Title of Project:                     Convicts Liberty Aid Project (CLAP)

Year:                                      2011

Action:                                    Multilateral Projects (Grundtvig)

Project No. and Code:          517620-LLP-1-2011-1-RO-GRUNDTVIG-GMP

Coordinator:                          Centrul Pentru Promovarea Invatarii Permanente (CPIP)                  

Partners:

CPIP (Romania)

EUROSUCCESS (Cyprus)

PENITENCIARUL TIMISOARA

Action Synergy S.A

Malta Branch – EPEA (Malta)

NOEMA-CMI (Finland)

Centrul de Reeducare Buzias (Romania) 

ARID Lacjum (Romania)

Prison and Penitentary of Sopronkőhida (Hungary)

Prisons in Europe are going through a modernization process designed to reduce the constraints and to constantly adapt to the changing society. Traditionally, the different systems have concentrated on improving prison intervention programmes such as motivating inmates, reducing conflicts, obtaining treatment programmes, training and prison work, etc. 

In recent years some Member States (including the project partner ones) have developed rganizational and functional measures aimed at improving the organization of prisons as a whole, with special emphasis on efficient management and human resources, evaluation systems, and human rights considerations. 

The analysis made reveals the following, in respect to the reintegration of ex-offenders:

1.The prison workers dedicated to the reintegration aspects are in insufficient numbers;

2.The work they have to do has no common framework, materials, training throughout EU;

3.The reintegration work, in most cases, stops at the penitentiary gates.

The CLAP project will develop alternative learning approaches to reintegrate the inmates in society         

CLAP offers a possible solution to these issues by:

1.developing a prison workers community among the project partner countries and so compensating the lack of numbers by a wider access to good practices;

2.involving prison workers and inmates in the development of  release strategies and tools, materials tailored to their specific needs, but also with an enough standardized framework among the partnership;

3.the materials are developed with the inmates needs in mid especially after leaving the penal system. There will be developed a guide for them to take out, fill it in with information, adding new sheets, taking out redundant ones, etc

CLAP – Convicts Liberty Aid Project is a response to the harsh reality of a convict facing the first days of liberty. If these days are not well prepared in advance, the risk or returning in prison is so much higher. CLAP aims at assisting the preparation of these days by offering a set of tools to the prison workers and inmates, but more important offer these actors the chance to negotiate and reach a common point in their work, so every intervention is as personalized as possible. 

The CLAP tools - The Dialogical Communication and Intervention Toolkit (for prison workers) and My ComPASS Reintegration Guide (for inmates) – are developed together with their intended users: the consortium will only provide opportunity (by meetings and training) and means (framework of the tools, website, virtual platform for communication, logistics). 

The Dialogical Communication and Intervention Toolkit is a collection of instruments developed for and with the educators and social workers from penitentiaries, to facilitate and improved dialogue with inmates, based on the needs identified by the workers themselves. Will comprise tools, games, stories, dialogical methods (David Bohm) to be used with inmates in preparing the release de-tense stressful situation, stop conflict and other risk situations. Will be available in printed and electronic format, in English, Romanian, Polish, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian and Maltese language.

Website: http://clap-project.eu/

Contact:
Centrul Pentru Promovarea Invatarii Permanente -Cpip -Ro  
Pana Rodica-Director CPIP
+ 40 722709292
contact@cpip.ro
http://www.cpip.ro/