Speakers
Rhianon Williams
Parallel Workshops
This presentation explores family engagement in European correctional settings, starting with research from the PROMOTE Centre, which highlights a lack of direct training for prison staff on integrating families into rehabilitation. Findings from 146 interviews across seven countries and survey responses from over 700 practitioners in 10 EU states will be discussed, along with reasons for this gap and potential solutions like interdisciplinary training. Two Bremen-based NGO initiatives will be presented: Game with Mum and Dad, a sports-based program strengthening family ties, and UpFamilies, an app connecting prisoners’ families to local support services. Stakeholder feedback will provide insight into how these initiatives impact relationships and contribute to reintegration efforts, offering practical models for wider implementation. These local initiatives will be contextualised within wider work that Bremen Prison staff are undertaking to recognise that children have the right to see their parents without feeling like they’re serving a sentence too.
