Please see all available programs below, and click on their titles to visit the corresponding websites for more information.
| Program name and provider | Program description and aims | Program structure and dosage | Where the program is operating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community re-entry programs | |||
| Volunteer Mentoring Service (VMS) Australian Red Cross | VMS provides an external leave pathway to assist an inmate's reintegration using volunteer mentors to support the pre-release needs of an inmate. | Pre-release and post-release support (up to 12 months before earliest release date from custody). | Dillwynia Correctional Centre, New South Wales. |
| Parenting programs | |||
| Keeping Us Together Shine4Kids | The Keeping Us Together parenting program is offered to Mums in custody and helps them to understand the dynamics of and build confidence in building healthy, respectful relationships with their children. | The program is structured into 6 workshops, 2 hours each, with each workshop focusing on a particular component of the parent– child relationship. | Secure, open custody, and transitional correctional centres across New South Wales. |
| Visiting and mother-child connection programs | |||
| Child/Parent Activity Days Shine4Kids | This day provides an extended visit where children and parents can interact and bond. The days provide 4-hour visits which includes everyday activities such a creating art and craft or play ball. The visit includes a morning tea and lunch. | 4 hour extended visit once a term, during school holidays. | New South Wales Correctional Centres. |
| Story Time Shine4Kids | This program enables parents in custody to strengthen their bond with their children, by reading them a story on pre-recorded audio. | Stories are pre-recorded onto a CD or Hallmark recordable book by the parent. The book and/or CD are forwarded onto the child so that they can read the book while listening to their parent’s voice reading the story. | Secure, open custody, and transitional Correctional Centres throughout New South Wales. |
| Work skills and traineeship programs | |||
| Corrective Services New South Wales (CSNSW) Animal Care and Rehab Programs Various partners including Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA NSW), Greyhound Racing NSW and Corrective Services Industries) | A range of programs with partner organisations that focus on imparting skills in working with animals. | In custody. | Emu Plains Correctional Centre and Dillwynia Correctional Centre, New South Wales. |
| Inmate Traineeships Provider not specified | Traineeships are done across a range of industries including clothing production, construction, engineering, forests and forest products, Health Support Services (laundry support), hospitality (kitchen operations) and transport and logistics, and may lead to Australian Qualification Framework qualification as well as a Certificate of Proficiency. | Dependent on each program. | Mid North Coast Correctional Centre and Wellington Correctional Centre, New South Wales. |
| Time to Work (Employment Services provided by Career Employment Australia Ltd) 13 providers deliver the service. Their details are available on the website link provided. | The Time to Work Employment Service assists sentenced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners to access support for employment and reintegration into the community upon their release from prison. | Must be sentenced and within 2 to 4 months of their release from prison. Sessions and formats differ. | Available in all States. |
| Education programs | |||
| Education Programs Adult Education and Vocational Training Institute (AEVTI) | Training programs in Workplace Health and Safety, First Aid, Forklift, Welding, Chainsaw, Food Preparation, Engineering and Asset Maintenance. | In custody. | Mid North Coast Correctional Centre and Wellington Correctional Centre, New South Wales. |
| Intensive Learning Centres Provider not specified | This program offers full-time education programs to prisoners and covers both learning and social skills necessary for employment. | Varies. | Mid North Coast Correctional Centre and Wellington Correctional Centre, New South Wales. |
| Mother and child playgroup programs | |||
| Playgroups Shine4Kids | The Shine4Kids program provides opportunities for parents and children to enhance their relationship in a supportive environment, increase their parenting skills and confidence and develop valuable social and family support networks. | This program runs once a week, for a 2-hour session. | Secure, open custody, and transitional Correctional Centres throughout New South Wales. |
| Stay Together, Play Together Shine4Kids | Stay Together and Play Together offers high-quality, fun, structured and unstructured play experiences and provides opportunities for play-based learning to support positive child development. | This program runs once a week, for a 2-hour session. | Secure, open custody, and transitional Correctional Centres throughout New South Wales. |
| Support programs for children with an incarcerated mother | |||
| Ride By Your Side Shine4Kids | A mentorship program for children with a mother in prison. The program provides children with a supportive, caring, and non-judgmental adult mentor. The mentor engages the child in a relaxed environment as they travel to and from the prison where their mother is held. Mentoring continues fortnightly post a mother's release if it is within the 12 months. | This is a 12-month program that runs monthly on weekdays or weekends. | New South Wales Correctional Centres. |
| Rise Shine4Kids | This program is an educational support for children with incarcerated parents. | This program offers a one-on-one mentoring out of the classroom bi-weekly for 1 hour to a student with a parent in prison. | New South Wales Correctional Centres. |
| Personal transformation programs | |||
| Sisters for Change Red Cross | Sisters for Change is a Community-Based Health and First Aid (CBHFA) program. The program has several projects within it that include Safe Women Workshops, Clean-Up Crew activities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health Training, Elders for Change, an information kit for newly incarcerated parents, families and carers Project, a library and a children's book. | Multiple activities with varied lengths run over a year. | St Heliers Correctional Centre in New South Wales. |