Shaping Commissioned Rehabilitative Services

Tell us about your background

I have worked in various operational roles as a probation officer since 2000 (High Risk, IOM, Court teams, generic team and YOS). This helps me to understand the needs of our probation practitioners and people on probation

What was your role?

I was part of the team that helped design the specifications on which contracts would be based. I also evaluated bids to help select the new service providers.

I also helped to design the Refer and Monitor (R&M) process and tool with a team of subject matter experts, which included staff from a variety of operational roles and Justice Digital and Technology. This helped us design a time-saving system that pulls information from probation systems, pre-populates referral forms and enables CRS staff to feedback directly into R&M so probation practitioners don’t have to chase up appointment outcomes with our new service providers. Working closely with the digital team, the system has been rigorously tested and we have used feedback from staff to develop further – something we will continue to do after 26 June.

Finally, I helped to develop training materials on how to use the system and understand the new processes.

What are the biggest benefits for staff of being able to make referrals to CRS providers

Time is one of the main obstacles for probation practitioners, there is never enough of it. While they are skilled in delivering holistic services for people on probation to address their criminogenic needs, there are agencies who have specialist skills and legislative knowledge, particularly in areas such as accommodation. The practitioner will be able to see what services the provider delivers through their service directory and refer their cases with the knowledge that outcomes have been researched and discussed with staff and internal policy groups as effective outcomes for desistance.

What are the biggest benefits for staff using R&M

R&M will pull information from OASys and nDelius where completed to populate the referral form. This saves time and ensures all information is consistent.

Previously, when making referrals to other agencies, practitioners may have needed to make a series of phone calls to learn who would see their case, what was delivered in each session or how their case responded to the service. This will now be recorded in R&M and pulled through into nDelius.

R&M will ensure probation practitioners know who is allocated to their case for the service delivery. They will receive an Action Plan to approve what services will be delivered to achieve the outcomes they have set. They will also receive post-session feedback, accessed either through R&M or nDelius, which they can swiftly act on to address any problems that may arise. When the service is complete, the practitioner will receive an End of Service report that outlines what has been achieved, along with a suggested move on plan. This allows the practitioner to oversee service delivery by the CRS provider and manage their cases more efficiently.

By working closely together and using the same system, practitioners and CRS providers will develop better working relationships. For people on probation, it will help make the process feel more seamless.

What do you like about the new approach?

It is intuitive and doesn’t take long to get comfortable using it. Pre-populating referral forms will save time and paperwork. At the touch of a button, probation practitioners will know whether their case has attended an appointment and how they engaged and be able to act quickly in instances of failure to attend appointments or concerning behaviour. Knowing who is delivering the service will forge better working relationships and the practitioner can contact them quickly if need be.

Overall, it is retaining that helicopter view of services your person on probation is receiving. Being able to approve the service delivery action plan, and receiving the end of service report with a move on plan ensures that you understand what has taken place from start to finish and have direction of ongoing needs, enabling you to better manage and deliver the sentence of the court. I wish it was available when I was a practitioner!