Introduction to Kainos 2015

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 Challenge to Change (C2C) which 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 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 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 sixteen staff the organisation is relatively small with the majority of staff based in one of three prisons, which geographically are quite far apart.

Within each prisonKainos staff work closely with a range of professionalsin 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 Programme

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.

Challenge to Change Programme consists of five modules:

Orientation Assessment & Preparation – This is the purpose of this module. When suitable referrals to C2C come onto the unit they are assigned a mentor who is responsible for orientating the new participant to the environment; explaining what the participant can expect when living as part of the C2C community and the rules and regulations in which they are required to live by.

During these early days on the unit the participant will also be assigned a Key-worker who will initially carryout a Comprehensive Holistic Assessment (CHA) identifying problems/deficits that can be addressed by engaging in the programme, a collaborative process with the offender to set initial goals. Assessment continues throughout this module in order to establish if this is the right intervention for the offender at this time and that they have the capacity and motivation to engage effectively.

The preparation element of this module is attending the structured sessions; the purpose of these are to ensure the offender has a good understanding of the programme content and what is expected of them, exploration of their expectations, getting them to look back so they can move forward positively and, if they want to change, provide the basic tools to help achieve their goal.

Community living – This module aims to explore, define and promote the concept of positive community living. The early sessions encourage offenders to describe what they consider to be good healthy supportive communities and what their past experiences have been, exploring: why they have not possibly fitted in; what is their understanding of and attitude towards authority?

Participants during this module 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 have the opportunity to learn new ways of thinking and behaving and be introduced to the necessary social skills that will enable them to take an active role within the community.

Focus –Having explored community living during this module participants are encouraged and supported in becoming become more self-aware; they need 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 confidence to think forward effectively, rather than think back negatively, increasing the motivation to change.

At the end of this module participants are assigned a mentor; a trained volunteer from the vicinity of the community the participant will be release to, who makes contact at the earliest opportunity, either through the prison visits system, an arranged phone call or letter. The volunteer mentor 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.

Inter-personal relationships – Having become more self-aware participants during this module will explore relationships; how they engage and interact with others on a range of levels. Looking at past relationships, good and bad and how they have influenced these and what they need to do to improve relationships in the future.

Participants are encouraged to identify elements that directly relate to relationships with others both inside and outside of prison. There is an emphasis upon developing further 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 – This module prepares participants for the transition from the safe environment of the C2C community to either normal location within the prison or release to the outside community. The aim is for participants to take the learning so far acquired from the programme, identify the next steps required to build on that learning and take responsibility for setting goals to improve their future life and plan how these can be achieved.

The modules main focus is on the seven pathways that will reduce the risk of re-offending. 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.

A significant strength of the programme is that its design allows it to be individually tailored to meet the needs of those who progress through it. Offenders are not a homogeneous group – they are individual, each with particular cognitive, emotional or skills deficits that may affect their own particular path in addressing their offending behaviour. Identifying and restructuring these unique patterns is a key part of the change process within C2C, which can only be undertaken with a structured but flexible approach.

Management of Transition on Release.

Kainos works in partnership with established mentor providers and probation services when matching graduates from C2C to a mentor in the locality into which they will be released. Where there are any identified gaps in provision Kainos will strive to ensure appropriate measures are in place to support the graduate through the gate and post release, tapping into relevant agencies available in providing support for ex-offenders.The Kainos Volunteering and Mentoring Manageris responsible for ensuring this community element of C2C works effectively.