Introduction
This topic covers guidelines and procedures for placing an offender with an agency.
How to match CWA and offender
After discussing the agency options with the offender, follow the steps below to match the offender with an appropriate CWA.
|
Step |
Action |
|
1 |
Use the table below to decide on the appropriate action
|
If... |
Then... |
|
the offender proposes an agency that is not already on the list of approved agencies |
- access the appropriateness of placing the individual offender with that agency
- contact the agency and discuss their willingness to be a CWA
- discuss the approval process with them, and
- conduct the approval process and agency induction
|
|
the offender proposes an approved agency |
assess the appropriateness of placement with that agency for the individual offender. |
|
doesn't propose any agency |
assess the offender for an appropriate CWA placement from the list of approved CWAs. |
|
|
2 |
Contact the CWA and discuss the placement opportunity. |
Next steps
Once the offender has been matched with an appropriate CWA:
- arrange for a three-way meeting at the CWA, and
- issue an ITR to the offender.
Guidelines
When matching an offender with an agency, consider the following:
- the nature and type of service offered by the agency
- whether, through the work, there will be contact with vulnerable people (elderly, children or disabled), and
- the offender's:
- previous or current offending
- preferences
- abilities
- experience
- availability
- reliability
- culture, and
- supervision requirements.
General placement rules
General placement rules include the following:
- An offender should not be placed with an agency for whom they already work.
- If the offender has an affiliation with an agency (i.e. sports club, school, marae or church), then any CW for that agency must be over and above any work they would normally be expected to do as a member of that agency.
- If the placement includes contact with vulnerable people (i.e. elderly persons or children), then special care must be taken to ensure their safety.
Placement deadline
Arrangements for placement with a CWA should be made as soon as practicable following sentence, but no later than one month after the commencement of the sentence.
If the placement deadline is not met, then the offender may lose interest and willingness to comply. Experience indicates that the sooner the offender begins work, the more likely it is that the sentence will be completed successfully.
Placement not available
If a placement is not immediately available:
- the offender is to report weekly to the probation officer (or delegated officer) as instructed, either in person, or by telephone (if agreed), until final arrangements can be made, and
- the probation officer (or delegated officer) monitors the offender to ensure that:
- a placement is made as soon as possible, or
- if this cannot be achieved, consider placing the offender with the community work centre until a suitable agency placement can be found.
Note: Until a placement is available, a deduction of 30 minutes may be made on the hours imposed each time the offender reports to the service centre.
Forms used
The following forms are used in matching offenders with community organisations and monitoring their progress.
- community work assessment
- community work agreement
- community work ITR
- induction form, noting sentence requirements, and
- community work daily attendance record.
