Description
The main objective of the project is to improve the practical skills and knowledge of the probation officers in Bulgaria according to the best European standards. The alternative sanctions and measures will be improved by providing training of the probation officers to provide better rehabilitation efforts and integration services with respect to the increasingly diverse group of clients, including high-risk persons, persons with multiple challenges, people with addictions and mental health illnesses, juvenile and young offenders, members of the Roma and other ethnic communities. The project aims namely at sustainable capacity building of staff and probation officers in accordance with European standards and practices in this area, as well as the contemporary realities in which they operate. Target group of the project are employees of the probation services. Currently the system employs 479 people, divided into 28 regional units within DG «Execution of Sentences."
Summary of project results
The project reflects several challenges in the Bulgarian probation system. The assessment of the training needs of probation officers is carried out using internal communication channels, there is no independent external evaluation. There is no mechanism for periodic analysis, evaluation and revision of the existing training system for probation officers. Not enough importance is attached to the relevant European and international standards and the best international practices and models. The project focused on extension of alternative sanctions and measures at the expense of imprisonment by increasing the capacity of the probation service, on the one hand to take the higher number of clients sentenced to "probation", and on the other - to achieve the goals of punishment and rehabilitation efforts and integration with respect to the increasingly diverse group of clients, including high-risk persons, persons with multiple problems, people with addictions and mental health problems, juvenile and young offenders, members of the Roma and other ethnic communities. The implementation approach followed the model "research - development - deployment". The project partner, a leading Bulgarian university contributed by a comprehensive analytical work. The 3 developed curricula for initial and continuing training of probation officers in accordance with the European standards have been applied through a series of trainings involving over 70 probation officers. By improving the capacity of employees a positive effect would be ensured on the indirect beneficiaries of the project - clients of the probation services in the country.
Summary of bilateral results