UpFamilies - online resources to support prisoners’ families

Despite the significant developments made in the Criminal Justice System field (CJS), namely investing in offenders' social reintegration programmes during detention or community measures, little attention has been paid to prisoners' families and their needs during the re-entry process. The incarceration experience represents economic, social and psychological impacts for the families of the prisoners. The prisoners’ families are among the most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations in society, experiencing multidimensional and intersectional forms of inequality (Western and Pettit, 2010). Given that, many of the consequences on prisoners’ families can be alleviated by some moderators. Two of these moderators are the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), i.e., the support from civil society and the welfare policies and social services (Condry & Smith, 2018). These NGOs, enterprises and social services have a diverse range of goods and services that are provided to families that are crucial for the family support and wellbeing. The problem is that most of the time CJS' families lack awareness on where and how to look for the right support, they need new ways to find and connect with this support.

UpFamilies aimed to provide prisoners’ families with a compendium of services available to support them with imprisonment impacts, accessible via a mobile app. It also sought to raise awareness about building the capacity of organizations working with these families to improve their preparedness. The main focus was to strengthen community organizations’ roles in the social inclusion of these families and prisoners upon release. To achieve this, several objectives were set: Ob1-to develop a roadmap on existing services; Ob2-to launch a mobile app validated through 5 pilots with 100 families; Ob3-to increase app usage, targeting 100 downloads; Ob4-to create a network of institutions/professionals supporting prisoners’ families; Ob5-to promote good practices in service provision via 5 stakeholder consultations with 30 CJS professionals; Ob6-to improve services through 5 pilots with 40 CBOs; Ob7-to create society awareness of CJS families’ needs, providing a training manual to mobilize community capacity for informal support and assistance.

During the life of the project, the partners have implemented the activities that were planned, achieving the expected results. Regarding PR1, it was developed 1 Roadmap on existing programs/services that better meet the needs of prisoners’ families, with a total of 100 organizations involved (12 Romania+30 Spain+37 Portugal+9 Germany+12 Greece). To achieve this PR, it was necessary to carry out other prior activities: 1 PR1 Action plan (a project result strategic implementation); 1 Mapping & Assessment Process; 1 Survey; 1 Resource guide framework to conduct the mapping; 1 Mapping Report on existing programs/services that better meet the needs of prisoners’ families. Another milestone achieved within the framework of the PR1 was the creation of UpFamilies network of institutions/professionals to support prisoners’ families. This network is composed of 5 national networks (UpFamilies Network) of institutions/professionals to support prisoners’ families with 54 Local partnerships agreements (16 Spain+5 Greece+9 Romania+14 Portugal+10 Germany). In addition, an activity to strengthen the network was carried out: 1 International event on good practices of UpFamilies Network’s members (recording available on Youtube and on the project website). Regarding PR2, 1 UpFamilies APP in 6 different languages (ENG; SP; RO; PT; GR; GE), with 1480 downloads as Oct. 22th. To achieve this result, it was necessary to carry out previous activities: developed a PR2 Action plan, create an initial scenario, elaborate an user journey map and design a style guide, and a App architecture and blueprint for developers. Partners also created an App Manual. The app was piloted in the five participating countries with the main users of the application: 89 family members and 42 professionals/volunteers. Each partner prepared a report on the pilot that was unified in the Report on the APP’ piloting experience (ENG). Regarding PR3, partners developed 1 Training Course “Helping organizations build a better future for families affected by imprisonment” in 6 languages (ENG; SP; RO; PT; GR; GE). To achieve this result, it was necessary to carry out previous activities. It started making 1 Action Plan and then 1 Action Research to collect Good Practices from Partner Countries in a publication. In addition, 5 Stakeholders consultations actions were held, one per participating country, reaching 33 stakeholders, 11 family members and 22 professionals. Once the course contents are completed, they were piloted in all participating countries (SP/ RO/ GR/ PT/ GE), which in practice meant 5 training (pilots) that reached 40 CBOs trained. Each partner prepared a report on the training pilot (5 pilot reports), which was finally combined into one report. The final outcome of this PR3 was the creation of 1 Training manual “Helping organizations build a better future for families affected by imprisonment” in 6 languages (ENG; SP; RO; PT; GR; GE), based on all the work done within the framework of this PR. Other relevant activities were the realization of a Learning/Teaching/Training Activities: 1 Short-term Joint Staff Training Event with 25 participants, that was planned to occur once the training course content was finalized and before piloting the training to equipping professionals with the skills necessary to organize training courses for Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and enhancing their capacity to provide informal support to prisoners' families. A great effort has also been made to disseminate all the activities and results of the project, as well as to contribute to achieving the project's results, mainly in: 1 Project Communication and Dissemination Plan, 1 logo and visual identity of the project, 1 project website, 1 project presentation in 6 languages (ENG + SP; RO; PT; GR; GE); 7 Multiplier Events with 331 participants in total (although a lesser quantity claimed for budget purposes). To ensure the quality of the results, evaluation activities have been carried out, reflected in the following tangible indicators: 1 Project Quality and evaluation Plan; 11 survey conducted via the EUSurvey platform to evaluate main project events (3 TPM, 1 STJSTE, 7ME); 1 survey to evaluate project management and implementation, communication and dissemination, partners’ role, and risks and mitigation strategies. The results of this evaluation process have been compiled in two documents: 1 STJSTE Quality and Evaluation report, and 1 Quality and Evaluation Final Report. Carrying out all these activities and results has required a great effort in project management and coordination between all partners, as reflected in the following tangible indicators: 6 bilateral agreements, 1 project' Gantt chart; 1 Project Management and Implementation plan; 3 TPMs with 39 professionals total (14+12+13) with their respective agendas, minutes, signature sheets and certificates of attendance; and 30 monthly online meetings with their respective minutes, in addition to bilateral meeting when was necessary.

These are the outputs that we have published on EPALE and on the project website: 1 Roadmap on existing programs/services that better meet the needs of families with incarcerated members (ENG + SP; RO; PT; GR; GE) 1 UpFamilies Network (5 national networks) of organisations and professionals committed to the support of families affected by imprisonment 1 Mapping Report on existing programs/services that better meet the needs of families with incarcerated members 1 APP “UpFamilies” (available in ENG; SP; RO; PT; GR; GE) 1 Training Course “Helping organizations build a better future for families affected by imprisonment” in 6 languages (ENG + RO; PT; GR; GE; SP) 1 Training Manual “Helping organizations build a better future for families affected by imprisonment” in 6 languages (ENG + RO; PT; GR; GE; SP) 1 Website Other results are: 1 Good Practices Collection, published on the project website. 1 Short Term Joint Staff Training Event 3 Transnational Project Meetings 7 Multiplier events