Anawim Women Working Together

Anawim – Women Working Together

Job description

Job Title: Female Caseworker Prison & Outreach Team

 Section S7(2)(c&d) of the Sex Discrimination Act applies.

• This post is exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
• Fixed term for 3 years

Location:Anawim Project

Grade: SCP 21-25

Salary:£20,109 - £22,599

Hours:37 Hours per week

Responsible to:Outreach & Prison Service Manager

Job Purpose:

Provide effective support to women who are vulnerable due to their involvement in crime, prostitution, or as survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, drug & alcohol issues and mental health distress. Having due regard for confidentiality and Data Protection legislation.

Outcomes:

Each year the team will enable

• 100 women to improve their ability to make positive choices, lead healthier lives, reduce their offending, develop a stable and safe home environment and relationships and achieve economic stability through the provision of individual needs assessments and personalised support plans.
• 40 will reduce their substance misuse, improve their money management and avoid homelessness.
• 18 women over the 3 years will be re-united with their children, taken off safeguarding plans, offered supervised contact, have improved school attendance & punctuality. 9 women will move into suitable properties with their children as part of the Re-Unite project.
• 63 women will increase their employability skills and education levels, taking up opportunities to volunteer or become mentors.
• 110 women will improve relationships with family and integrate better into the community.
• 40 street sex workers a year will increase their knowledge of keeping safe by accessing our service and become aware of steps to take to exit if they wish to.

Key Tasks:

1 Work with the existing team in the ‘one stop shop’ women’s centre to provide support to the women who attend who have multiple and complex needs.

2 Build up a caseload of around 30 clients, who come through general referral, street outreach and prison in-reach, or are residents of Dawn House, to whom you would offer support and help to involve in all the activities and courses on offer at the centre.

3 Identify the individual needs of women by undertaking an initial assessment using the outcome star tool, developing an individual support plan, referring anyone requiring specialist help to the appropriate agency e.g. housing, courts, solicitors, benefit agencies, drug projects, social services etc.

4 Offering this support will involve attending court, case conferences, writing reports, accompanying to appointments and visiting in prison.

5 Provide support to women involved in prostitution, are using illicit drugs and/ or who exhibit offending behaviour, experience domestic abuse and have multi agency involvement in their lives such as safeguarding.

6 Participate in Outreach work undertaken by the project to female sex workers, including night street outreach at least one late night a month and day outreach to hostels and B&Bs.

7 Offer crisis intervention as required to any clients presenting to the team, covering for each other as needed.

8 Provide intensive ‘through the gate’ support to women upon release from prison, this will sometimes require support at weekends and evenings alongside the Dawn House residential team.

9 Participate in prison in-reach to those prisons accommodating women from Birmingham, Foston Hall, Drake Hall & occasionally Eastwood Park & Peterborough alongside other projects regionally, working collaboratively with SMT and Resettlement workers. Minimum one day a week.

10 Work with the team in exploring creative ways to develop individual and group programmes for the women who use the project and support and encourage their involvement, thereby extending the service.

11 Work as a member of the existing team according to the values and vision of the project.

12 Work closely with the woman’s referrer and other agencies involved in the co-ordination of her care, reporting regularly and attending multi agency case management meetings.

13 Support, advise and signpost on practical matters such as money management, benefits, homelessness, drug treatments, parenting, children’s exclusion from school, health care, training, education and employment opportunities.

14 Maintain accurate case files, record outcomes, monitor referrals, interventions and prepare reports for management board and funders as required.

15 Demonstrate an awareness of the principles of equal opportunities and be committed to their implementation.

16 Follow the Society’s policies and procedures and comply with all relevant legislation, in particular the Health and Safety at work act.

17 Participate in meetings and training as appropriate to the work.

18 Undertake additional duties within the overall running of the Anawim project as may be identified in consultation with the Service Manager and team.

Additional Tasks:

It is in the nature of our mission that tasks and responsibilities are in many circumstances unpredictable and varied. All workers are therefore expected to be flexible so that when the occasion arises, tasks that are not specifically covered in their job description are undertaken. These additional tasks will normally be to cover unforeseen circumstances and should be compatible with the regular work of Anawim. If the additional responsibility becomes regular, it will be included in the job description in consultation with the employee.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Job Title:Female Caseworker Prison & Outreach Team

Location:Anawim

Factor

Knowledge and Experience

Other

Method of Assessment: A = Application Form D = Documentation I = Interview

T = Test/Exercise P = Presentation R = Reference

P1122 Female Support Worker Prison & Outreach March 2017