Full List of Evaluations
Family Man Impact Study
July 2011, Boswell
This study aimed to assess the revised Family Man programme’s longer-term impact by conducting questionaires and interviews with Gradautes from seven establishments in England and Wales and their Supporters. Questionnaires were returned from 54 men who graduated between 2008 and 2010 as well as from 50 Supporters. A further 48 in-depth interviews were conducted with Graduates and Supporters both in custody and the community.
Common Ground Evaluation
June 2011, Conroy
Safe Ground’s Common Ground was a nine month community project that brought young people, older adults, prisoners and young offenders into a creative dialogue with each other. Using drama, percussion and storytelling, participants were enabled to share their experiences of community considering the project’s key themes of identity, responsibility and cooperation.
All participants were enabled to explore and share experiences of community, and to reflect on the similarities and differences of their experiences. In doing so, barriers between the groups were broken down, with perceptions and preconceptions subsequently changing. In addition, all of the groups benefitted from a high-quality arts experience, receiving specialist input from freelance practitioners.
Improving prisoners’ family ties
New Philanthropy Capital
Safe Ground have been involved in an innovative research project with New Philanthropy Capital, the results of which have been published in the Society Guardian, Children and Young People Now, the Charity Times and the Civil Society.
NPC worked with an advisory group of experts in the field and six charities: Action for Prisoners’ Families, Kids VIP, pact, POPS, Safe Ground and Storybook Dads. The family relationship questionnaire that was trialed by Safe Ground through its Family Man programme at HMP Belmarsh showed that the course “significantly improved the relationship from the perspective of the prisoners’ family members”.
Community Projects Evaluation
MLA, 2010
“The level to which participants embraced and responded positively to each other played an important role in securing the success of the project. Although a live presentation was not a required output, it was perhaps the project’s most successful aspect.
This project acted as the pilot for a larger scale project which Safe Ground is now undertaking, entitled Common Ground. Common Ground would not have been possible without the evidence, knowledge and experience which Creating Community Archives provided.”
Evaluation of effectiveness of Family Support Worker
August 2010, Boswell
Evaluation of the trial Family Support Worker at HMPs Belmarsh, Bristol, Leeds & Wandsworth. Concluded that there is a clear need for this type of role which provides an effective link between the prisoners and their families. The service provided was held to be overwhelmingly positive by the service users and prison service colleagues. The author recommends further development of the role in different types of establishment with the aim of expanding provision across the prison estate.
Evaluation of supporters’ participation in Family Man trials
June 2009, Price
Evaluation of the involvement of supporters in the revised Family Man trials at HMPS Belmarsh, Bristol, Highpoint, Birmingham and Wandsworth. Service Users were positive about each of the activities (supporters’ session, What Next Day, Family Action Plan & presentation) and felt they were helpful, supportive and provided an opportunity to share with those in similar situations. Supporters also fed back that their students had greater awareness of their behaviour and commitment to family.
The purpose of this evaulation was to examine the developments Safe Ground had made to one it’s prisoner interventions, Family Man and the Safe Ground network during the period 2007-08 following recommendations made in previous reviews. It utilised semi structured qualitative face to face interviews, telephone interviews and questionnaires with participants, family members and supporters, Safe Ground staff and experts regarding their qualitative experiences of the Family Man and the Network. In addition, recidivism rates of 211 men who took part in the project were also reviewed. The authors found that there were clearly set objectives in both programmes, that prisones experiences of both programmes were positive and that (with some caveats) participation in Family Man does lower the chances of participants recieving prisoner adjudications by 10% and reveals promising information regarding the chances of reoffending after leaving prison.
Family Man Theory Manual
January 2009, McGuire
A study of the revised Family Man programme which “connects the objectives of the programme with materials and exercises used in its sessions via an identified set of psychological change mechanisms”. The author identifies three mechanisms present in the programme:
- Educational (cognitive change activated by structured learning exercises)
- Personal development (drama based, interactive learning that promote insight and re-evaluation of beliefs)
- Interactive (interpersonal dynamics which promote engagement)
In addition, the type of activates used and the way in which they are delivered (large groups, drama based etc.) integrate the above mechanisms in a “synergetic” manner so each activity reinforces each other.
FM/FI and Skills for Life
2005, Oakley commissioned by OLSU
Evaluates how far the Family Man and Fathers Inside programmes contribute towards the ‘Skills for Life Strategy’. Author finds that both programmes support the strategy by focusing on speaking, listening and responding skills and also link very closely with national literacy standards.
Evaluation of impact of FI at HMP Ashwell
2004, Boswell, Wedge and Price
A nine month evaluation of Fathers Inside at HMP Ashwell that includes a range of data from programme documents, comparative literature and research, direct observation of the programme, and from semi-structured interviews with participant prisoners, their partners, child-carers and children. It concludes that Fathers Inside brings about changes in parenting attitudes and behaviour from the prison setting and beyond, and acts as the first rung on the ladder for a prisoner to address his offending behaviour.
Evaluation of FM/FI
2002, Halsey, Ashworth, Harland, NFER
Evaluation of the development and trial of Family Man and Fathers Inside after they were commissioned by the Prison Service. Highly positive about the high level of prisoner engagement in the creation of the course content and materials, making programmes more “credible, realistic and easier to relate to”. Overall student feedback was good, highlighting an increase in confidence, understanding and personal development skills and the author also identified improved behaviour on the wing (small scale study). Recommendations in regards to course content, training and tutor materials were incorporated into the programmes.