Introduction to Kainos 2012

Introduction

Kainos is a charitable organisation whose overall aim focuses around the reduction of re-offending, which it strives to achieve through the provision of two programmes; Challenge to Change (C2C) for offenders whilst in custody and Kainos in the Community (KinC) upon release. Both of these programmes encourage and support individuals in addressing their offending, associated distorted thinking and anti-social behavior, promoting and facilitating the transformation to a more purposeful, pro-social life, both inside prison and after release into the community.

The belief of the founders of Kainos, (encompassed in the name) is that, given the right circumstances, surroundings and time, there is possibility for any offender to change; experience over the last thirteen years has proved that this can happen. Based on this conviction and the evidence of success, the Vision and Mission of Kainos reflect the determination and ambition of the organisation and its people.

Vision

“Kainos is determined to stop re-offending through changed lives”

Mission

Inspired by Christian values of social concern, Kainos seeks to expand the use of our rehabilitation programme for persistent offenders throughout the UK. We aim to reduce re-offending and enable people to live purposeful lives whilst inside prison and after release into the community.

Values

The following values underpin the ethos of Kainos

Individual Worth – each person is individually valued be they offender, staff, volunteer, colleague or peer.

Partnership – as a professional agency, Kainos works cooperatively with NOMS and its Chaplaincies, as well as with other agencies such as private providers and other charities. We deliver programmes that complement services delivered by other providers.

Willingness to learn – a commitment to ongoing development learning from our own experience, sector best-practice and the views of those referred to our programmes. We continually evaluate and externally validate our effectiveness at reducing re-offending through accreditation and research.

Supportiveness – all staff and volunteers are supported by good management practice and effective training. We encourage creativity and listen with respect to the needs and opinions of all those who work for us.

Inclusivity – the programmes welcome all offenders who fit the selection criteria and will respect the practices of the Community, regardless of their personal beliefs or background.

Integrity – behave in a fair, honest and ethical manner. All our material and research will be published.

Accountability – each person takes responsibility for his / her actions.

Historical Information

The origins of Kainos and C2C go back to 1996, when as a result of an inspectorate report recommending that D wing of HMP The Verne should be shut down, the Principal Officer in charge at that time suggested introducing a programme, based on Christian principles, which was being delivered at the time in a Brazilian prison. This programme was achieving dramatic changes in prisoner behaviour and outlook with sufficient evidence to support its efficacy. The Governor agreed to the implementation of a similar programme on D wing and in April 1997 a charitable trust was established to carry out this programme, and the community became operational. The aim of the programme was to; help as many prisoners as possible to develop healthy relationships through the combination of community living and the basic Christian value of loving one’s neighbour as one’s self.

The programme very quickly had a dramatic effect on the behaviour on the wing, and the number of adjudications for ill discipline and infringement of prison rules dropped from 179 per annum to 27 per annum within two years. The results were so remarkable that three other prisons were soon interested in opening programmes. Unfortunately, the management structure of the charitable trust proved inadequate and it was dissolved in 1999. However, there remained significant interest in the success of the programme itself and so a new board of trustees set up Kainos Community as a registered charity and took over the existing programme.

The programme continued to develop as specific needs of offenders became apparent with additional elements being developed addressing areas like anger management and moral reasoning. The programme went from strength to strength and continued to have a positive impact on offenders thinking and behaviour.

In 2003, the Prison Service implemented PSO 4350 ‘Effective Interventions’ to establish an internal Prison Service validation system for regime interventions which were not validated by an appropriate external body. Kainos Community were instructed to standardise and revise its programme and manuals to fit the PSO criteria. The necessary revisions were made and in 2004 the programme was validated with a recommendation from the area panel to apply for full CSAP accreditation.

Kainos Community acted upon this recommendation and from 2005 to 2009, when C2C became fully CSAP accredited, there were numerous manual revisions, programme adjustments and modifications. Some very valuable progress was made in defining programme specifics, what was effective and what was not, with the programme eventually developing into a full time CBT / Therapeutic based community intervention.

Structure

The current structure of Kainos is such that the overall management of the Charity is delegated to the Chief Executive Officer by the Trustee Board. With a compliment of seventeen staff the organisation is relatively small with the majority of staff based in one of three prisons, which geographically are quite far apart. The chart below indicates the structure at present:

Within each prison Kainos staff work closely with a range of professionals in order to ensure full integration within the prison regime and to facilitate delivery of the Challenge to Change programme. During their working day Kainos staff adhere to Prison Service Policies and Procedures whilst ensuring they uphold the Christian principles of the organisation to provide a fair and inclusive provision for all irrespective of faith traditions.

The Programmes

The Challenge to Change (C2C) programmes is quite unique; it uses cognitive-behavioural methods delivered within a group setting to facilitate learning of pro-social thinking and behaviour, which are then put into practice and further developed, within the safe confines of a Therapeutic Community (TC).

Delivered on a dedicated wing or unit, C2C promotes underlying principles from both democratic and hierarchical TC models. This combination model has been adopted because the hierarchical nature of prisons present realistic limitations as to the extent to which true democratic approaches can be employed within a custodial setting. Therefore C2C provides a balance of principles that promote:

Participants to challenge and change their own value systems and to take greater responsibilities in the community as their behaviour becomes more pro-social;

a clear structure and hierarchical framework within the community, whilst democratic processes are encouraged within spur and community meetings; participants have the freedom to voice their views of the behaviour of others in a respectful and supportive manner;
positive change without punitive confrontation, but equally encourages honest and respectful peer feedback regarding the personal consequences of anti-social behaviour within the community;

reality testing within the boundaries of TC rules by which residents are expected to abide, with sanctions in place for repeated transgressions of those rules.

In summary C2C can be best defined as a structured programme of learning and activity set inside a residential therapeutic unit aimed at providing social learning opportunities to practice and reflect upon skills taught.

C2C consists of five modules each providing a number of structured sessions essential to the desired learning outcome specific to that module:

Induction – The purpose of this module is to introduce the participants to the idea of starting to live within a therapeutic community, to provide a brief overview of the expectations and history of the programme, and to start to introduce the participant to key skills that will help them feel and act as part of the community.

Community living – Introduces the participants to key learning processes within the TC, as well as to enhance group cohesion and reduce treatment interfering factors. Participants are encouraged to realise that a key component of change, is the community itself, which is a therapeutic ‘tool’. By attending the structured group sessions participants will have the opportunity to learn new ways of thinking and behaving and be introduction to the necessary skills that will enable them to take an active role within the community.

Focus – encourages the participant to examine their values and beliefs and how these affect their behaviour, and to understand how behaviour is regulated according to their beliefs. This gives a starting point for each participant to look at where they came from and to decide where they are going. This is also the opportunity to develop an understanding of how thinking and ‘self talk’ keeps either negative or positive behaviour going. It encourages and supports participants to learn how to develop the confidence to think forward effectively, rather than think back negatively, increasing the motivation to change.

Inter-personal relationships – identifies elements that directly relate to the participant’s relationships with others both inside and outside of prison. There is an emphasis upon communication skills, requiring participants to consider and understand the importance of negotiation and how to successfully resolve conflict through empathy and mediation. Victim awareness is also addressed within this module where participants consider the victims perspective, looking at the effects of crime generally and the specific crime committed by the offender.

Citizenship – centres on consolidation of learning and putting this into practice in the transition from C2C to the wider prison, and on release back to the offenders’ family and community. Participants attend structured sessions that help them to explore what their needs are upon release and start to plan how these will be met. Whilst staff and mentors are available for advice and guidance participants take responsibility for their own pre-release plans and are encouraged to liaise with the appropriate departments in the prison and services or agencies out in the community.

During this module those participants who are nearing the end of their sentence in custody are assigned a mentor; a trained Kainos in the Community (KinC) volunteer who makes contact at the earliest opportunity, either through the prison visits system, an arranged phone call or letter. The volunteer will guide and support the offender in the transition from prison to the community helping them to fulfil their ambitions and reduce the risk of re-offending.

On release volunteers meet ex-offenders at the gate and help with early resettlement stages in the first days after release. Weekly mentor meetings follow for up to two years assisting with housing, work/volunteering placements, reconnecting with family, or starting new relationships and rebuilding a positive life. Collaboratively with the participant the mentor will liaise with Offender Managers and all other relevant providers of similar or overlapping services.

The Kainos in the Community (KinC) programme has been running for two years now in the East Midlands. It has received the ‘Approved Provider Standard’ by the National Mentoring and Befriending Scheme and been included in the official online directory of mentoring providers, helping to raise its profile both locally and nationally. To date 54 men have benefited from the project at a rate of 23-30 ex-offenders per year.

Excellent relationships and partnership working have been developed and maintained with local probation services and third sector organisations, NACRO for example to deliver short-term accommodation. A once dilapidated terraced house (owned by NACRO) was re-decorated as a project by two Kainos graduates in 2010 and was then used to house up to three ex-offenders at a time.

KinC have also developed a partnership with the St Ann’s Advice Centre, Nottingham based charity with over seven years experience in providing specialist debt counseling and finance advice to ex-offenders, prison leavers and their families. They receive direct referrals from the various agencies within the Criminal Justice System including Probation, HMP’s and the courts. They have run projects at HMP Whatton and Lowdham Grange and currently provide 1-1 finance/debt/family advice at HMP Ranby.

KinC does not replicate services already being provided but fills a gap by giving assistance over a longer period of time and tailored to individual needs. It reflects a truer picture of how resettlement works in practice as ex-offenders needs do change and overlap at different times. In this way the programme is able to meet the multiple needs of offenders establishing a new life in the community.