Reach Out Intensive Support Pathway
Specialist trauma‑informed support for women at high risk of reoffending
Reach Out is New Dawn New Day’s specialist service for women who are at high risk of reoffending or facing significant barriers to engaging with the criminal justice system. Many of the women we support have experienced sustained trauma, abuse and loss, and have often been unable to benefit from more time‑limited or compliance‑focused interventions.
Reach Out was developed in response to high numbers of women not completing community sentences or out‑of‑court disposals, and the recognition that trauma – not unwillingness – was often at the root of disengagement.
What Reach Out offers
Reach Out provides longer‑term, intensive and relational support, working with women over time to address the underlying causes of offending rather than focusing solely on compliance.
Women are supported by specialist Women’s Services Practitioners through:
- Trauma‑informed, gender‑responsive one‑to‑one support
- Small caseloads, enabling depth and consistency of relationships
- Flexible outreach, meeting women where they feel safest and most able to engage
- Holistic support addressing emotional wellbeing, safety, housing, finances, substance use, relationships and parenting
- Advocacy with criminal justice and statutory services, particularly where systems feel overwhelming or unsafe
The focus is on building trust first, recognising that for many women trust in professionals has been repeatedly broken.
Who Reach Out is for
Reach Out works with women who:
- Are involved with probation, courts or out‑of‑court disposals
- Are assessed as being at high risk of reoffending
- Have experienced trauma, abuse or violence
- Have struggled to engage with or complete previous statutory requirements
- Face multiple and intersecting barriers such as poor mental health, homelessness, substance use, poverty or social isolation
Many women referred to Reach Out have previously been described as “hard to engage”. Our experience – and the evaluation – shows they are more accurately described as women whose needs have not yet been met.
The approach has been shown to reduce long-term or crisis-point demands on services such as health and housing, more survivors accessing support for domestic abuse, and a reduction in the number of children entering the care system
Reach Out
Our approach
Reach Out is rooted in New Dawn New Day’s long‑standing trauma‑informed and women‑centred practice. The service recognises that women’s offending is often shaped by experiences of gender‑based violence and long‑term adversity.
Key principles of the Reach Out approach include:
- Safety before compliance – emotional and relational safety is essential for change
- Relational consistency – the relationship itself is central to engagement and progress
- Choice and co‑production – support plans are developed with women, not for them
- System advocacy – challenging trauma‑uninformed responses where they risk disengagement or harm
Impact and learning
An independent evaluation of Reach Out found that the service was valued by women and referring professionals alike and described by probation staff as “invaluable”.
The evaluation highlights that trauma‑informed, relational approaches can:
- Increase women’s engagement with support
- Reduce breach and escalation
- Improve women’s ability to complete community requirements
- Contribute to wider system learning about how women are better supported away from custody
Reoffending and Compliance
80% of women engaged and sustained engagement, with 83% of those completing their community sentences.
Reoffending reduced to 18% (significantly lower than the national overall rate)
Risk Factor Improvements (among those presenting with needs)
69% reduced substance misuse
53% secured safety from abuse/exploitation
55% improved housing for those in insecure/unsafe accommodation
42% of open children’s safeguarding cases were closed
Value for Money
Estimated net public sector saving of approximately £24,000 per case (representing £2.4m across the cohort) within one year. The report includes a costed case study showing £106,000 savings in a single case.
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