Justice Partners
Participating justice establishments access our ‘Prisoner-Led Initiative Model’ for positive regime engagement for those in their care. This is an essential ingredient in the selection process of YCG Citizens™ who both learn through our digital learning platform, and secure employment opportunities through sponsoring employers.
Pilot Programme
The YCG Pathways Programme™ is undertaking a pilot with justice partners and sponsoring employers to assess our integrated model for effective reintegration of prisoners. The pilot focuses on five core areas: sentence planning and progression, employer specific education, skills training, guaranteed employment on release and accommodation.
The pilot will identify the impact of the model on the rates of reoffending in order to inform our justice partners on future policy and the extent to which any positive outcomes can be replicated on a wider scale across the prison estate. All results will be independently monitored and assessed by Development In Social Enterprise.
Our 2022 Social Impact Report estimates that for every £1 invested in our model, the social return on our investment is £14.24.
Benefits to prisons
Governors at sponsoring establishments will share our vision for positive engagement, ensuring that resources are focused towards the reintegration of prisoners. They will be open to the use of digital technology and novel ways of safely engaging and empowering YCG Citizens™ to succeed, leading to the following benefits:
- Higher levels of purposeful activity.
- Access to socially responsible employers.
- Optimum utilisation of facilities and resourcing.
- Better outcomes for Offender Management Units (OMU) and less intensive resourcing requirements for other agencies.
- Offers of guaranteed employment for YCG Citizens on release, leading to improved KPIs.
- Reduction in reoffending rates for local communities on release, and positive regime engagement whilst in custody.
Frequently Asked Questions
A list of the most frequently asked questions by participating establishments
Will participation in the YCG Pathways Programme™ create any additional operational considerations for my establishment?
Potentially. In accordance with the ROTL (Release on Temporary Licence) Policy Framework 2019, we encourage sponsoring employers to treat YCG Citizens™ in the same way they would any other member of their workforce. By extension we seek to replicate working practices of the sponsoring employer within the establishment. This may affect daily regimes.
How will this affect my OMU department?
We will work with Offender Management Units and our justice partners in the selection process. We anticipate that workloads will significantly reduce as a result of participation in the programme as each YCG Citizen™ will have a guaranteed offer of employment on release and be able to afford accommodation and other costs of living as a result of having participated in the programme.
Will participation in the YCG Citizen Programme™ create any additional operational considerations for my establishment?
No. Our Digital Prison Hub works with existing IT platforms.
Are there any considerations associated with online provision?
Yes PSI (Prison Service Instruction) 04/2016 requires supervision to be provided. This facility is provided within the installation.
Are there any costs to my establishment associated with either programme?
There is a fee for setting up and maintaining YCG as a Prisoner-Led Initiative within establishment.
Do I need to set up YCG as a Prisoner-Led Initiative within my establishment?
No. However, it is an extremely effective tool for promoting our programmes, it is cited with approval by our justice partners and has been an important tool for effective communication, upskilling of staff, delivery of best practice, reduction in complaints, and day to day provision of natural justice.
Justice Partners
We would like to thank our partners, none of this would be possible without them.
Justice Partner Testimonials
For many years now our dedicated staff at Oakwood have worked tirelessly and creatively to empower prisoners to play a key role in peer-led projects and initiatives within the prison. I am pleased to see their hard work, and the positive impact they’ve had on the men at Oakwood, has been recognised by inspectors.
These initiatives help the men in our care to learn useful skills, work together and dedicate their time to purposeful activities that will benefit their lives in the prison, enhance their opportunities when they are released and help to prevent a cycle of reoffending.
The levels of prisoner engagement and the scope of this work were exceptional.