An introduction to the needs of children of prisoners and their families

1. An introduction to the needs of children of prisoners and their families Neera Sharma Assistant Director of Policy and Strategy. Jill Greenfield CAPI Implementation Manager

2. Barnardo's • Celebrates 150 years • 900 services • 200,000 children and families • 8,000 staff • 15,000 volunteers • Our focus: the most vulnerable: • child sexual exploitation • children leaving care • early intervention • children affected by parental imprisonment • children in Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres

3. The Invisible 200,000 • More children of prisoners than children in care • Whether a prisoner has children is not routinely monitored • Children with a parent in prison are not systematically recorded • Not recognised by local Safeguarding Children Boards or Child Protection Committees • They slip through the net if they’re not considered ‘children in need’

4. How many ?

5. The impact on children’s lives • Financial hardship (estimated monthly cost to the family of a prisoner is £175) • Disproportionately represented in the care population (only 5% of children whose mother is imprisoned remain in family home) • Managing emotions, feelings of loss/grief/anger • Twice as likely to experience mental health problems • Three times more likely to be involved in delinquent activity • 65% of boys with a convicted father will go on to offend

6. What needs to change • Better identification and monitoring of children of prisoners 2.Better understanding of children’s experience and perspectives 3.Better support for partners and children of prisoners

7. Better identification/monitoring of children of prisoners • Pre Sentence reports consistently identifying dependent children • Basic Custody Screening Tool – identify information about dependent children • All relevant agencies need to work together to raise awareness • Develop information sharing protocols • Universal services need to be prioritising children of prisoners in everyday provision

8. Better understanding of children’s needs and perspectives • Children of prisoners voices are still not being heard • Their rights are not recognised • Need to develop participation processes • Children and families affected need to have a say in how service operate

9. Better support for children and partners • Barnardo's’s services include: • dedicated parenting programmes for parents in prison and their partners left behind • whole family support at the prison • outreach support for parents and children • resettlement support • Responses to children of prisoners are inconsistent in quantity and quality • Still no one Government department with overall accountability • No underpinning discrete policy or legislation for children of prisoners

10. Policy and Influence • Better identification – a consistency in how pre-sentence reports are used to establish whether an offender has dependent children • The Basic Custody Screening Tool – to collate better information and early identification • Department for Education updated Working Together to Safeguard Children setting out organisational responsibilities for prisons, the national probation service and community rehabilitation companies among others

11. Policy and Influence • Scottish Parliament passed a Criminal Justice Bill that included a provision to identify and support children of prisoners, setting an example of how to legislate for this group. • Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) 2014 which deals with implementation in the secure estate in Wales. Families in Wales of those in the secure estate will have the right to the Information Advice and Assistance Service provided under section 17

12. Locked Out Report • Children's experiences of visiting a parent in prison Recommendations: • Visits viewed as family intervention • Searches of children and babies made more child friendly • Children's visits separate to Incentives and earned privileges scheme • Simplification of Assisted prison visiting scheme • Visitor and play facilities at National standards • Children be permitted bring homework / books

13. Barnardo's Practice • Community Support of Offenders Services – whole family approach ‘through the gate’ • Prison work – parenting, family support • Training and Awareness – Delivery of briefings and full day training to raise awareness of the needs of CAPI • Local Authority Engagement - developing protocols, charters, models of practice. • Supporting the Early Intervention Prevention agenda and remodelling of Children's Services. • I- HOP: Professional support and knowledge hub

14. Platform for Children's Voices • I miss my mum. One day she went out and didn’t come back’ 12 year old girl • I came home and my dad was being taken away, gone, all my stuff was all over the floor, I was too frightened to come out of the room’ 14 year old boy • “When we get to see him we get to huggle him… We have to wait and then he comes out. He has to sit on the red seat. He’s not allowed to get up.” 7 year old girl

15. Bristol’sCharterforChildren of Prisoners Children with a parent in prison should be helped to write letters, make phone calls or visit if they want to Children with a parent in prison should be welcomed and respected by prison staff Children with a parent in prison should be told where they are and how long they will be there for Children with a parent in prison should be able to talk to an adult in confidence who can help &support When police arrest someone they should take into account the impact on the child Professionals (teachers, nurses etc) should know how many children in Bristol have a parent in prison and how to support them

16. We must encourage everyone from Central Government to local authorities, to frontline services to look beyond the prisoners to the family.

17. Reversible Writing • Produced by Families Outside • Reversible Writing