NOMS regions
Children and Families of Offenders Pathway Group
The Wales Children and Families of Offenders Pathway Group is one of nine sub-groups that are taking forward the Joining Together in Wales strategy.
This group has been established to take forward the aims of the Children, and Families of Offenders pathway in Joining Together in Wales (new window), the joint NOMS Wales and Welsh Assembly Government strategy to reduce re-offending, which are:
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To ensure that the provisions of the Children Act 2004, the Learning and Skills Act 2000 and the Directions and Guidance on Extending Entitlement 2000 are understood and put in place, with links being made wherever appropriate across prisons and probation services and local service providers
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To establish systems to ensure that information about a prisoner’s family circumstances is captured systematically at all points from arrest to release, and that, with the prisoner’s informed consent, this information is shared with appropriate parts of the criminal justice system and other partners, as necessary to meet the Keeping in Touch element of the Directions and Guidance on Extending Entitlement support for 11-25 year olds in Wales, (annexes 11 and 12)
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To develop materials to help prisoners’ families and children and young people understand the criminal justice system, and why a member of their family is imprisoned, and use these to improve the experience that children and young people have when visiting prison.
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To improve the quality and quantity of education for prisoners, especially in relation to parent craft and family relationships.
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To establish what constitutes best practice in work with children, young people and families of prisoners and convey this to prison staff and advice staff.
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In the longer term, work to locate prisoners closer to their home, including making provision for Welsh women prisoners to be located in Wales.
