Objections social workers to the new law. What are the effects on UEPE?
The Order on December 20 wrote to the Minister Alfano to express strongly, on behalf of social workers engaged in the Department of Penitentiary Administration, their disagreement with the provisions of the new law 26/11/2010, n. 199, concerning the activities of the offices to run outside criminal and tasks of social workers.
Rome, December 20, 2010
Prot No 3722/2010
The Minister for Justice Angelino Alfano
On the Penitentiary Administration Department Head
Dr. Franco Ionta
The General
Execution Criminal External
Dr. Luigia Mariotti Culla
The General
held and processed
Dr. Sebastiano Ardita
The General Manager of Personnel and Training
Dr. Riccardo Turrini Vita
SUBJECT: Law 199/2010: "Provisions on the implementation at the home of a prison sentence not exceeding one year."
The professional association of social workers firmly believes duty to express, on behalf of social workers engaged in the Department of Penitentiary Administration, their disagreement with the provisions, concerning the activities of the Offices for the application of penalties and external the tasks of social workers by law 26.11.2010, n. 199 "Provisions on the implementation at the home of a prison sentence not exceeding one year."
E 'no doubt shared, in general terms, the rationale for aiming at a decarcerizzazione of short-term imprisonment, as it is viewed positively by the desire to expand the home remedies.
E 'is known, in fact, as the penalty for granted out of prison permits a more concrete and positive reintegration of the convicted person in a social context, as demonstrated by lower rates of recidivism than those who, instead, he spent the entire sentence under detention. We also share
the concerns and the warnings thrown by many on the current tragic conditions of the Italian prisons in which, against a capacity of just over 44,000 people, are "crammed" nearly 70,000 people.
Social workers, in fact, work in the context of prison for more than 35 years, alongside the educators, the prison officers, experts, volunteers, occur daily as the overcrowding, but also the problematic nature of an environment that is characterized increasingly as a mere "container" of the effects of social disadvantage now overflowing, had caused invivibilità conditions that do not allow adequate respect for the dignity of the person.
This understanding, however, the Order must also consider and draw the attention of those in the address on the impact that the measure will be approved on Uepe. This
confirming once again what has been previously stated conditions of great difficulty and hardship through which the social justice in the context of the profound crisis that is affecting the whole system of criminal law enforcement has an impact, with devastating effects on branch offices, increasing the required minimum level of private resources.
In this scenario, the new legislative measure could now become a factor that can be one hand, introduce further elements of complexity in the organization of Uepe, the other to make more confused sense of its institutional mandate of these offices.
For this reason, the Order in June 2010, had expressed concern during the evaluation process of approval of the law, with respect to that content (although the version of the bill unless adverse social services) had required changes in order to avoid negative impacts on the operations Uepe which, remember, has always been an intended part of the whole residual resources of the penitentiary.
is feared that the new measures, in the absence appropriate increases in human resources, economic and instrumental, could result in additional burden that could not be supported by branch offices, if not at risk of institutional paralysis of the services and practitioners that the legislature of 1975 had called to give effect to ' Article 27 of the Constitution.
These recommendations and concerns, from social workers who represents and protects the professional mandate and is consistent with this statutory mandate, under an objective of respecting the dignity and rights of detainees, as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of the service provided, were not apparently considered worthy of any consideration.
This can be said to face not only a confirmation, in the text just entered into force, all the points marked the most critical time, but also for the inclusion of additional elements that affect in a very negative impact on quality and effectiveness of institutional intervention Uepe, and even more on the technical-professional social workers.
Broadly speaking, the measure appears to act as a predominant purpose to reduce the overcrowding of prisons, in relation to a situation that is now beyond any possibility of ensuring a minimum level of dignity to prisoners, as well as those who work there.
must be said, however, that the arrangements made, as well as exclusionary requirements introduced in relation to a wide range of offenses, induce a negative prediction about the actual effectiveness of this legislation.
This critical consideration also extends the automation provided for the granting of home detention in the absence of design assumptions and assessments which relates to the possibilities and objectives of social reintegration of the person running penalty. It must be remembered that those who will be admitted, despite having a conviction (or a compound sentence) a year, they have first been eligible for alternative measures larger because they are deprived of the requirements for other alternatives penalty in the form of necessary support and socio-occupational and family safety nets.
There were evidently given the difficulties of those who will enter the house arrest, living a condition of extreme deprivation, which is not only "criminal" going to be part of a range of services of the Administration, but also local authorities and the so-called third sector, which is characterized by a drastic reduction of resources and tools for action.
Were the social workers can not avoid drawing the attention of political and administrative leadership of the Ministry of Justice on aspects of the law more clear and negative fallout will have on the organizational level of offices and on the interventions of technical and professional social workers.
On the most critical organizational issues resulting from increased workload that will inevitably fall on the offices with the introduction of measures which, it was decided, should be given priority over all others. This increase of the work is to operate in a reality that is already in severe distress, as highlighted by some objective data: the personal social services in post offices in the peripheral is numerically smaller than expected from organic plants, a comparison between data on the average load of social workers, and reported to 30.06.2006 to 31.03.2010, it is clear that in almost all the regional workloads of 2010 are slightly lower than those of 2006 to what is associated with the reduction of financial and material resources allocated to Uepe and a reality of the territories in which such offices are located, which is less and less receptive to the execution sentence for the depletion of local resources.
On the technical-professional in the legal text and there are no instruments and procedures that have nothing to do with actions consistent with a mandate and a professional methodology that, until recently, were considered as the most appropriate to respond to purpose of recovery and reintegration to society of those who were in atonement pain, with benefits both for the person concerned, and for the entire community, from a higher level of welfare resulting from greater inclusion and social cohesion.
seems difficult to understand the reasons which led it to give the staff a social task, such as the suitability of the home, which does not require specific technical and professional skills, especially in light of the fact that the instrument for this purpose processed ("tab to ascertain the suitability of the home") requires a mere collection of data, a task that could be done by other operators, who already have these functions in other areas.
can not, also shut up the fact that this activity merely "executive" to be sung as a priority, distract the already scarce resources from the Uepe tasks that are part of the institutional mandate, with negative effects on the procedures for monitoring, observation and activity treatment and support for prison inmates in particular for the restoration of family relationships, whose urgency was underscored in the statement issued by the Head of Department, Dr. F. Ionta, just last July.
But what raises even more concern is that the measure introduced in the manner provided in both the preparatory stage, and in the course of its implementation, has a nature "Hybrid", wanting to combine aspects that characterize one side as a mere instrument of deflation prison (the high level of automation and the grant is based solely on the existence of a home and a willingness of family members and / or other to accommodate the inmate), which are specific to other alternative measures designed properly, in particular, alongside an entity as a social worker, with the support tasks and control.
But the absence of any project proposal to render meaningless the intervention of the social worker, unless you want to "vilify" meaning it as a mere instrument of fiscal control. With
introduced home detention Law 199/2010 the legislature, evidently moved by a primary and urgent need for deflation, at the same time without being really attentive to the conditions and requirements that substantiate the application of penalties in effect risocializzante, has designed a measure that, just for wanting to balance characters and incompatible goals, loses its effectiveness for both.
In light of these considerations, without going into the merits of the choices made at the political-legal but only by a desire to maintain and enhance the professional contribution of social workers of Justice, the National Council of Social Workers can not believe that you want and you can accept the nullification the wealth of expertise and best professional practices that have enabled the social services to contribute to the implementation of the provisions of the Constitution stipulates that the rehabilitative purposes of punishment, getting to be the core of a process of territorialization for enforcement and protection of the principles inclusion and social justice, or that it intends to cancel a process of cultural growth which sees punishment as an opportunity for rehabilitation and not merely as expiation, and refers to the educational responsibility, and not just punitive state. Wishing you peaceful holidays
Best regards. The President
Franca Tooth
0 comments:
Post a Comment