On this page you can find further information and resources about prisoners and their families. Click below to navigate to the different sections.
1. Support organisations for prisoners and their families
2. Training and consultancy in supporting the families of prisoners
3. Policy reports and frameworks
4. General resources
Support organisations for prisoners and their families
Below are descriptions and contact details for a range of organisations that provide information and assistance to prisoners and their families.
Family Lives
A charity supporting all aspects of family life. Their Action for Prisoners’ and Offenders’ Families programme offers a free helpline and information leaflets or families.
Ormiston Families
A charity that supports children and their families. Their “Unite” programme supports prisoners and their families across the East of England.
Partners of Prisoners (POPS)
A charity set up by offenders’ families for offenders’ families. They offer a wide range of support, including prison visitors centres, supportive keyworkers for family members, a women’s centre in Oldham, employability programmes, and a dry bar.
Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT)
A charity providing a wide range of support to prisoners and their families, including a free advice line, support for children, court support, and befriending schemes.
Prison Reform Trust
A charity that works to increase the justice, humanity and effectiveness of prisons. They run a free Advice and Information Service for prisoners and their families.
Training and consultancy in supporting the families of prisoners
Social Care Institute or Excellence (SCIE)
The SCIE are a charity working with adults’, families’ and children's care and support services across the UK. It is funded by the UK Department of Health. They have produced a set of e-learning materials to assist practitioners in developing suitable policies/procedures to address the needs of prisoners' children. Click here to access their e-learning suite.
Hidden Sentence: From Action for Prisoners and Offenders Families
'Hidden Sentence' is a training package for professionals whose work brings them in contact with prisoners’ families, including children’s centre workers, troubled families workers, school staff, play workers, health visitors, and family intervention teams. This course gives a clear overview of the issues facing prisoners’ families and provides a range of strategies and resources to help support them.
NICCO Service: Delivered by Barnardos
NICCO is a knowledge hub for professionals working with children and families of offenders. It includes research, training materials, resources and guidance.
Policy reports and frameworks
Community justice authorities: Scotland.
Framework for the support of families affected by the Criminal Justice System
A framework developed for use by Scottish criminal justice agencies recommending 11 broad outcomes that constitute an ideal minimum standard of support which should be available to families affected by the criminal justice system. It includes recommendations for achieving these outcomes and examples of best practice.
Ministry of Justice: UK
An independent report to the UK Government on a review of the role of families in rehabilitation. It reviews evidence of the impact of family ties and makes recommendations for improvements to policy and practice with female prisoners.
An independent report to the UK Government on a review of the role of families in rehabilitation. It reviews evidence of the impact of family ties and makes recommendations for improvements to policy and practice with male prisoners.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons: UK
Life in prison: Contact with families and friends
A review of findings from adult prison inspections from April 2015 to March 2016 on the experiences of prisoners trying to keep in touch with their families from inside.
Ministry of Justice/Department for Children, Schools and Families: UK
Reducing reoffending: Supporting families, creating better futures
A national framework developed to guide practitioners on the tasks that should form part of the management of offenders throughout their journey through the criminal justice system, in order to support offenders and their families.
Ministry of Justice/Department for Children, Schools and Families: UK
This report examines the needs and outcomes for the children of offenders and makes recommendations for improving practice.
National Offender Management Service/Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: UK
Parenting and relationship support programmes for offenders and their families
A review of the current provision of family based support services; current commissioning practice; the needs of offenders and their families; evidence on outcomes and examples of best practice.
Prison and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales
Learning lessons bulletin issue 5: Maintaining family ties
A selection of case studies demonstrating lessons learnt from complains concerning issues with maintaining family ties in prison.
Prison Reform Trust
Keeping in touch: The case for family support work in prison
A review of the implementation of Family Contact Development Officers (FCDOs) in the Scottish Prison Service. It examines the benefits and difficulties of the scheme, examples of good practice and the experiences of prisoners and their families. Recommendations for further development across the Scottish and UK Prison Services are made.
General resources
Advice to Staff: From the Mother of A Prisoner
A mother of a prisoner approached us with some thoughtful advice for staff supporting prisoners' families. You can read it here.
The experiences of families affected by imprisonmemt: Ormiston Children and Families Trust
Click here for videos showing the experiences of imprisoned families, by Ormiston Families.
Prisoners' Women: A BBC Radio 4 documentary
This radio documentary contains first-hand accounts of the partners and families of prisoners. Click the image to listen.
