Health in Prison and Throughcare: Provision and continuity of care for those in the criminal Justice System, October 5-7, 2011

Why a conference on throughcare?

The term “Throughcare” refers to arrangements for managing the continuity of care which started in the community or at an offender’s first point of contact with the criminal justice system through custody, court, sentence, and beyond into resettlement. “Aftercare” is the package of support that needs to be in place after a prisoner with problematic drug use, chronic disease or mental health problems reaches the end of a prison-based treatment programme, completes a community sentence or leaves treatment. It is not one simple, discrete process that involves treatment only; it should also include access to additional support for issues including mental health, housing, managing finance, family problems, learning new skills and gaining employment.

The main theme of the conference will be throughcare for prisoners. This is a broad theme that will involve such issues as prisoners with problematic drug and/or alcohol use, communicable diseases, mental health care and other health issues.

The conference will provide an opportunity for delegates to:

• Assess the current availability of throughcare;
• Analyse the problems of provision and sustainability of throughcare;
• Consider existing models of throughcare;
• Discuss why continuity and care for “people in transition” is sometimes problematic;
• Propose an integrated approach that meets the multiple needs of offenders in the CJS;
• Exchange information and engage in discussions with fellow criminal justice professionals, community organisations and researchers;
• Agree a position paper that stipulates the conditions necessary to provide sustainable throughcare.

Who should come to the conference?

The conference aims to include all organizations where people are detained – police arrest, police arrest houses, prisons (sentenced and pre-sentenced) and detention centres for migrants. The conference will also be of interest to community organizations that provide services for prisoners while in detention and when they are released; policy makers, criminal justice professionals, researchers, academics, practitioners and representatives from the media.

The conference will provide an opportunity for the key players in the criminal justice system, those involved in the provision of throughcare and those who have experienced the CJS, to discuss current issues, the promotion of multidisciplinary work and the benefits of an integrated approach.

Who is organizing the conference?

The conference is a key element in the dissemination process of the Throughcare project, which has been funded by the EU. Further support has been provided by the International Journal for Prisoner Health, the Veneto Region (not sure if this is correct), The Centre for Mental Health, Italian Society of Addiction Medicine (FeDerSerD), European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG), WHO Regional Office for Europe, WHO Collaborating Centre for Prison Health, and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)

Will there be an opportunity to visit a local prison?

Yes - there will be an opportunity for a prison visit on the Saturday after the conference or, alternatively, the Wednesday before the conference starts. A date will be confirmed in due course

Further information

We will shortly be announcing a call for papers and would also welcome suggestions for relevant workshops.

Further information relating to the event, including registration, will be available on the conference website that will be live soon. If you have any questions in the meantime please contact David Kane on david.kane@bcu.ac.uk.

Keep the 5-7 October 2011 in your diary!