MoJ Move the Goal Posts

Email sent on behalf of Dawn Blower:

All

Please see attached regarding the implementation of the Minimum Contact Specification from 1 October.

It is important that all staff read and implement the required changes in accordance with the steps outlined in the document.

Supporting documents are attached:

1. Practice Direction - Minimum Contact Levels with annexes providing guidance on scheduling appointments

2. An updated BRAG guidance. The latest version of frequently asked questions and some handy reference documents will follow.

Thanks

Helen Bigley
Executive Assistant and Volunteering & Mentoring Co-ordinator Wales CRC (Bridgend)

Minimum Contact Specification and Implementation

Following a contract variation from the Ministry of Justice, as from 1 October, all Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) are required to ensure that there is a minimum monthly face-to-face contact between case managers (or a designated case manager named in the sentence plan) and service users in most CRC cases.

Following HMIP inspections, the Ministry of Justice are keen to ensure regular face-to-face contact between case managers and service users, to enable the strengthening of positive working relationships that support the path to desistance.

Whilst the requirement is for a minimum monthly face-to-face contact, the contact frequencies to match the BRAG status still apply. We are in the process of agreeing some variations to these with the contract management teams and will provide an update as soon as these are confirmed. We will also be updating the workload indicator to reflect the additional contact frequency.

Attached to this email you will find a Practice Direction that fully explains the requirements and associated documents. Below we explain the way in which we will implement the specification and the timetable:

1. Immediate Actions required in Red, Red/Amber, Amber and Green front office cases are as follows:

All case manager contacts must be recorded using one of the following three codes in nDelius:

COAP - Planned Office Visit (NS)
COAI - Initial Appointment (NS)
CHVS - Home Visit to Case (NS)

For the contact to be counted as a valid case manager contact, the following must happen and be recorded:

• the service user is informed in writing, in advance of the appointment location, date and time and appointment slips must be upload to nDelius;
• the appointment is not subsequently cancelled or rearranged by the case manager 
• the case manager or designated case manager is available to see the service user at the time and date specified for at least a 30-minute period of time (i.e. you must allow for up to 30 minutes if required);
• the time available to see the service user for engagement and risk management is distinct from time spent on the delivery of any other activity (for example, RAR intervention or Programme session).
• In the event of non-attendance a further appointment must be offered within 5 business days.

2. All case management will move from the operational hubs to the front office

In order that we can deliver to the requirements of the minimum contact specification and in view of forthcoming changes to Offender Management in custody, we have decided that all case management should take place in the front office rather than through the operational hubs. This is no reflection on the work that is currently being undertaken in the operational hubs but is due to the requirement for us to enable more face-to-face time with service users. Indeed we want to ensure that good practice from the operational hub model is taken forward into the way in which we manage green and custody cases in the front office. There will be no change to the operational hub administrative functions.

This change will take place in five stages:

• From 1 October, cases that will have their initial OASys and Initial Sentence Plan (ISP) undertaken in the front office, either as part of a community sentence or post-release, will remain with the case manager who has undertaken that assessment. These cases should be given a minimum monthly face-to-face appointment with the case manager following the completion of the ISP. This will avoid us commencing an in touch service with service users who we know will subsequently need to move to face-to-face, hence minimising disruption for them and managing expectations.

• This will not apply to Orders that have a single requirement of unpaid work, curfew, exclusion, prohibited activity, residence or any combination of these. These will continue to be allocated to a case manager in the operational hub until further notice. We will amend the case allocation process to reflect this. 

• From 1 October, performance reports will be run against this metric so accurate recording is critical. The specification requires us to achieve the metric in 95% of applicable cases with 85% triggering the improvement process. There is a ramp up period until end December 2018.

• From 1 October, discussions will take place with staff, following HR processes, to explore how we can make sure that we have case managers in the offices to undertake the face-to-face work with the service users in scope for the specification and who have previously been having telephone contact. These service users will be reporting to their local offices or community hubs and we will therefore need some case managers who have been located in operational hubs to move to other locations. We will also be looking at how best to use the skills and expertise of the team managers currently located in the operational hubs. The service delivery managers are working closely with LDU heads in order that we can avoid as much change as possible for both staff and service users. 

• From 1 November and on an office by office basis, all other cases will be allocated to the front office. The roll-out timetable will depend upon how quickly we are able to reorganise our case manager resource to cover the cases currently held in the operational hub back in the locations closest to their home addresses.

• The single requirement cases that are out of scope for the specification, such as unpaid work, can continue to be managed through telephone contact where appropriate to manage the risks. We are exploring the potential to have dedicated case managers within the front office to work with this cohort and therefore closely with Community Payback staff delivering the requirement. This will form part of the discussions with the operational hub case managers during October, as will any training needs for the specification in general.

There is an Implementation Group overseeing this project, with myself as the senior responsible officer and Terry Reddington, change manager for the operational hubs, working closely with his colleague service delivery managers and LDU heads. Liz Humphreys is the project co-ordinator. Please direct any queries to your line manager in the first instance.

We recognise that this requires a change to our operating model and we are committed to managing that change carefully and through discussion with staff. Our aim is to ensure that the greater frequency of contact with service users increases the likelihood of successful completions and outcomes.

Liz Watkins
September 2018