Description
Recognising limitations in existing assessment tools, researchers collaborated January-July 2025 to co-create the Catch 22 Assessment and Progress Tool for Rehabilitation (CAPTR). The original tool employed compliance-focused demographic collection with limited theoretical grounding. CAPTR transformation involved: revising and validating Catch 22's Theory of Change, developing comprehensive assessment instruments measuring personal, social, and systems-level outcomes through trauma-informed methodology. Recommendations were universally adopted; the tool now captures previously unmeasured dimensions including neurodivergence support, accommodation quality, financial stability, and community acceptance, directly applying James and McBride's research on how accumulated harms shape service engagement needs.Implementation began July 2025 nationally across Personal Wellbeing, Finance Benefit & Debt, and Transition to Adulthood services (5,066 service users in scope). Within five months, 157 of 160 practitioners adopted CAPTR (98% uptake), completing 1,648 baseline assessments. Service user feedback validates trauma-informed approach: "The questions made me think about my problems and my current situation in a way I had not done before. It made me feel that I could make some positive changes in my life." Early evaluation (December 2025) confirmed improved practitioner-service user rapport and better-quality insights, with internal impact officer noting "strong potential to evidence reach, significance, and demonstrable change in service delivery, practitioner behaviour, and service user outcomes."
This academically-validated tool represents significant innovation in justice services assessment. Plans for longitudinal outcome evaluation (6-month and 12-month follow-ups commencing 2026) will demonstrate sustained impact by 2028. Researchers have been invited to present CAPTR findings at an international corrections conference in Indonesia, enabling global dissemination. A peer-reviewed publication on CAPTR development and implementation will be submitted to Probation Journal in 2026, establishing evidence base for sector-wide adoption.
| Period | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Work for | Catch-22, United Kingdom |
| Degree of Recognition | National |