EU Project Pravo-Justice Provided Prisons with the Manuals on Two Correctional Programmes for Convicts

EU Project Pravo-Justice supported preparing and printing of the manuals on two correctional programmes "Changing Pro-Criminal Thinking" and "Supporting Family Ties". Each of these programmes consists of a manual for employees of the prison departments for social, educational, and psychological work, and a workbook for convicts.

"By the end of December, 59 penal institutions will receive both manuals and workbooks for convicts. It is through the application of correctional programmes that convicts will be able to reduce the impact of criminogenic needs on their behaviour, improve relations with their families, and develop prosocial thinking skills. As a result, they would not end up within the system in the future," said Olena Kochura, Key Expert on Support for Penitentiary System Reform of EU Project Pravo-Justice.

According to Natalia Rybalko, Deputy Head of the Department for the Execution of Criminal Sentences of the Ministry of Justice, the provided correctional programme manuals and workbooks are an important condition for the effective implementation of correctional programmes, as they will allow achieving the outlined resocialisation goals.

"The Department for the Execution of Criminal Sentences extends its gratitude to EU Project Pravo-Justice for the assistance provided, aimed at ensuring favourable conditions for further implementation of correctional programmes in prisons," said Natalia Rybalko.

In her turn, Daryna Khomenko, psychologist at the Department of Social, Educational and Psychological Work of the State Institution "Kachanivska Correctional Facility No. 54", noted that the received manuals were a valuable resource for a psychologist working with convicts. After all, they provide effective tools for developing social skills, restoring healthy family relations, and contributing to changes in attitude towards the committed crime.

"They facilitate deep personal transformation and social rehabilitation, which, in turn, is an important step in reforming the penitentiary system. Thanks to such programmes, psychologists receive tools to support convicts on their path to integration into society and reduce relapse into criminal behaviour," said Daryna Khomenko.

The correctional programme "Changing Pro-criminal Thinking" aims at:

• achieving positive changes in the behaviour of a convicted person by developing and supporting his/her useful and critical thinking skills;
• forming reflection skills, planning, and setting goals in accordance with his/her own pro-social values;
• promoting the development of cooperation in relations with others and socially acceptable rules of behaviour.

The correctional programme "Supporting Family Ties" will help convicts:

• expand the possibilities of their interaction with families, understand and realise the value and significance of family in their life;
• develop motivation to change behaviour and acquire skills that will help them show attention to their family and children or other people who are important to them.

Download the correctional programme “Changing pro-criminal thinking”.

Download the correctional programme “Supporting Family Ties”.