VACROIn the Frame

Women and Families- Working with the Missing Pieces

Violet LotterWomen, Children, Family Services Manager

Gen Anderson Women’s Support Services Coordinator

Reintegration Puzzle

August 2013

• Established in 1872 as the Discharged Prisoners’ Aid Society, the Victorian Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (VACRO) is a non-denominational, community-based agency.

• First Victorian organisation to recognise and include offenders families as part of its primary mission

• VACRO works across the criminal justice system to create a safe and fair community, to respect and support individual and family dignity,

and to make a positive contribution to reducing the harm done by crime.

Justice Programs [Men & Women]

Family Programs

Research & Development

• 2012 VACRO launched their Children’s Foundation

The VACRO Story

Our aim today…..

To give you an overview of our work with families and children [hidden victims] and women in the criminal justice system and relate this to the VACRO research that influences our approach.

VACRO’s Family Services

Supporting individuals and their families…

at the time of arrest,

through court, in the prison system and out in the community.

Research & Services

• First hand experience of the impact of incarceration on families and children

• Awareness of these needs has grown & led VACRO toInitiate family focused research

Expand service provision to include information, support and counselling for these families and children

Research & Resources:Doing it Hard (2000)

“Imprisonment has a profound effect on children and there is considerableconsistency between the findings of the few studies which have examined theseeffects.”

Research & Resources:Children: Unintended Victims of Legal

Process 2006 & 2007

This project tracked the needs of children with imprisoned parents from the stage of police contact to the point

of prison release

Research & Resources:Court Based Family Support (2009)

An estimated 67,631 children aged 0-17 years are associated with adult defendants processed in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria.

An estimated 2,689 children aged 0-17 years are associated with adult defendants who received a sentence of imprisonment in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria.

In 2012 VACRO commenced our Family Links Program in Geelong Magistrates Court

Research & Resources:Next Generation on the Outside (2011)

• Report looks at the ordinary functioning of the criminal justice system and the unintended adverse effects on families and children of offenders.

Each Step Equally Impacts Upon the Family

Arrest

Court

Bail/Remand

Prison

Orders

Community

Parole

Reintegration

VACRO Women, Family and Children’s [WF&C] team offer services that provide information, support and counselling at each step:

Issues for Prisoner’s Families

Issues are complex depending on relationship to prisoner, nature of crime, length of sentence

Issues include: Sadness and Grief Shame, guilt and anger Stigma Social isolation, rejection What, when and how to tell the

children Financial concerns, loss of income Relief

Barriers to Accessing Supports

Families are unlikely to come forward due to fears of being judged, and embarrassment of ‘needing help’…often for the first time.

“I found it really hard to tell anyone; even my maternal child health worker and child care centre didn’t know my husband was incarcerated. I was so worried that they would judge me and my children. It would have made it easier if they understood what I was going through” (Partner)

Children and young people can feel this even more acutely with the pressures of relating to peers and wanting to fit in.

What about the Children?• Imprisonment has a profound effect on children• The stress associated with social stigma and isolation• Keeping secrets• Uncertainty and disruption about the absence then

reappearance of a parent• Separation anxiety

– Worry that they have been abandoned or will never see the parent again

– Worry that the remaining parent will disappear• Difficulties at school

What Do We Know About These Children?• Approximately 5% of all Australian children and 20% of

Indigenous Australian children have experienced parental incarceration.

(Children, un-intended victims of legal process)

• Approximately 38,000 children have a parent in prison [Quilty 2005]

• “ Incarceration of a parent significantly increases the likelihood of future incarceration of a child”

(FaCS 2003:5)

Grief – major impact

Name the grief : loss of what was and what was expected to be

Disenfranchised grief

My daughter was in such as awful state, self-harming. She was struggling with the usual psychologist…but was so happy to get a worker who understood the system.

Compound grief

We realised that there were a lot of problems at school, he was really struggling and getting picked on a lot. I could see that he’s not just being a brat: there’s other issues involved.

Complicated grief

So how does VACRO work with the forgotten /unintended victims?

Emotional Cycle for Women, Men, and Families in CJS

Aboriginal Family Visits Program

Video Visits Program

Family Support Worker - Marngoneet Prison

VACRO Information & Referral WorkerSKY Counselling & Community Consultation

Family Links Geelong Magistrates Court

Family Information & Referral WorkerMelbourne Assessment Prison

Child Care & Transport Subsidies Program

VACRO Women’s Mentoring ProgramLink Out

Arrest

Pre release

Incarceration

Sentencing

Pre-trial Period

Post release celebration

Reality

Emotional Cycle for Women, Men, and Families in CJS

Aboriginal Family Visits Program

Video Visits Program

Family Support Worker - Marngoneet Prison

VACRO Information & Referral WorkerSKY Counselling & Community Consultation

Family Links Geelong Magistrates Court

Family Information & Referral WorkerMelbourne Assessment Prison

Child Care & Transport Subsidies Program

VACRO Women’s Mentoring ProgramLink Out

Arrest

Pre release

Incarceration

Sentencing

Pre-trial Period

Post release celebration

Reality

Family Information & Referral WorkerMelbourne Assessment Prison

Family LinksGeelong Magistrates Court

Aboriginal Family Visits ProgramVideo Visits ProgramFamily Support Worker: Marngoneet

VACRO Women’s Mentoring ProgramMen’s Transitional Services

Child Care & Transport Subsidies Program

VACRO Information & Referral WorkerSKY Counselling & Community Consultation

Support for Children (& their families)

The SKY (Supporting Kids & Youth) Counsellor

- Social work / family therapy

- Lets the client define “family” (cultural awareness)

- Throughput

- Early intervention (from time of arrest, prioritising the

younger children)

- State-wide, outpost model.

- Flexible number of sessions

SKY Counselling

•Child-centred family therapy

•Lets the client define “family” (cultural awareness)

•Early intervention (from time of arrest, prioritising

the younger children)

Examples of SKY Clients

• Multiple traumas

• Partners, parents, siblings of adult offenders… fearful of

the impact the situation may have on their children’s

future

• Divided loyalties between carer and mum.

• Reforming relationships and rebuilding trust (post

release)

Techniques & Therapeutic Frameworks

• Single session or Ongoing

• Family systems frameworks (structural, narrative, contextual)

• Grief & loss

• Trauma frameworks

• Creative arts

• Relaxation techniques

• Play

Examples of SKY Clients

The Closet in my Head

Client is 13 year old girl residing in foster care after both parents were incarcerated.

SKY Community Consultation

Provides training sessions for community, schools. • Knowledge of the adult criminal justice system• Understanding the impact of the system on children

and families• Strategies• Awareness of the resources available.

SKY Community Consultation

Community Consultation

Family-inclusive Practice

VACRO Children’s Officer• Develops & maintains VACRO’s Children’s Policies & Procedures• Consultation for all teams, including our Men’s services• Training for all staff on working from a Family Inclusive persepctive

Victorian Charter of Human Rights & Responsibilities Act, 2006

Shared Clients within VACRO

Inclusive working with external agencies ie Odyssey Mirror Families, DHS, schools

Why VACRO Works with Women

• Gender matters significantly in shaping patterns of offending as well as the criminal justice system’s response to criminal offending

• Gender is also important in examining the differential effects of current policies and practices.

• The need to take into account the reality of women’s lives, characteristics, responsibilities, and roles in crime.

What works for womenfrom Women’s case Management Guide

March 2010

A study of women after prison found that effective services were characterised by:

• A holistic approach• Accessibility• Non-judgemental• Workers being reliable• Having a sense of humour• Believing the woman can change• A focus on the woman’s strengths

VACRO Women’s Mentoring Program (VWMP)

• Eleven year history, currently funded until June 2014.

• Assists women to integrate into the community through the provision of support by voluntary female mentors from the community.

• The program supports women exiting the

prison system AND those on community

corrections orders.

Social Isolation

Mentoring and Social Capital

• Human capital Thinking style, motivation to change

• Social capital The web of social relations within which we all live- relationships with family, informal social networks, relationships established through work, etc.

• Human capital + Social capital = Desistance from crime

VWMP: Desistance model

1. Human Capital

VWMP: Desistance model

2. Social disadvantage

VWMP: Desistance model

3. Social Capital

Social Isolation

The Volunteer Mentor and the participant

spend time:-going for walks

-shopping together to get used to large

crowds-attending classes

together to make new friends

-helping develop goals

This helps to break the cycle of

isolation and increase the participant’s:

self esteem & confidence...

and leads to more productive participation in the community.

Eligibility- Who is VACRO Women’s Mentoring Program for?

‘…she gave me the confidence; she made me believe in me’

• Participation is voluntary, not mandated.

• Women exiting prison (up to three months prior) or on community correctional orders.

• Mothers, daughters, sisters, neighbours, partners.

• “Low” to “moderate” risk of re-offending.

• Gender-specific (women only).

• Average age of current program participants is 39.

• Indigenous women, women from CALD backgrounds.

• Women with histories of mental health issues, homelessness, family violence, addiction.

• Women with physical and intellectual disabilities, women with acquired brain injuries.

Volunteer mentors

Relationships with volunteers have a degree of legitimacy which is difficult to replicate in normal worker-client relationships.

Training:• Working with indigenous and

CALD women• Transitional issues for women• Addictive behaviour• Mental health• Correctional context• Children and families• Boundaries

The mentoring relationship

Relationships – the key

Vignettes......

Tara had heard the teachers at school whispering to each other about her mum.

When Grandpa wasn’t looking, Tara read the newspaper and read in detail what Michelle had done.

Tara didn’t want to tell anyone.

VACRO supported:•Tara•Granparents•Teachers•Mum [mentor]

Transitional Resources

Research & Resources:The Transition Toolkit (2013)

• For families who are soon to be reunited with a family member being released from prison.

• Also for professional workers to provide relevant support and guidance for these families.

• Designed to help begin conversations – sometimes about matters that are hard to talk about – and help work toward solutions for every member of the family.

Research & Resources:Getting Started

• Transitional Resource for Prisoners

• A guide for people being released from prison. It is based on VACRO’s Getting Out book and covers the practical and social needs during transition from prison to the community

• 10x booklets & 5x Information Sheets

New Beginnings, Stronger Communities

Research and resources

Supporting Women, Families

and Children

Community Education

Resilient Individuals and families

Safer Communities

www.vacro.org.au

Violet Lotter

Women’s, Children’s, Families Team Manager

9605 1969 / 0417 105 594

vlotter@vacro.org.au

Gen Anderson

Women’s Support Services Coordinator

9605 1961 / 0419 379 120

ganderson@vacro.org.au

www.vacro.org.au