The REACH Project.

Regional Employ-Ability CHallenge ‘Reaching in, Reaching out and Reaching potential’ Getting out-of-work offenders into employment is known to reduce the risk that they will re-offend in the future. This is a key area of work and LRPT has been awarded the contract for the East Midlands region to deliver the European Social Fund and National Offender Management Service (NOMS) co-financing employability services. Known as the REACH Project - Regional Employ-Ability Challenge - its key target group is higher risk offenders who require an intensive package of learning and training support to improve their chances of finding work. Individuals in this group are often hard to reach for more mainstream employability services. The likely participants will include those who are serving less than twelve months in custody, who are often without support, and who are currently very limited in terms of the throughcare services that are offered as they move from prison into the community. There is a particular focus on engaging groups who face additional barriers to employment including women, Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) offenders, people with learning disabilities and other health needs, single parents, people over 50 and young people - Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET).

The £3.6 million contract runs until December 2011 and the East Midlands project includes the Probation Trusts and Areas of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and Northamptonshire. Additional partners working with the contract’s team are Lincolnshire Action Trust (LAT) which provides services for both community and custody cases. LRPT is also working with Women in Prison and NACRO for services to custody cases outside of Lincolnshire. Also on the team are YWCA, providing support to hard-to-reach women, and Remploy, which offers a job brokerage service.

UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESSES

Case Managers are attached to Probation teams and work closely with the offender and their Offender Manager in overcoming barriers to employment, developing their skills, increasing their employability and helping them to find suitable courses, placements and jobs. There are also Case Managers based in prisons working intensively on bespoke action plans, who then hand over to their counterparts in the community to execute the final stages of the plan. There will also be a team of mentors and peer mentors who are attached to each delivery team and who will provide ongoing support in both the custodial and community settings.