REWIND

Reintegration of inmates and ex-offenders through employment in an inclusive and sustainable manner

Abstract

The project "ReWInD" stands as an acronym for Reintegration of (former) prisoners through Work in an Inclusive and Sustainable way. In our society, reintegration is all too often associated with being able to prevent recidivism. Ideally, successful reintegration should also focus on the well-being and quality of life of the (former) prisoner, the target group who often lives in the margins of our society. To map the change in quality of life, well-being and employability, an instrument was developed for the social worker. In function of sustainable employment, a cooperative was also set up to support the transfer from detention and social economy to the regular economic circuit.

Ambition

The project has the ambition to focus on education and employment in the construction field on the one hand and the exploration of detention and its opportunities and boundaries on the other hand.

Result: Self-reflection tool within the Rewind employment process

To map the change in quality of life, well-being and employability of a (former) prisoner, Rewind has developed a self-reflection tool for the care provider. The instrument can be used for different target groups because it does not take into account origin, religion, age, disability, social background or sexual orientation. According to the research by Van Dam and Raeymaeckers, the needs for detainees on release do not in principle differ much from those in other target groups of assistance or services. In addition to the general version for the broad target group, a variant was created for the specific context of detention. Certain judgments or values have a very different dimension when the detention context has to be taken into account

The instrument consists of a questionnaire with accompanying manual. This manual explains step by step how the questionnaire can be used. The developed questionnaire has a dual purpose. On the one hand, it wants to examine the impact of the intervention in terms of quality of life, well-being and employability of the participant. This provides the necessary tools to be able to evaluate and possibly adjust the approach of the program. On the other hand, the questionnaire can also be used as a working tool. Due to the longitudinal nature of information gathering, the evolution of the participant is mapped based on very concrete results. This information enables the participant to reflect on his / her way. It is also a means for the supervisor / coach to chart progress, stagnation or decline and to make it open to discussion.

  • ESF approved on request for KU Leuven:  € 180.000,00
  • VCF approved on request for KU Leuven: € 120.000,00
  • Project ID: 6298
  • Call: 357 Transnational Cooperation
  • Themes: Social economy, Social Inclusion, Learning and skills, Employment
  • Program: ESF 2014-2020

Partners

KU Leuven has received financial support from the European Social Fund and the Vlaamse gemeenschap for this project.
KU Leuven has a cooperation with Belgian local partners, and transnational partner Silta-Valmennusyhdistys (Finland):

Promotor

Alexis Versele