Impact Report
2022 - 2023
An innovative service developed from innovative commissioning.
Dyfodol is a consortium run by G4S Community, Kaleidoscope and Adferiad Recovery
At Dyfodol, we work with people who've come into contact with the Criminal Justice System as a result of their substance and / or alcohol misuse. Our overarching objective is to help build safer communities by supporting people to move away from crime and into treatment; then when they're ready, out of treatment and into our communities.
By providing help and advice centred around harm reduction, health and wellbeing, mental health and recovery, we look to first build Stability, followed by Change, resulting in Resilience.
I found I could really open up to him [John from Dyfodol] because he’d let me speak and he gave me hope that people can recover and go on to build normal, happy lives.
- Stephen (now abstinent)
We provide support to people in Custody, in Court, in Prison and in the Community
12,284 people were offered our support in Custody.
Our Work in Police Custody
Of the 12,284 people offered support, 58% (7,148) actively engaged with us.
We signposted 12,980 times to community based services in line with their needs.
From those 7,148 people;
3,027 people were given harm reduction advice.
1,224 people were already on caseload with Dyfodol, and were reconnected with their recovery.
400 people were new referrals into Dyfodol.
We referred 60 people into Future 4's 18-25 support and supported the 18-25 team to gather a further 563 referrals directly into service.
We referred 84 people into WSA support and supported our WSA team to gather a further 842 referrals directly into service.
202 referrals to external agencies.
Drug Test on Arrest
276 drug tests on arrest completed with 73% (201) found to be positive. All were offered RA1 appointments, of which 82% attended.
Overall more than 500 people came into intensive drug treatment from Police Custody.
Harm Reduction
We continue to offer Naloxone to people in Police Custody alongside harm reduction advice and materials.
Dyfodol has ensured early intervention staff have been available to help people for 365 days at Swansea, Merthyr, Bridgend and Cardiff Bridewells.
Over 500 people came into intensive drug treatment.
Our Work in Court
We continue to train magistrates across our regions, actively encouraging positive sentencing that focuses on rehabilitation where levels of risk and the gravity of the offences allow. Thanks to the work we've done with magistrates, we've seen a staggering 45% increase in the number of referrals made to us for substance focused treatment requirements; allowing us to support more people through rehabilitation.
Mental Health Treatment Requirements
This increase is on top of the success of our Mental Health Treatment Requirement (MHTR) pilot (Dyfodol and FPC), which supports individuals struggling with their mental health and tackles a common cause of crime.
934 occasions where we've given advice at Magistrates Court
247 formal assessments we've undertaken (98 DRR, 149 ATR)
220 recommendations we've made (97 DRR, 123 ATR)
86 Referrals
64 Assessments
55 Proposals
47 Requirements
149 requirements we've received (55 DRR, 94 ATR)
We're proud of the collaborative approach we've developed with Probation and Courts, enabling information sharing and seamless sentencing.
Our Work in the Community
Our colleagues work with people considered the most difficult to reach, most at risk of suffering drug related harm and are often the highest rate recidivists.
Our experienced and dedicated colleagues help people with daily, high volume drug and alcohol use; often brought on and sustained by relationship breakdowns, serious physical and mental health challenges, money problems and barriers to education and employment. People who are affected by past trauma, deprivation and who are often entangled in a culture of crime and negativity.
We keep people and communities safe by providing fast access to substitute medication, preventing daily use that in turn removes the need for daily crime, risks of impure, unreliable strength and expensive street drugs from criminal dealers.
25% increase in clinical caseload. 485 people at end of Q4.
1,372 unique people provided intensive support by our colleagues.
P i c t u r e dR o n a l d o f f e r i n g s o m e t h e r a p y t o a y o u n g m a n i n B r i d g e n d .
We work towards Stability, encourage steady Change, and build ongoing Resilience!
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Our caseload grew by nearly 20% from Q.1. to the end of the year (740 in Q1 to 883)
50% of people accessing Dyfodol are now receiving Buvidal.
The use of Buvidal (long-lasting injection) is breaking the rhythms of daily use, weakening ties to the using subculture, creating freedom from dependency and promoting growth, dignity and agency.
Underpinning this, we held:
127 blood borne virus tests
326 blood borne virus clinics
184 sexual health clinics
and made large volumes of connections with dental treatment and mental health treatment.
Saving Lives
Naloxone continues to save lives...and not just of those in our services! We've been called to administer Naloxone to members of the public, people in the street or based at Probation offices.
200 Naloxone kits have been given out, with many more offered to people. Training people on how to use this life saving treatment remains a high priority!
I don’t know where I’d be if Rachel [from Dyfodol] hadn’t walked through the door that day and offered me help. I know I wouldn’t be where I am now.
-Sarah
Supported by Dyfodol; Sarah has gone from daily heroin use to abstinent for nearly 12 months.
*Sarah's name has been changed
Our Work in Prisons
Sadly, for those most entrenched in drug use, prison is an inevitability. Drug use is illegal, yet some people depend on it, so for those people who are most vulnerable and who struggle the most, their recovery is a long-term process progress and mistakes, progress and barriers.
At the Public Prisons we offered support to over 3500 people on arrival.
We worked on caseload with over 1600 people. Our caseload stood at around 300 people at the end of 2022-23.
We undertook brief interventions with over 1600 people.
By the end of 2022-23 Dyfodol support was being delivered to 99% of the prison population.
We also worked to integrate the work of the substance misuse team at HMP and YOI Parc. Through 2022-23, they undertook over 2100 induction assessments, more than 1600 brief interventions, 1052 unique people onto caseload and had a standing caseload of nearly 450 people.
82%
of people on release (of our caseload) who were on substitute medication engaged in our community treatment services (74% of all of those on caseload).
We work with people so that a change of justice setting like Prison, does not have to derail their recovery journey; so that they can reconnect, consolidate progress, reflect on difficulties and move forward with support intact.
83% of people using alcohol improved or maintained a good standard.
Support Services Outcome Measure
(SSOM)
Developed with Swansea University and adapted in conjunction with Forensic Psychology Consultancy, SSOM is used across our community casework teams to measure any changes in the circumstances of individuals accessing support.
These individuals are complex and many may have:
Multiple, high-level needs.
High volume, high frequency use of illicit substances.
Long-standing experience of offending and criminal justice intervention.
Multi-layered instability, often engaging with us at a time of crisis.
Practitioners create a snapshot (worst to best case (0-5)) of a person's circumstances across nine areas of their life at the start and end points of their support with us. All information (internal, external sources) and the person's views are taken into account.
Primary Areas - Substances (Drugs), Alcohol and Offending
SSOM OUTCOMES 2022-23
of people using substances (drugs) showed improved or maintained a good standard.
of people engaging in alcohol use showed improved or maintained a good standard.
% Positive (incl.maintained ≥ 3)
% Negative (incl 0/0)
% Maintained (1/1 and 2/2)
of people improved their offending behaviour or maintained a good standard.
Other areas where our work has an impact
but other barriers and enablers are present
Analysis of those who lost ground showed many were in the ‘revolving door’ group who are in the grip of complexity and instability
Accommodation: 63% improved or maintained a good standard.
Many of these left our community teams to enter prison, where our prison teams met them on their first day in prison and actively re-engaged them in recovery.
Finance: 79% improved or maintained a good standard.
Relationships: 65% improved or maintained a good standard.
73%
55% 56%
We're continuing to learn from those with lived experience; employing new caseworkers with lived experience and planning to employ more on specific projects.
Lives continue to be saved by Naloxone.
Recovery Plus continues to consolidate support for those who have made progress but need continued support from a service that is tolerant and supportive of complexity.
We are continuing to support our partners by delivering training to neighbourhood Police staff, Magistrates, Probation staff and other agencies.
We're embedding and expanding our use of psychology from interventions to recruiting Psychology Led Practitioners, who will become Assistant Psychologists working across our landscape.
We continue to support the Rapid Access Prescribing Service (RAPS), which has a huge impact on people, speeds up support, broadens tolerance and increases assertiveness when we're engaging people in need.
