Abstract

Families represent a form of social capital that can influence effective reintegration
depending on the strength of the bond, and the nature of the relationship. An
innovative training programme delivered at HMP Kirkham was designed to mobilise
the strengths of prisoners, in the period prior to their release, by engaging family members
as bridges to community resources and by a shared planning process designed to
build stronger bonds between prisoners and their families. The conceptual framework
for the Kirkham Family Connectors (KFC) project is based on the principles of Asset
Based Community Development (ABCD) and Assertive Linkage (assisting individuals
in engaging with such assets). The project aimed to build prisoner resettlement capital by
identifying what each prisoner’s skills and strengths were, what enthused and engaged
them, and to create partnerships with family members to establish accessible pathways to
related resources in the communities to which they would be returning on their release.
Evaluation data show that the programme generated hope and a sense of partnership
among participants and key lessons for a strengths-based intervention to support the
prison-community transition. All three of the participating groups – staff, prisoners, and
families – reported positive engagement and an emerging sense of hope, and group cohesion
through shared goals. There is considerable scope for both peer and probation staff
delivery of the programme in the future, and for extending the scale and the scope of the
project.