Background and context

The provision of an alcohol service for offenders managed by the 5 SW Probation Areas must contribute to the delivery of the Government’s National Alcohol Strategy as this is being developed and implemented at a local DAAT level and must be consistent with the aims of the National Probation Service alcohol strategy which are to:

• Establish a consistent approach to tackling alcohol-related offending across the Probation Service based upon evidence of best practice
• Complement the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England and the Prison Service Alcohol Strategy to make a coherent NOMS strategy
• Complement the NOMS drugs strategy and the programme of resettlement activity set out in the Reducing Re-offending National Action Plan
• Complement Models of Care for Alcohol Misusers (MOCAM) and related work under the Department of Health’s Programme of Improvement for Alcohol Misuse
• Be consistent with the developing role of the Regional Offender Managers (ROMS) in commissioning on a regional basis

The key elements of the strategy are essentially threefold as follow:

1. Prevention, advice and information
2. Targeting, screening, referral and assessment
3. Treatment

Service description:

The following is an outline description of the service to be provided for offenders managed by the probation service who present with alcohol problems. Those parts in bold type relate to the core elements of the service to be provided by the commissioned partners, referred to hereafter as the Alcohol Service Provider.

Referrals could come from:

• Prisons – via Prison Probation Team, CARATS or Resettlement Units
• Police – on arrest/charge via Custody Suites or based on other Police Intelligence
• Courts – via Court based Probation staff, as part of PSR request
• Probation – at PSR stage or immediately post sentence

Initial Screening & Assessment pre or post sentence or pre-release:

To be undertaken by Offender Managers as part of the completion of OASys and the development of the supervision plan.

Where alcohol misuse is identified as a major criminogenic factor and subject to a reasonable level of motivation having been established, the Offender Manager will then refer the offender for a further full assessment by the Alcohol Service Provider.

Full Assessment:

NB This may occur either following the making of a generic community sentence or immediately pre or post release on licence.

The Assessment will normally be undertaken on Probation Service premises and should include a three-way meeting between the Offender Manager, the Offender and the Alcohol Service Provider.

Prior to an assessment being completed, the Offender Manager will provide the Alcohol Service Provider with all relevant information in relation to the Offender, including any information relating to the Offender’s risk status. In return the Alcohol Service Provider will be required to provide information to the Offender Manager in relation to issues of compliance and enforcement.

The precise nature and level of information to be shared will be subject to a protocol which will form part of the Service Level Agreement between the SW Probation Areas and the Alcohol Service Provider.

The assessment will be completed by the Alcohol Service Provider using a specific alcohol assessment tool e.g. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification (AUDIT), Christo Inventory for Substance Misuse (CISS), Short Alcohol Dependence Data (SADD). This will help to identify the offender’s alcohol related needs and the type and level of intervention that should be used to tackle them.

The Alcohol Service Provider will then agree the nature and extent of any treatment provision in consultation with the Offender Manager and tailored to the offender’s assessed need and risk status. This will be recorded as part of the Offender’s supervision plan.

Treatment:

The treatment provided by the Alcohol Service Provider will include Tier 1 and some Tier 2 provision as appropriate:

Tier 1: Screening, brief advice and referral:

This is defined as provision of identification of hazardous and harmful drinkers and those who drink in excess of the sensible drinking limits; information on low risk drinking; ‘brief advice’ to reduce alcohol-related harm; and referral of those with alcohol dependence or harm for more intensive interventions. Tier 1 interventions include targeted screening for those drinking in excess of Guidelines on Safer Drinking (DH), provision of brief advice to hazardous drinkers and referral of those requiring more than brief advice for services in higher tiers.

Tier 2: Open access support to reduce alcohol-related harm, assessment and referral services:

This is defined as provision of open access facilities and outreach delivering alcohol-specific advice, information and support, brief interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm; and assessment and referral of those with more serious alcohol-related problems for care-planned treatment. Interventions may also include mutual aid groups e.g. Alcoholics Anonymous.

Such treatment provision will typically be delivered on a 1:1 basis and over a maximum of 6 sessions, including the Assessment.

The delivery of the 1:1 work with an offender, following the assessment, can take place either on Probation premises or at some other location by agreement between the Alcohol Service Provider and the Offender Manager and subject to local circumstances.

The Alcohol Service Provider should ensure that the service is accessible to all offenders regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability or any other personal factors and that those offenders who are not available during the day due to education, training, employment or other legitimate demands upon their time are able to access this provision at a time to fit in with such demands.

The Alcohol Service Provider will be required to provide information to the Offender Manager with regards issues of Compliance and Enforcement in accordance with Probation Service National Standards and any other requirements as set out in the Information Exchange Protocol.

Onward referral:

In addition to referrals into Tier 3 (Community based care-planned treatment) and Tier 4 (Residential/inpatient care-planned treatment) services, the Alcohol Service Provider might also consider referral to one or other of the Accredited Programmes delivered in-house by Probation e.g. ASRO, DID, IDAP or other according to identified needs of the individual offender. Such referrals, however, should only be made in consultation with the Offender Manager who will be responsible for any specific pre-group preparation prior to commencement on any such programme.

Exclusions:

This specification explicitly excludes the provision of Tier 3 and Tier 4 services by the Alcohol Service Provider, albeit these services may be provided by the agency under some other agreement.

Provision of such specialist services will be subject to the availability of resources via the local DAT/PCT and in accordance with local agreements which may vary from one DAT area to another.