Research released earlier this month by the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Community Rehabilitation Company (KSS CRC) has examined how probation staff respond to and engage with the families of service users, and how this is experienced by the families themselves. Comprising as 18-month study involving interviews, focus groups and written data, the Family Involvement Project explored the views and experiences of over 50 members of front-line CRC staff and 15 family members with a loved-one being supervised by KSS CRC. The abridged results to our study follows.
Family involvement promotes ‘partnership’ thinking
Both groups saw tangible benefits when it came to involving family members in a service user’s rehabilitation journey. For staff, families were seen as an extended arm of probation; facilitating communication, ensuring appointments were attended, and reinforcing core probation messages at home. Family members supported this view, with several making reference to the importance of a “partnership” approach. The families felt they could offer a broader, richer understanding of their loved one’s background, including the reasons for their offending. This, it was suggested, enabled more meaningful engagement between probation staff and the service user. Working in tandem with professionals, families argued, could and should be a two-way process./B
