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Evaluating Social Action for Rehabilitation

 

Building on our work on positive psychology and restorative justice, the Restorative Justice for All Institute (RJ4All) carried out a two year evaluation of Khulisa UK's intervention programmes in order to build an evidence base for further practice and solid theoretical development. The work is the result of a successful joint bid with Khulisa to the  Rehabilitation Social Action Fund  funded by the UK Cabinet Office.  Dr. Gavrielides, Co-Director of RJ4All, was the project lead for this programme.

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Publications

The Final Report was launched on Thursday 29th October 2015. To read

• the Executive Summary

• the full report 

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The evaluation project

RJ4All conducted quantiative and qualitative fieldwork with a sample group from two interventions, namely “Silence the Violence” and Milestones. These aim to reduce violence and anti-social behaviour through self-awareness and pro-social behaviour change. To achieve their goal, they utilize the Good Lives Models, which seeks to achieve the rehabilitation of offenders by nurturing their personal strengths and goals. We are testing this model as well as the programmes' effectiveness against the Cabinet Office's fund objectives. The research programme has received approval from the UK Ministry of Justice and in particular the National Research Committee of the National Offender Management Service.

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Silence the Violence Programme

Offenders’ journey towards motivation and empathy development begins with the “Silence the Violence” that aims to

• Motivate participants to address violence and perpetration

• Support them to develop empathy and aspiration

• Allow participants to draw on past experiences and strengthen their motivation to change their lives.

• Identify participants needs within a pro-social framework.

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Milestones

Following the successful completion of “Silence the Violence”, participants move onto the “Milestones Programme”, which is a resettlement plan developed with their volunteer supporter. The volunteer mentor and mentee-offender work together in order to take a solutions – focused approach to planning for release from prison. Mentors are offering guidance and support for a 6-12 month period focusing on positive outcomes such as: Training, Securing employment,Identifying stable accommodation and developing family relationships with ultimate goal to build resilience, enhance desistance and support “ A Good Life”.

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Evaluation Methodology

We applied a quantitative methodology through the collection of data directly from the participants - offenders. These were analysed at two phases, using quantitative methods. At the first phase, statistical analyses were conducted in SPSS, using the entire sample. Univariate analyses included descriptive statistics, such as frequency tables and measures of central tendency and dispersion, depending on the type of the variable under examination. Multivariate analyses included inferential statistics for the association of variables, such as crosstabulations, t-tests and regression analyses, depending on the type of the variables in question.

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A triangulation of these findings was carried out through:

• Qualitative research that was carried out with financial support from Buckinghamshire New University and resources (in-kind and cash) from the Restorative Justice For All institute

• A review of the Ministry of Justice Data lab

• Control Groups that accessed with the support of the Prison National Offender Management Information System (p-NOMIS).

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Ethics and Standards

The RJ4All Institute as an independent evaluator and a research-based organisation ensures that ethical standards including the following are followed:

• RJ4All Research Ethics Handbook

• Data protection Law

• Confidentiality and consent form  where appropriate

• User Engagement policy

• Application to the RJ4all Ethics Panel for approval

• NOMS Approval.

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Testimonials

“Khulisa are delighted to have engaged RJ4All to conduct a longitudinal assessment of our Rehabilitation Social Action Fund project.  This is a high-profile initiative for the UK government and, therefore, a critical piece of delivery for us to get right and evidence our impact.  The team at RJ4All come with great credentials and experience as well as the indirect support and input from a wide range of experts and academics in related fields.  In particular we chose RJ4All because the combine the rigour of standard quantitative analysis with action research methodologies and an embracing of the Good Lives Model.” Simon Fulford, CEO Khulisa

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