunity has now arisen within the RSA's recovery projects - Whole Person Recovery & Recovery Capital. These projects focus on developing recovery solutions that are co-designed with people at various stages of their recovery journey and are embedded in local communities. This internship opportunity will primarily focus on the Recovery Capital Project which will shortly be launching its main design and pilot phase. Full details at: Clinks VCS Network.
Independent Academic Research Studies (IARS), in partnership with Together UK, are undertaking a piece of youth-led research into young women's experiences of the criminal justice system. The research is exploring the extent to which the mental health needs of young women are met at police custody level. We are looking for young women from Hackney and Tower Hamlets aged between 16 and 25 to participate in the research sample for this important investigation. To get involved visit IARS.
New vacancies posted this week include a Training and Development Coordinator for pact [London], and a Service Manager for Brighton Oasis Project [Brighton].View these and other CJS vacancies at: Clinks Members' vacancies.
TIP OF THE WEEK I: Get 40% off at Odeon cinemas between 2nd Sept - 13th October with this reprintable & reusable voucher.
TIP OF THE WEEK II: Get free entry to 4,300 heritage sites across England from Thurs 8 - Sun 11 and another 700 in London on Sat 17 and Sun 18 Sept. They're normally closed to the public or charge admission. Visit: http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/about.
TIP OF THE WEEK III: 2 courses and bubbly at award-winning Thai Edge [Leeds] for two people is just £29 at: travelzoo.
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