Improving Offenders Access to Accommodation

1
Improving Offenders Access to Accommodation

• Sandra Sutton
• Partnerships Project Manager
• Warwickshire Probation Area
• Jane Grant
• Strategic Housing Manager
• Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council

2
Barriers to accessing accommodation

• Obstacles faced by offenders
• Perceptions and Stereotype
• Lack of ID
• Lack of housing in general
• Barring by some LAs from housing register
• Data Protection and information sharing e.g. risk
  assessment information and agency protocols

3
What is currently working

• CARS single point of contact for offenders in
  Warwickshire
• Offender Forum in Nuneaton and Bedworth
• Supporting People services specifically for
  Offenders
• Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements
  (MAPPA)

4
Continued...

• Partnership working
• Warwickshire Housing Drug Support Scheme
• Public Service Agreement (PAS16)
• Warwickshire Probation Learning Partnership
• Supporting Prolific and Priority Offenders
• MARAC

5
Developments

• PSA 16 Partnership working to get best results
• CDRP Probation statutory role from 2010
• Services for women
• Probation Commissioning to support West Midlands
  Regional Prisons and Probation
• Working with local Housing Strategy Managers
• Move On Protocol in Warwickshire
• Directory of Accommodation Support Services for
  Women in the region.

6
Further Developments

• Supporting People Strategic Review of Offender
  Accommodation along side Substance Misuse.
• Common housing referral form across the region.
• Floating Support
• Accommodation based support
• Training for Housing options staff
• MAPPA training

7
Future Developments

• South West Region Single Gateway initiative.
  Meeting the safer communities agenda.
• Housing division disclosure policies closer
  working arrangements between Probation and Local
  Authority.

8
Workshop Discussion

• Challenges
• Initiatives and best practice
• The wider picture