SOCIAL CARE IN PRISONS (SCiP): HOW LOCAL AUTHORITIES ARE RESPONDING TO THEIR NEW RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER THE CARE ACT

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1 SOCIAL CARE IN PRISONS (SCiP): HOW LOCAL AUTHORITIES ARE RESPONDING TO THEIR NEW RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER THE CARE ACT David Challis, Sue Tucker, Claire Hargreaves, Jenny Shaw and Jane Senior The Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) and the Offender Health Research Network

2 WHAT IS THE STUDY ABOUT? How best to meet prisoners social care needs

3 BACKGROUND Level of social care needs in prison is increasing Provision of social care for prisoners is variable Previously unclear who was responsible for meeting these needs

4 THE CARE ACT (2014) Local authorities with prisons within their boundaries must: Identifyand assessprisoners with social care needs Provideappropriate support

5 THE NATIONAL ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA (1) The criteria require that in order for needs to be eligible, they must relate to an impairment or illness, mean a person cannot achieve at least two outcomes in their day-to-day life, and that as a result there is a significant impact on their wellbeing.

6 THE NATIONAL ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA (2) Managing & maintaining nutrition Maintaining personal hygiene Managing toilet needs Being appropriately clothed Making use of the home (prison) safely Maintaining a habitable (cell) Developing & maintaining relationships Using community facilities Carrying out any caring responsibilities Accessing work, training, education or volunteering

7 RESEARCH QUESTIONS (1) What is the nature and extent of prisoners social care needs?

8 RESEARCH QUESTIONS (2) What service inputs are required to meet these needs And what do they cost?

9 RESEARCH QUESTIONS (3) What arrangements have local authorities put in place to meet their duties to offenders under the Care Act?

10 LOCAL AUTHORITY SURVEY: SECTIONS 1. Responsibilities for offenders in prison 2. Responsibilities for prisoners on release 3. The impact of the Care Act

11 LOCAL AUTHORITY SURVEY: RESPONSE RATE 88 responses in total (58%) 48 authorities with prisons (81%) 40 authorities without prisons (43%)

12 IDENTIFYING PRISONERS (1) Just under two-thirds of authorities said they had a process for identifying prisoners with social care needs on prison entry About half said healthcare staff took the lead Over half made reference to prison officers Just 7 mentioned the involvement of social care staff

13 IDENTIFYING PRISONERS (2) 22 respondents made reference to attempts to identify existing prisoners with social care needs Only one authority reported making a systematic attempt to screen all existing prisoners About 40% had a self-referral process

14 ASSESSING PRISONERS Nearly all assessments were undertaken by social work staff OTs and (less commonly) sensory team staff were also involved Staff were typically based outside the prison itself And employed in a variety of generic and specialist roles

15 CARE PROVISION (1) Care plans were formulated in conjunction with prisoners in the same way as in the community Many needs were met solely through the provision of advice and information, or within the prison regime Health care staff commonly provided social care support Some suggestion early arrangements might change

16 CARE PROVISION (2) Currently there have been no assessments that have led to a care and support plan requiring funded support. The assessments to date have mainly led to signposting e.g. to professionals in the prisoner s own home local authority or housing and networking with professionals already known to the prisoner i.e. probation and children services, for younger prisoners. Many social care eligible needs are already met within the prison regime (e.g. managing nutrition, access to prison facilities). To date we have had limited unmet needs for which we have needed to provide services.

17 CARE PROVISION (3) The main focus was on personal care and safety Including the provision of equipment and adaptations There was far less activity around promoting general wellbeing

18 CONTACT DETAILS Comments / questions? Contact details: sue.tucker@manchester.ac.uk