Together launch new Integrated Offender Management Service in London
Together were delighted to launch a new Mental Health Service for London Integrated Offender Management (IOM) in August 2023.
The service works alongside people on probation and in IOM who’ve experienced mental distress to support them with needs that may have caused them to repeatedly come into contact with the criminal justice system. The service is commissioned by the Mayors Office of Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and His Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS).
The Integrated Offender Management (IOM) Mental Health Service is for IOM nominals or People on Probation (PoPs) from across the gender spectrum and across London. The tiered structure of the service aims to provide people who use the service and Probation Practitioners (PPs) with an increased level of support. That will depend on the complexity of the mental health, vulnerabilities and risk profile of the individual.
The one-to-one support helps to improve engagement with the IOM program for people who use the service and also with their Probation Practitioner. This helps them understand how their mental health and other vulnerabilities like substance & alcohol misuse impact their wellbeing, and how that can relate to their risk of reoffending. It also helps prepare them for longer-term counselling with mental health services if they are referred.
Support plans for individuals are flexible and guided by their lived experience and desired level of engagement. That may be one phone call once a month, or regular weekly meetings. Where interventions are offered, the Forensic Mental Health Practitioner (FMHP) working with them offers 6-8 sessions depending on the service user’s individualised support plan with the possibility of extending by a further 2-4 sessions to facilitate onward referral.
Where relevant, FMHPs refer individuals to a Community Mental Health Team (CMHT). This is done at the earliest opportunity as timeframes for assessment, acceptance and allocation to a care coordinator can take several months.
The service will also deliver mental health awareness workshops to IOM probation, police practitioners and local authority/charity partners. The workshops will aim to equip practitioners to identify, understand and signpost the people they work with to the mental health support they need.
The service helps both People on Probation (PoPs) and the Probation/Police Practitioners that support them develop an understanding of their mental health needs and how to manage those once they have completed the intervention work with the FMHP.
Commenting on the new service Together Head of Regional Operations (London services), Matina Marougka said:
We are very excited that we are the provider of choice for MOPAC and HMPPS to deliver mental health support to those within the IOM cohort in London. We have longstanding experience working with this population and know the positive impact mental health interventions have on people’s lives as well as at reducing reoffending. We are pleased we are part of a multiagency service, working with colleagues from police, probation and other voluntary sector organisations to offer holistic and person-centre support.
