Performance and Impact Report September 2020
Research, Outcome Measurement & Evaluation (ROME) Unit
Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 A Systems Approach to Family Engagement 5 Program Description 6 Methodology 7 Data collection and analysis process 7 Limitations 7 Participant Profile 8 Service Delivery 9 Type of support provided 12 Barriers 13 Participant’s voice 13 Key Elements of the Unite Program 14 Impact of the Unite program 15 Julian’s story 17 Conclusion 18 Recommendations 19 References 19
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UNITE - Performance and Impact Report | September 2020
Executive Summary
Prisoners experience barriers related to maintaining positive family relationships. Challenges include: shifts in roles in the parenting partnership; psychological changes given the new environment; families not knowing how to engage in, or access, support; stigma; and the impact of complex past and current trauma.1 The Unite program was designed to support prisoners and their families to address these issues in order to maintain and improve their family relationships. In April 2018, Family Life, in collaboration with Life Without Barriers2, commenced the Unite program at five prisons across Victoria: the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, Tarrengower Prison, Melbourne Assessment Prison, Metropolitan Remand Centre and Port Phillip Prison. Since then, Unite provided 2238 episodes of service to 1661 individuals through its different activities (information sessions, education sessions, specialist groups, individual support and family needs assessment and engagement plans). By using a mixed methods approach to capture the voice of practitioners and prisoners, this report demonstrates our journey in supporting prisoners and their families. In summary, the findings of this report suggest that: • T he Unite program offered a unique service combining group work and individual support. The key elements for the success of the program include: being a trustworthy and transparent service with the prisoners, their families and the system; being a responsive and flexible service; prioritising safety; and having a skilled team who could assess and identify the needs of the clients using a trauma informed lens.
• A variety of support was provided. This includes: connecting families; supporting post release; support with referrals; emotional support; coping strategies; opportunities for truth telling; and guiding and supporting families. • P risoners and their families found the service (including the resources provided) helpful; and positive impacts were identified in their emotional wellbeing, relationships, skills, and knowledge and trust in support services. • B arriers were encountered during the provision of the service. It was recognised that some of these are inherent to the setting in which the service was provided. The service addressed some of these barriers by applying some of its key elements such as flexibility, prioritising service, and responsiveness. In summary, this report highlights the many layers of complexity related to supporting prisoners and their families, and demonstrates that through facilitating deep engagement in relationships with programs like Unite, repair is possible.
1 Herman-Stahl, Kan & McKay (2008); Miller & Najavits (2012); Stathopoulus et al (2012); Wolf & Shi (2012) 2 The original partnership also included VACCA. However, they withdrew from the service in 2018.
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Introduction
Family Life is a specialised family and child services organisation. Our purpose is to strengthen families and communities in order to achieve an environment which nurtures and enables a better future for all. Many barriers impact relationships between prisoners and their families. These include separation, the impact of past and current trauma (including family violence), financial disadvantage and stigma experienced due to having a family member incarcerated3. Existing evidence shows high levels of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among imprisoned people4. Trauma also impacts partners, family members and children5. An Australian study found a significant association between paternal incarceration and negative child outcomes including substance use and internalising and externalising behaviour. However, this study also demonstrated that when some factors such as mental health and substance use, parenting style, and family adjustment were controlled, the associations became non-significant6. This suggests that hope and repair are possible for relationships despite incarceration. As of the 30th June 2019 in Victoria, the number of prisoners was 8,1017, with males comprising 93% of the total Victorian prison population. Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander prisoners accounted for 10% of the Victorian adult total prisoner population; and overseas born prisoners accounted for 24% of the Victorian prisoner population. This was the largest proportion of overseas born prisoners of any state or territory8. This data highlights the complexity of the diverse population and the need to have flexible and responsive services within the prison system. Family Life’s Unite program was a strong, flexible and responsive service offered to individuals who are in Corrections Services and their families, with the aim of strengthening family relationships. The Unite Program was delivered between March 2018 and June 20209 in partnership with Life Without Barriers. The service was delivered at five prisons across Victoria: the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre (DPFC), Tarrengower Prison, Melbourne Assessment Prison (MAP), Metropolitan Remand Centre (MRC) and Port Phillip Prison (PPP)10. This report provides an overview of the performance and impact of the Unite program.
Stathopoulus et al (2012); Wolf & Shi (2012) Baranyi, Cassidy, Fazel, Priebe, & Mundt (2018); Egeressy, Butler & Hunter (2009) 5 Woodward (2003) 6 Kinner, Alati, Najman & Williams (2007) 7 https://www.corrections.vic.gov.au/ 8 ABS (2019) 9 Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Family Life suspended all face to face client contact on 17th March 2020. The Unite Team ceased attending all locations from this date. However, they continued providing support to families by answering queries over the phone an email; and developed resources for the prisoners 10 Unite withdrew service from Melbourne Assessment Prison and Tarrengower in April 2019 to enable increased service delivery at Metropolitan Remand Centre, Port Phillip Prison and Dame Phyllis Frost Centre 3 4
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UNITE - Performance and Impact Report | September 2020
A Systems Approach to Family Engagement
Family Engagement is a fundamental component of the health, human services and justice systems. The prisoner exists within a family eco-system, therefore, support which facilitates connection to family and building capacity within that system while incarcerated, assists with rehabilitation and mitigates the likelihood of reoffending post-release11. Strong family and social connections are shown to improve wellbeing outcomes broadly - improving mental health, reducing alcohol and drug use, reducing family violence, improving educational and employment outcomes12. Hence, those prisoners who establish strong relationships with family are more likely to engage in positive behaviours post-release. This might reduce the need for government-funded service interventions for the prisoner and members of the broader family unit. Children with parents who offend are more likely to have an early first contact with child protection services or are more likely to be placed in out of home care early13. Therefore, positive outcomes for prisoners themselves lead to improved outcomes for
their children and families (e.g. increase parenting knowledge and skills, parent wellbeing and quality of the parent-child relationship)14. When safe, having a parent or guardian who is present, connected and involved in caring responsibilities for their children has a positive impact on child outcomes and helps them to calibrate their experience and ease their worries15. In cases where family conflict exists, parenting connections and positive family relationships support is paramount to enhancing post-release outcomes for prisoners and their families16. Family Engagement approaches interface with the Family Law system, which supports families to navigate co-parenting relationships post separation. To conclude, Family Engagement approaches conducted during incarceration are impactful, particularly when interventions occur soon. This will not only positively impact the prisoner and the family but it might also decrease the intergenerational transmission of criminal offending behaviour17.
Improve health & wellbeing Strong families Social connections
Reduce criminal offending behaviour
The Unite program contributes to this
13 14 15 16 17 11 12
Farmer (2017); May, Sharma & Stewart (2008) Thomas, Liu & Umberson (2017) Whitten, et al (2020) Armstrong, et al (2017) Barlett (2019); Trice & Brewster (2004) Barlett (2019) Tzoumakis et al (2019)
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Program Description
The Unite program supported prisoners and their families to improve family relationships. Family Life was the lead agency, in partnership with Life Without Barriers. The Unite program was funded by Corrections Victoria and consisted of a suite of services for both prisoners and their families.
The program and the resources developed were co-designed in consultation with prisoners, prison staff and experienced staff across the Unite program. Information and education sessions were available for prisoners. Eligible prisoners, and their families had the opportunity to work with program staff to develop Family Engagement Plans which set goals and strategies to build positive relationships. Additional resources such as information packs, visitor’s packs, a children’s activity book and tip sheets were developed to support and encourage positive family relationships. All aspects of the Unite program were delivered using a strength-based and solution-focused approach.
“Working with families is a powerful component of this program.” (Focus group participant) The Unite program worked with sensitivity to promote accessibility of service to people who face barriers to receiving assistance on the basis of ethnicity, language, religion, culture, gender, disability, age, or any other basis.
Prisoner and Family
Family needs assessment/ Engagement plan
Individual support work Education sessions Specialist Group work Information session
1 Explain the services offered and receive referrals
2
3
4
Prisoners who participate in the four education sessions receive a certificate for each session
Individual support to those who would like further engagement with Unite
Further support to focus on strengthening family relationships (involves the prisoner and the family)
Specialist group work is developed based on needs
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Planning and goal setting both pre and post release
UNITE - Performance and Impact Report | September 2020
Methodology
This report provides an overview of the performance and impact of the Unite service provided by Family Life. It focuses on the quality of service provision; the capacity to respond to the complex environment in which it operates; and the impact of the project on the participants and their families.
Data collection and analysis process A mixed methods approach, combining a range of qualitative and quantitative methods, was used to obtain a detailed picture of the Unite program and allow for triangulation of information to confirm and support findings18.
Limitations While the methodology aimed to capture the perspective of a diverse group of stakeholders, limitations need to be acknowledged and should be considered when reading this report: • T he prison environment made it challenging to reflect the voice of the client. • M onitoring data: Sample size varies per variable. Discrepancies could occur between data entered in the database and the actual people engaged with the service as individuals needed to provide consent for Unite to enter details on the database. Some errors on data processing were acknowledged in the quarterly reports. • P articipant feedback survey: Implementation occurred at the end of 2018 - participants who attended the sessions before that date were not part of the survey. • F ocus group, case study and documentation review: Possibility of bias is acknowledged regarding participants’ own involvement in the service and the qualitative nature of the data.
Case study Case studies were analysed using the most significant change methodology to select the story to be included (n=16)
Descriptive analysis of participant feedback survey (n=796)
Descriptive analysis of monitoring data July 2018 to June 2020 (n=2662)
Thematic analysis of focus group with practitioners August 2020 (n=3)
Documentation review Funding requirement reports and other relevant documentation (n=5)
Triangulation refers to the practice of using multiple sources of data or multiple approaches to analysing data to enhance the credibility of a research or evaluation study.
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Participant Profile
From June 2018 to March 2020…
14%
20% 1661 individuals
identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.
This represents 20% of the Victorian prisoner population.
participated in at least one of the services provided.
This is similar to the 10% of the Victorian prisoner population identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
Prisoner status:
18% identified as coming from a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Community (CALD). This is similar to the 24% of the Victorian prisoner CALD population.
remandees sentenced on remand and sentence
2%
16%
82%
Individual support and/or Family needs assessment/engagement plans participants Some individuals who attended the information session and the education sessions were further supported via casework.
434 individuals
13%
were supported via individual support sessions and/or Family needs assessment/ engagement plans.
16%
identified as coming from a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Community.
identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person.
29%
9%
had a disability.
were young offenders (between 18 and 25 years old).
Prisoner status:
35%
female
65% male
remandees sentenced on remand and sentence
2%
15%
83%
“We are a team of people from different cultures and we speak different languages. A lot of prisoners don’t have the ability to communicate effectively in English. We try to understand the diverse family backgrounds and be inclusive and sensitive of all prisoners.” (Focus group participant)
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UNITE - Performance and Impact Report | September 2020
Service Delivery
From June 2018 to March 2020 Unite provided
2238 episodes19
Melbourne Remand Centre
of service in different prisons.
Dame Phyllis Frost Centre Port Phillip Prison Melbourne Assessment Prison Tarrengower Prison Sunshine (office)
11% 9% 3% 1%
44% 15% 32%
These were delivered through the following activities Education sessions
251 education sessions were delivered.
Information sessions
1260 individuals participated in the 308 sessions delivered. These sessions provided an introduction to the Unite services and provided opportunity for brief individual screening and referrals for the Education sessions.
individuals
sessions delivered
ession 1 S (What makes relationships challenging)
330
67
ession 2 S (Remain connected with your partner)
327
61
ession 3 S (Staying connected to your family)
322
63
ession 4 S (Parenting from a distance)
298
60
“I am interested in any self help courses as I need and want any help I can get; as I am a mess when it comes to relationships & family & especially friends.” (Participant - Session 1)
“Thank you for just bringing a very difficult subject, that we as prisoners never really bring up & I got a lot out of it.” (Participant - Session 4)
Individual support sessions In total, 1463 sessions were provided to 434 individuals.
Prisoners requesting these individual sessions were generally seeking assistance to make contact with Child Protection; or required general support around appropriate referrals to other services such as Family Law Services; and in preparation for their release, appropriate relationship services in their community.
T his number includes 278 duplicates. Reasons for duplicates include: individuals could have accessed the service more than once at different points in time - if they were released and returned. Another reason was when prisoners were transferred to another site and accessed the service in both sites. This means the case was closed in one site and opened in the new one.
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Specialist group work
103 individuals participated in the 15 specialist group sessions.
The Unite team developed and delivered specialist sessions based on defined cohorts, topics and specialist content. For example, the following group education sessions were developed based on the needs of the prisoners:
taying connected with your family S at special occasions Focussed on identifying needs that are relevant for people at times of family celebration or other significant events, and developing strategies and a plan for addressing these needs across each different type of relationship (partner, family, children) whilst in custody. It was developed to be non-denominational and cross cultural to enable it to be used for both cultural and spiritual events across the year.
Connecting Dads In response to an identified trend in the Metropolitan Remand Centre cohort, this session was developed to provide service information about support services for fathers in the community.
Young fathers Aimed at 18-25 old first time fathers to develop and learn parenting skills for children at different ages; to understand different developmental stages; to create awareness of the challenges for their partner/other parent to perform parenting tasks; and to facilitate mutual support among other young fathers in prison.
onnecting with your C family and children
Family Reconnection sessions
In response to the very short stay at the Melbourne Assessment Prison, an education session was developed to this cohort to provide strategies on how to connect with family when prisoners are first taken into custody and how to maintain the connection throughout their incarceration.
Focused on practical strategies to help build and strengthen the relationship between the mother and her child/ren; teaching parenting skills; and in particular applying the learnings from the education sessions.
I n addition, other sessions were adjusted to respond to cultural and linguistic barriers (e.g. to Vietnamese women); restricted settings, and catered for the complex needs of those prisoners in management and protection units (e.g. women at DPFC in protection; men in the Deakin Management Unit at MRC; and men in the Charlotte Management Unit at PPP)
“The women at DPFC were very grateful as other programs do not deliver services to women in protection.� (Focus group participant).
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UNITE - Performance and Impact Report | September 2020
Family needs assessment/engagement plans
201 plans
Primary support needs of individuals identified in the quarterly reports review included:
were developed.
Emotional support “<Brian> appeared highly distressed about their family situation. <Brian> reported a number of immediate concerns for engagement with their family and the welfare of their family members.”
econnection with a family R member “<Patrick> disclosed that there were no IVO’s and that he wanted to reconnect with his children.”
ommunication and relationship C skills “Three participants disclosed that they wanted to learn strategies to improve communication and strengthen the relationship with their partners.”
Self-development “<Andy> disclosed a history of family violence perpetrated by him and that he has struggled with alcohol addiction. He said that he desperately wanted to improve himself.”
Parenting skills “<Juana> and <Lea> wanted to learn about parenting from a distance.”
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Type of support provided An ecological practice approach identified the need to engage and work collaboratively with other parts of the system to provide connected and best practice service. Thematic qualitative analysis of the quarterly reports suggest that Unite provided support in the following areas:
Connecting families
Supporting post release
“The practitioner communicated to <Juan> that his wife supported his reconnection with their son. The facilitator suggested <Juan> to draft a letter. <Juan> drafted a letter whereby he apologised to his son and expressed his love for him.”
“The practitioner discussed strategies to help <Rhys> remain calm and briefly discussed support for him post release.”
eferrals/advice to get R support “Passed on to Chaplain’s for clothing, glasses and other needs.” “The practitioner referred <a family member> to support services in the community.”
uiding and supporting G families “The practitioner supported the prisoner’s mother with some options around support for the prisoner’s daughter and suggested their GP and the school counsellor.”
Coping strategies “<Marissa> divulged that she had declined any medication, preferring to cope with grief on her own. The practitioner acknowledged this and suggested strategies such as mindfulness and journaling to assist her.”
ollow up and engagement F with the Department of Health and Human Services “There are a number of barriers that the prisoners at DPFC experience in attempting independent contact with Child Protection, which corresponds to multiple requests for Unite Individual Support sessions.”
Emotional support “<Kerim> was empowered to better himself as a way to contribute to the support plan. The mother’s overall stress was reduced knowing that her son is being supported and is doing well in prison, thus balancing her emotional wellbeing and enabling her to take better care of the grand-children.”
pportunities for truth O telling “<Dan> acknowledged that he had made bad choices in the past, been violent and had used drugs and alcohol, and was able to recognise that his behaviour had negatively impacted his family, especially the children.”
Managing expectatio ns in re latio nship s inside a nd outs ide priso Have yo n u ever fa ile
Resources developed and provided Handouts, tip sheets, and resources (such as the Staying Connected cards and the visitor’s information cards) were developed and provided to prisoners and their families. Positive comments regarding the program materials have been identified from numerous participants, particularly the “Staying Connected” cards which summarise information from the Education Sessions. These resources were translated in five languages: Arabic, Chinese, Dari, Dinka and Vietnamese.
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“The cards in the info pack are awesome and informative. One thing <the facilitator> said stuck in my mind: That we aren’t here in jail forever, we will go home one day.” (Participant)
Staying Connecte d
d Has some one faile someone’s expecta d your ex tions be failed ex pectatio pectatio ns? The bu fore? ns takes often sto a hu ild-up of p the reb uilding or ge toll on everyon The main e and can strengthe rea ning of rel expectatio sons relationships ationships ns aren’t . suffer br commun was neve eakdown icated or r reasona is that that the ble in th expectatio e first pla ce. n
Talking to your child about priso n an d you family m r ember be ing arr It is hard ested to tell yo ur child home
with them why their , where th parent or ey are an family me It may see d how lon m like a g they wi mber is not at better so Howeve ll be gone lution to r, research . fabricate tells us th a story ab the arrest at out their an it is bette absence. are not th d going to priso r to tell yo n, rather ere. ur child than to lie about about wh y they Visitor’s
Informati on
UNITE - Performance and Impact Report | September 2020
To continue offering support during the COVID-19 pandemic, a prisoner support pack was developed and distributed to all the locations. The Unite team received very positive feedback.
Barriers During the documentation review and the focus group with practitioners, some barriers were identified. Some of these are inherent to the setting in which the service is provided. These include: • Logistical and security issues.
This pack includes 12 handouts and tip sheets covering topics such as: How to talk to your child and teen; communication techniques; reading child’s behaviours; child’s self-esteem; letter writing; among others.
• A uthority level within the prisons and to work with families.
A children’s kit was developed to be used during Family Reconnection sessions at Tarrengower during school holidays and/or weekends with the women prisoners and their families. Tarrengower could not facilitate these sessions so the kits were handed out during the Education Session 4 (Parenting from distance). Feedback was extremely positive.
• N avigating safety risks - including being in lockdown.
• P risoners not understanding the full range of services delivered and how to access the program. • I ssues with communications, referral forms, administrative matters. • Various locations with different policies.
• L ack of resources to deliver the full program (including available spaces). • L imited access to reliable information in relation to prisoners’ background and offending behaviour. • S everal programs running at the same time. This affects the level of support that services receive.
“In the future, I would like to see Corrections Victoria give more flexibility and authority to these types of programs.” (Focus group participant)
“The children’s kit was a best seller item.” (Focus group participant)
Participant’s voice A feedback form was implemented at the end of 2018 to capture the voice of the participants in the Education sessions. In total, 786 responses were collected.
289 participants provided additional comments about the service. The main identified themes include: • Gratitude towards the program and the facilitators; • Relevant information provided; • Opportunity to reflect and learn; and • Engaging and understanding facilitators.
97%
(n=761)
of participants found the sessions to be helpful.
98%
(n=679)
of participants indicated that they would like to attend other Unite sessions in the future.
“It’s a very helpful program which should be continued as I can see the benefit for many women here.” “It helps me reflect about my parenting duties. Good job guys.” “Found the teachers helpful and understanding, thank you.” 13
Key Elements of the Unite Program The Unite program is unique because it combines both group work and individual work. “As far as I know, Unite is the only program that provides that kind of set up. You can’t provide an effective program with only one component. During the group work you build trust. There are sensitive topics in prison so people won’t open up completely in a group, so having individual work is important.” (Focus group participant)
A tailored approach The Unite program was responsive to the needs of prisoners with diverse needs. For example, based on the needs of Cultural and Linguistically Diverse Communities some sessions were delivered in Vietnamese, and Cantonese/Mandarin. Resources were also translated to four languages. Another example includes providing group sessions to individuals who are not suitable for group sessions. Finally, specialist group work sessions were developed based on the needs of specific cohorts.
Trustworthy/transparent service
Flexibility
Trust was created with the prisoners, their families and the system:“Given the men have engaged and met the Unite team previously, this has given them confidence to approach the team and seek further support.” (Focus group participant)
The service was flexible in the delivery approach. For example, in several instances due to lockdown situations, Unite delivered sessions to alternative cohorts.
Responsive service To provide a better experience for the prisoners and manage attendance, the number of people who were invited to the sessions increased, and there was a better management of waiting lists. In addition, promotional activities were implemented to increase awareness of the program and attendance.
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Collaboration Unite services addressed the needs of prisoners with underlying issues such as mental health and AOD (alcohol and other drugs) by collaborating with other specialist programs through case consultations and information sharing.
Prioritising safety
Staff capability
Unite staff took measures to ensure prisoners’ families safety as well as others prisoners’ safety. For example, as Unite did not have access to reliable information around intervention orders, it was agreed that Unite would not send correspondence on the prisoners’ behalf.
The Unite team of practitioners are skilled at assessing and identifying client needs using a trauma informed lens; can speak multiple languages; have experience working with CALD communities; are experienced in both family and individual support work; and are familiar with the prison’s referral system.
“The staff was open and understanding. Compassionate and respectful; gave me space. A safe environment.” (Participant -Education Session 3)
UNITE - Performance and Impact Report | September 2020
Impact of the Unite Program This section illustrates the impact of the Unite program for prisoners and their families, as a Family Engagement Service within the Victorian Justice System. During the focus group, practitioners identified that although there are several programs currently available in prison, these programs are mainly focused on the person’s welfare (e.g. mental health, housing, alcohol and other drugs). Therefore, it is suggested that Unite complements the justice support system by having a Family Engagement approach. It was identified that without the Unite service, prisoners and their families would potentially be negatively impacted in the following ways: • P risoners not being able to develop their communication skills. • P risoners and families missing the opportunity to strengthen their relationships and to work on the psychosocial aspect of their relationships.
Legend
• P risoners not addressing their underlying issues (e.g. why young inmates are incarcerated in the first place?). To understand the impact of Unite, different methods were used. Triangulation21 of the data was done to confirm and support the findings.
Participant feedback survey (education sessions)
Focus group with practitioners
Documentation review
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Improved communication skills and relationships
96% (n=746) of participants indicated that the sessions provided them with information to help improve their relationships.
“It helps to remind me about my communication in relationships. Keep it up guys!”
91% (n=713) of participants indicated that
“A lot of them want to build relationships with family but don’t know where to start. Our program addresses one important thing: communication skills.”
The reports suggest that some participants were able to have some sort of contact with their children (e.g. visits, getting photographs). It was also noticed that participants reported learning new strategies and skills to improve their communication and relationships.
the session will help them with their family relationships.
“To embrace better relations with my partner and my child, and society as a whole.”
Thematic qualitative analysis of the quarterly progress reports and case studies (n=21), prisoner survey - education sessions (n=796), focus group with practitioners (n=3) Triangulation refers to the practice of using multiple sources of data or multiple approaches to analysing data to enhance the credibility of a research or evaluation study
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Self-improvement
“I learnt a lot from this course. It has given me the tools to be a better version of myself.”
“We have seen serious interest in people and their desire to change. The group work component is successful in building up a base in people who want to change. They keep coming back and asking about individual work...We see tough guys swearing in the yard, but then they come to the session and they are crying.”
Notes in the quarterly reports suggest that self-improvement was noticed in change of attitudes, emotional wellbeing, and reflection on previous unhealthy patterns.
Participant feedback survey (education sessions)
Improved parenting skills
“We had very powerful sessions. For example, there was one with a young Sudanese mother and her two children both under 3 years old. She accepted suggestions around parenting and activities they could do together. During the session she was able to do some baking with her children.”
The reports suggest that some participants improved their parenting skills; for example, increasing their confidence on how to manage their children and gave them tools on how to be a better carer.
Increased trust in, and knowledge of, support services
“It‘s good to know about the supports available in the community for me.”
“We have seen an increase in trust. At first, people were skeptical to come to the program. For example, I worked with <Andy> for a long time (he was convicted of murder). He went from a guy who was very skeptical about the program and argumentative to a guy who fully opened up with me. We discussed several issues and at the end he said it was very good and helpful...We get very genuine conversations; they feel the trust...They feel more human as it is not about practical support.” Participant feedback survey (education sessions)
Encouragement to access support services and referrals were provided to prisoners and family members (e.g. DHHS, family law services, community services). In addition, family members requested assistance from Unite to contact prisoners.
Created a supportive environment
“We normalise the aspects of having a connection with the daily. We remove the stigma.”
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It appears that during the education sessions, some participants were willing to share experiences and support other participants.
UNITE - Performance and Impact Report | September 2020
Julian’s story 22
Julian attended an information session and registered his interest for education sessions and family work. He disclosed that he wanted to reconnect with his children. Julian attended all four education sessions and was observed to actively participate, willingly contributing and sharing his experiences with the group. Overall, Julian displayed a keen motivation to learn new strategies and skills each session to help improve his relationships.
How did the Unite program support Julian? During individual sessions, there were opportunities for truth telling. Julian advised he felt that his relationship with his wife was very strong and he was grateful for this. He acknowledged that he had made bad choices in the past (been violent and had used drugs and alcohol) and was able to recognise that his behaviour had negatively impacted his family, especially the children. He became emotional at this point, displaying remorse for his actions. Julian spoke about the relationship with his step son Ryan. They had been very close, until there was a violent incident which Ryan witnessed. Julian wanted to reconnect with Ryan, apologise for his actions, and let him know how much he loves him. The Unite facilitator reassured Julian, that there was always hope and that the right opportunity with Ryan would present itself. The Unite facilitator and Julian discussed the impact of his imprisonment on the family; in particular on Ryan who was very angry with Julian and his mother and was refusing to go to school. The facilitator assisted Julian to identify what needed to happen so Ryan could experience safety, stability and healthy development now and in the future. The facilitator reminded Julian that it was important that Ryan received support throughout this time and encouraged Julian to be patient with the process.
support. Sandi spoke highly of her husband and stated she was ‘very proud’ of him as, ‘he had come a long way.’ Sandi stated that previously when Julian was in prison, nothing much changed, but this time she believed that he had committed to improving his behaviour and outlook on life. She noted the impact on the three boys and especially on Ryan, who had witnessed the violent incident, prior to her husband’s arrest. For the most part, Sandi said, when Julian was stable, they were a close family. She supported Julian wanting to reconnect with Ryan and said she felt that Ryan wanted this too, although he was very angry. Sandi advised that Ryan was seeing a counsellor and was getting support to attend school more regularly. She agreed for Julian to write a letter. She said she would speak to the counsellor and seek support with this as well. The facilitator spoke to Sandi about additional support services for example, the ‘Parenting Under Pressure’ program.
What did Julian achieve? Julian was able to articulate and acknowledge his past behaviours and provided thoughtful reflection; he said that it was important for him to learn from the past and that it was time for him to move forward. The facilitator suggested that Julian draft a letter and the facilitator would read through it with him before he sent. Julian drafted a letter whereby he apologised to Ryan and expressed his love for him. The facilitator praised Julian for having written such an articulate and appropriate letter. Julian admitted that it had been a very emotional process. To date, Julian has sent the letter to Ryan, however, Ryan has not received it as yet.
Unite completed the clearance process via Offender Services to confirm that there were no intervention orders or other restrictions in place. Unite contacted Julian’s wife, Sandi, who agreed to meet. Sandi expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to receive
Note: Names and identifying details have been changed
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Conclusion While there are several programs running within the Victorian prison system the Unite program was unique as it combined group work and individual sessions with prisoners and their families (when possible), with a focus on family relationships. This report demonstrates that the Unite program catered for the diverse needs of the prison population and the complexity of the settings. This was achieved by providing a responsive service, being flexible, prioritising safety, and having a capable team. It was enhanced through the co-design of the service within our partnership and through heavy consultation with a range of stakeholders within the Corrections system. During preparation of the report it was evident that the whole-of-family approach, the relevant resources provided, and the culturally appropriate service approach were key to the success of this program. Despite challenges, 20% of the Victorian prisoner population participated in at least one of Unite’s activities. In addition, the service was able to achieve its objectives: participants improved their communication skills and relationships; selfimprovement increased; improved parenting skills were reported; there was an increase in trust and knowledge of support services; and the service was able to create a supportive environment. The achievements of this program demonstrate the possibility of hope and repair for family relationships despite incarceration. To increase the impact of this program and to ensure prisoners are supported to successfully reintegrate in the community, services like Unite are necessary pre and post release. It is suggested that support to the prisoner and their family continues for a period of time in the post release space. In addition, collaborating with Community Correction Orders and case managing parolees might address current service delivery barriers. Family Life welcomes future opportunities to use this experience and a strong partnership with Corrections to design, implement or deliver services within Victoria’s prisons.
Recommendations Research and learnings from the Unite program suggest that key factors must be considered in designing and enhancing future Family Engagement approaches. As such, Family Life makes the following recommendations: 1. Family Engagement must be co-designed across health, human services and justice systems. This is due to the wide-reaching impact that Family
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Engagement programs have on health and human services, as well as justice outcomes. These outcomes are connected and cannot be addressed in isolation. 2. Family Engagement supports must commence at the earliest possible opportunity, ideally within the initial weeks of incarceration. This is to capitalise on motivation to engage with family, change behaviour, and decrease the intergenerational transmission of criminal offending behaviour23. 3. Information sharing systems between Human Services and Justice Systems must be established, strengthened and accessed to ensure accurate and timely connection of prisoners to their family members. This aligns with research that suggests ‘parental incarceration tends to draw children of prisoners, their caregivers, and parents into several systems that historically have not shared target populations, had common interacting problems, or worked together.’24 This was a barrier for the Unite program in achieving the family connection component of the service. In addition, it is key to ensuring improved parenting engagement and capacity, and therefore reduced need for tertiary and secondary service interventions. 4. Family Engagement approaches developed by Corrections Victoria should be intrinsically linked to the Integrated Family Services system. Prison-based Family Engagement programs are imperative, but connections with longer-term family supports are required to embed the positive changes established during Family Engagement processes. Integrated Family Services programs focus on family preservation and are fundamental in supporting families to improve parenting capacity through stabilising approaches which focus on stable housing, improved mental health, reduced family violence, reduced alcohol and drug use, engagement in employment and education, trauma recovery as well as strengthening attachment and caring ability. As demonstrated, family preservation and improved outcomes across the range of individual parent domains are key predictors of reduced future offending behaviour and incarceration. 5. In addition to an integration with the Integrated Family Services system, Family Engagement approaches must also be linked to the Family Law system in cases where separation has already occurred.
UNITE - Performance and Impact Report | September 2020
Acknowledgments Family Life’s Research, Outcome Measurement and Evaluation (ROME) team would like to acknowledge the support and contributions made to this report: • T he Unite clients who participated in the service and provided their feedback. Family Life acknowledges the challenging circumstances they encounter and commend their bravery and determination to drive change for them and their families. • T he Unite practitioners for being transparent and honest during the focus group. • T he Unite and Life Without Barriers teams for being very caring with all the individuals they supported. • T he Founder, Department of Justice and Regulation – Corrections Victoria; the five prisons which supported us during the service; and the Leadership group for their commitment to such a necessary service.
References Abram, F. Y., & Linhorst, D. (2007). A process evaluation of collaborative planning for children of prisoners. Administration in Social Work, 32(1), 39-54. Armstrong, E., Eggins, E., Reid, N., Harnett, P., Dawe, S. (2018). Parenting interventions for incarcerated parents to improve parenting knowledge and skills, parent well-being, and quality of the parent-child relationship: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Journal of Experimental Criminology, 14, 279-317 Australian Bureau Statistics. (2019). Prisoners in Australia, 2019. ABS cat. No. 4517.0. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/ Lookup/by%20Subject/4517.0~2019~Main%20 Features~Victoria~22 Baranyi, G., Cassidy, M., Fazel, S., Priebe, S., Mundt, A. P. (2018). Prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Prisoners, Epidemiologic Reviews, 40 (1), 134–145 Barlett, T. (2019). Supporting incarcerated fathers: and exploration of research and practice in Victoria, Australia, Probation Journal, 66 (2), 201-218 Egeressy, A., Butler, T., Hunter, M. (2009). ‘Traumatisers or traumatised’: Trauma experiences and personality characteristics of Australian prisoners. International Journal of Prisoner Health, 5 (4), 212-222 Farmer, L. (2017). The Importance of Strengthening Prisoners’ Family Ties to Prevent Reoffending and Reduce Intergenerational Crime. Final report from the Farmer review. Retrieved from https://aifs.gov.au/ cfca/bibliography/prisoners-and-their-families Abram & Linhorst (2007, p. 41)
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Herman-Stahl, M., Kan, M.L., McKay, T. (2008). Incarceration and the family: A review of research and promising approaches for serving fathers and families. Retrieved from https://aspe.hhs.gov/pdfreport/incarceration-and-family-review-research-andpromising-approaches-serving-fathers-and-families Kinner, S.A., Alati, R., Najman, J.M., Williams, G.M. (2007). Do paternal arrest and imprisonment lead to child behaviour problems and substance use? A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48(11), 1148-1156. May C., Sharm, N., Stewart, D. (2008). Factors linked to reoffending: A one-year follow-up of prisoners who took part in the Resettlement Survey 2001, 2003, 2004. UK: Ministry of Justice Miller, N.A., Najavits, L.M. (2012). Creating traumainformed correctional care: a balance of goals and environment. European Journal of Psychotraumatology 3, 17246, 1-8. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3402099/pdf/EJPT-3-17246. pdf Stathopoulos, M., Quadara, A., Fileborn, B., & Clark, H. (2012). Addressing women’s victimization histories in custodial Settings, ACSSA, 13. Retrieved from: http:// www.aifs.gov.au/acssa/pubs/issue/i13/i13.pdf Thomas, P. A., Liu, H., Umberson, D. (2017). Family relationship and well-being, Innovation in Aging, 1 (3), doi: 10.1093/geroni/igx025 Trice, A.D., and Brewster J. (2004). The effects of maternal incarceration on adolescent children. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology 19(1), 27-35 Tzoumakis, S., Burton, M., Carr, V., Dean, K., Laurens, K., Green, M. (2019). Parental offending and children’s conduct problems. Canberra, ACT : Australian Institute of Criminology Whitten, T., Dean, K., Li, R., et al. (2020). Earlier contact with Child Protection services among children of parents with criminal convictions and mental disorders. Child Maltreat. doi:10.1177/1077559520935204 Wolff, N., Shi, J. (2012). Childhood and adult trauma experiences of incarcerated persons and their relationship to adult behavioral health problems and treatment. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 9(5), 1908–1926 Woodward, R. (2003). Families of prisoners: Literature review on issues and difficulties. Australian Government Department of Family and Community Services, Occasional Paper No. 10. Retrieved from https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/ documents/05_2012/op10.pdf
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