About this section

Purpose and scope

1. 3A sets out how people enter the Restitute Model.
2. It covers the point from referral through to allocation to a support worker.
3. It controls how Restitute receives referrals, checks eligibility, gathers baseline information, completes onboarding, manages waiting-list contact, responds to non-engagement and allocates clients safely.
4. This section exists to make the early pathway clear, consistent and safe. First contact with Restitute should not feel rushed, confusing or transactional.
5. Many clients arrive feeling guilty, ashamed, overwhelmed or unsure whether they are allowed to ask for support. Early communication must be calm, clear and boundaried from the start.
6. This section does not cover the support-worker relationship after allocation. First support-worker contact, the Six-Week Foundation Pathway, ongoing support, reviews, practical support, closure and long-term follow-up are covered in later client pathway sections.

Section-specific standards

1. The Client Pathway Standards apply to this section. The standards below are additional requirements specific to referral, onboarding, waiting-list management and allocation.
2. Early contact should stay focused on eligibility, risk, priority, explanation of the service, warm handover where needed and preparation for safe allocation.
3. A person should only move onto the waiting list once they meet Restitute’s criteria, have completed the required entry steps and have confirmed that they want Restitute support.
4. Waiting-list contact should remain brief, humane and boundaried. It should not become mini-support before allocation.
5. Allocation must be structured and intentional, not simply giving the next client to whoever has space.

Functions used in this section

1. Client Pathway Standards set the general rule on functional responsibilities. The functions below are the functions needed to operate 3A.
2. A Delivery Site must assign the referral administration, onboarding, waiting-list oversight, allocation, safeguarding lead and support worker functions before using this pathway.
3. In Restitute Core Team, some functions are carried out by dedicated onboarding or administration staff.
4. In a smaller team, the same functions may be carried out by a team leader, senior practitioner or another suitably trained person.

3A.1 Pathway control table

1. The pathway control table sets out the required action, responsible function, required record and permitted outcomes for each stage of entry to service.

3A.2 Eligibility and referral suitability

3A.2.1 Eligibility rule

1. The Restitute Model is designed to support adults aged 18 or over who are a parent, carer, partner, family member or loved one of someone who has survived sexual abuse, sexual violence or other serious violence.
2. Restitute support is usually provided to the lead carer in a family, or to the loved one carrying the impact of what has happened to the survivor.
3. The reason for referral must be that the person is caring for, supporting or otherwise carrying the impact of what has happened to the survivor.
4. Children in the family should usually be supported through the lead carer in the family, rather than opened as separate Restitute clients.
5. A 16 or 17 year old may be eligible where they are effectively carrying the lead-carer role in that family and there is no appropriate adult managing that role. Any decision to progress a 16 or 17 year old in that role must be discussed with the safeguarding and supervision function before the referral progresses.

3A.2.2 Non-eligibility rule

1. A person is not eligible for Restitute support under this pathway if they are the primary victim or survivor and the main support need is their own experience of abuse, violence or harm. A person may have their own history of trauma, abuse or victimisation, but this must not be the primary reason for referral into the Restitute Model.
2. A person is not eligible if they have a history of perpetrating sexual violence.
3. A person is not eligible if they are seeking support because they are a family member or loved one of the perpetrator, and they wish to stay in, restore or maintain an intimate relationship with that person.
4. A person is not eligible if they do not believe the primary victim.
5. Where a person is not eligible for Restitute support, the referral should be handled through the professional-referral return, signposting, safeguarding or warm handover route that applies to the referral route and stage reached.
6. Where there is uncertainty about whether a non-eligibility rule applies, the referral must be discussed through the safeguarding or supervision function before it progresses.

3A.2.3 Eligibility as a model guardrail

1. Eligibility protects the client, the worker and the integrity of the service.
2. Restitute is not a general victim service, counselling service, crisis line, domestic abuse service or statutory safeguarding service.
3. Workers must apply eligibility consistently. Exceptions must not be made informally.
4. Where a referral does not meet criteria, the person should be given a safe onward route using the warm handover or professional-referral return rules in this section.

3A.2.4 Suitability concerns requiring supervision or governance discussion

1. Some referrals may appear to meet the basic eligibility rule but still raise suitability concerns that must be considered before the referral progresses.
2. A suitability concern does not always mean the person cannot receive Restitute support, but it must be recorded and discussed through the supervision, safeguarding or governance route before the person is added to the waiting list or allocated.
3. Suitability concerns may include where the person’s primary need is immediate crisis support, clinical treatment, legal advice or representation, statutory safeguarding intervention, domestic abuse refuge or safety planning, housing emergency support, substance-use treatment, or another need outside the Restitute role.
4. Suitability concerns may also include where the person is seeking support to challenge, disprove or undermine the primary victim’s account; where they cannot accept the basic safeguarding or confidentiality boundaries of the service; where they want Restitute to investigate, mediate, provide evidence, take sides in family or court proceedings, or act as a statutory or legal service; or where safe independent support cannot be provided because of a conflict of interest.
5. Where suitability is uncertain, the referral must not be progressed informally. The decision, rationale, supervision or safeguarding advice, and any warm handover, signposting or escalation action must be recorded in Lamplight.

3A.3 Referral routes and first suitability decision

3A.3.1 Referral routes

1. There are two referral routes into the Restitute pathway: self-referral and professional referral.
2. Professional referrals should be made through the professional referral form, or through an agreed referral route where a separate information-sharing agreement is in place.
3. Current agreed routes include some VCU arrangements and the Victim Liaison Service from HMPPS. Other agreed routes may be added over time where a clear information-sharing arrangement is in place.

3A.3.2 First suitability decision

1. The referral administration or onboarding function must make an initial suitability decision before the referral is progressed.
2. If the referral appears to be an appropriate Restitute referral, it should move to the welcome steps in 3A.
3. If a self-referral is clearly not appropriate for Restitute before onboarding, the referral administration or onboarding function should consider whether warm handover is appropriate.
4. If a professional referral is clearly outside Restitute’s criteria before onboarding, it should not be progressed into onboarding and should not be accepted as a warm handover case at that stage.
5. The professional referrer should be advised that the referral is not appropriate for Restitute and given brief guidance where the referral appears to show misunderstanding of Restitute’s criteria. Where Restitute can identify an alternative route, this should be suggested.
6. Where no Lamplight record has been created for an inappropriate professional referral, the referral does not need to be added to Lamplight. The email response to the referrer is the record of the decision unless safeguarding, statutory duty, information-sharing requirements or an existing record mean a separate record is needed.

3A.4 Warm handover

3A.4.1 Purpose of warm handover

1. Warm handover is short, focused help to reach a more appropriate service where Restitute is not the right ongoing service.
2. Warm handover must not become ongoing Restitute support.
3. Warm handover may include helping the person understand the right route, making a supported referral, giving clear contact information, or taking another short action needed to help the person reach the right service safely.

3A.4.2 Warm handover before onboarding

1. Before onboarding, warm handover is used for unsuitable self-referrals where the person needs short, focused help to reach a more appropriate service.
2. Clearly ineligible professional referrals identified before onboarding should be returned or redirected to the professional referrer, not opened as warm handover cases.

3A.4.3 Warm handover once onboarding has started

1. If a person is found during onboarding not to be suitable for ongoing Restitute support, the case should be treated as warm handover regardless of whether the original route was self-referral or professional referral.
2. The onboarding function should explain clearly and kindly that Restitute is not the right ongoing service, identify the most appropriate onward route where possible, and make the short, focused warm handover action needed to help the person reach that route.
3. The reason, action taken, safeguarding or risk issue, and any referrer update must be recorded in Lamplight.
4. Where safeguarding, risk or vulnerability makes any warm handover unsafe or insufficient, the normal pathway should pause while the agreed safeguarding or escalation route is followed.

3A.5 Welcome steps for suitable referrals

1. This section applies to both self-referrals and professional referrals that appear potentially suitable for Restitute support.
2. Where a referral is progressed, the referral administration function must create or update the Lamplight profile and create a work record.
3. Information from the referral form or agreed referral record must be transferred accurately into Lamplight.
4. If no email address has been provided, the admin function should request one where appropriate and confirm the agreed safe contact route and any contact restrictions.
5. Where the referral came from a professional referrer or agreed external system, including VCU or Victim Liaison Service arrangements, the referral administration function should acknowledge the referral and update the referrer or system at key decision points.
6. Key decision points include referral accepted for welcome steps, referral returned or redirected, onboarding booked, added to waiting list, closed as DNR or non-engagement, warm handover and allocation.
7. Where a Delivery Site uses a local pathway tracker for operational oversight, the referral administration function should update it in line with local arrangements. The tracker must not replace the Lamplight record.

3A.6 Baseline assessments

3A.6.1 Purpose and requirement

1. The wellbeing, carer confidence, health and finance assessments are essential baseline steps before onboarding.
2. They help Restitute understand the person’s support needs and identify risk, urgency, complexity and possible allocation needs.
3. They are not used to decide whether the person deserves support and they should not replace the onboarding conversation.
4. The assessments must be completed before an onboarding call is arranged, unless assisted completion is needed as part of the onboarding preparation.
5. If the person struggles to complete the forms independently, Restitute must offer reasonable help to complete them. Support with completion must not become a full support session.
6. The referral administration function must send the welcome email and assessment set to the person being referred.

3A.6.2 When assessments are returned or not returned

1. Returned assessments should be checked in Lamplight and the onboarding function informed so that next steps can begin.
2. An onboarding appointment must be offered with a suggested date and time.
3. Where an onboarding invitation is sent by email and the person has a mobile number, an SMS should be sent asking them to check their email.
4. If the assessments are not returned, the no-response process in 3A.10 must be followed.

3A.7 Onboarding

3A.7.1 Purpose of onboarding

1. The onboarding call is the first structured conversation with Restitute.
2. It should assess whether Restitute is the right service, explain the service being offered and confirm that the client wants to proceed with that support.
3. It should gather enough information to understand need, risk, urgency and waiting-list priority, explain what happens next and avoid asking the person to give their full story.

3A.7.2 Opening the onboarding call: confidentiality, safeguarding and consent to continue

1. At the start of the onboarding call, before gathering substantive information, the worker must explain confidentiality, consent and safeguarding.
2. The worker must explain that the conversation is confidential, Restitute will not usually share information without consent, and there are some situations where Restitute cannot keep information confidential because the client, a child, an adult at risk or another person may not be safe.
3. The worker must check that the client understands and is happy to continue the call on that basis.
4. If the client does not want to continue, the worker must stop the onboarding process, explain that Restitute cannot offer support without this agreement, and close the case as declined support.
5. Example wording and templates are held in Appendix C.

3A.7.3 What onboarding must cover

1. What Restitute does and who Restitute supports
2. Confidentiality, consent and safeguarding responsibilities
3. Eligibility confirmation
4. Confirmation that the client understands the service being offered and wants to continue
5. Completion of all information in the Contact Details and Essential Information tabs in Lamplight
6. Immediate risks, urgent pressures and priority indicators

3A.7.4 Risk and priority first look

1. During onboarding, the worker must consider whether there are any immediate safeguarding concerns, urgent practical pressures or priority allocation indicators.
2. Priority indicators should inform internal decisions only. Workers must not tell the client that a priority indicator guarantees immediate allocation.
3. The worker must complete the risk assessment during or immediately after the onboarding call.
4. Any urgent concern, safeguarding concern or priority indicator must be recorded clearly in Lamplight and escalated.

3A.7.5 Ending the onboarding call

1. Before ending the onboarding call, the worker should:
2. confirm the person’s contact details and ask them to add @restitute.org to their safe senders list where possible
3. confirm which contact routes are safe, private and accessible for the client, whether messages or calls may be seen or overheard by someone else, and whether any contact restrictions are needed; record the agreed safe-contact route and restrictions in Lamplight;
4. summarise what will happen next
5. explain waiting-list arrangements where the person is likely to move onto the waiting list
6. remind the person to contact Restitute if circumstances change
7. close the call clearly and professionally

3A.7.6 Requests for therapy or peer group support during onboarding

1. Where a client requests therapy or peer group support during referral or onboarding, the onboarding function must explain that Restitute’s ordinary support offer is structured one-to-one support.
2. Therapy and peer group support are not standalone front-door offers. A person must not be added to the Restitute waiting list solely to access therapy or peer group support.
3. Where the client is seeking therapy only, and does not want Restitute one-to-one support, they should be redirected, signposted or supported through warm handover to a more appropriate therapeutic route where this is available.
4. Where the client is seeking peer group support only, and does not want Restitute one-to-one support, the onboarding function should consider whether there is a suitable external peer group route and manage this through signposting or warm handover where available.
5. Where the client is eligible for Restitute support and wants to proceed with one-to-one support, any request for therapy or peer group support must be recorded in Lamplight.
6. A request for therapy should be passed to the allocated worker for later discussion unless there is an immediate reason to discuss the request through supervision, safeguarding, crisis or warm handover routes.
7. Any later therapy discussion or referral must follow 2D.3. Restitute workers do not assess clinical suitability for therapy, choose therapeutic modality, determine treatment need or hold clinical governance for therapeutic provision.
8. A request for peer group support should be considered through the agreed peer group support referral process, including client consent, suitability, supervision where required, availability and recording in Lamplight.
9. Therapy or peer group support must not be promised at onboarding.

3A.8 Outcomes after onboarding

1. After onboarding, the worker must select and record the correct pathway outcome.
2. If the person meets criteria, has completed the required entry steps and wants Restitute support, their status should be changed from incoming referral to waiting list until allocation is available. The waiting-list date, risk/priority information and any safeguarding issue must be recorded in Lamplight.
3. If the person declines support, the case should be closed, the person should be told they may re-refer in future, and the professional referrer or agreed external system should be updated where the referral came through that route.
4. If the person is seeking therapy only or peer group support only, and does not want Restitute one-to-one support, they should not be added to the waiting list. The onboarding function should redirect, signpost or use warm handover to help the person reach a more suitable route, depending on referral route, stage reached, risk and available onward support.
5. If the person is found during onboarding not to be suitable for ongoing Restitute support, the case should be treated as warm handover regardless of whether the original route was self-referral or professional referral. If warm handover is used, the person should be marked as warm handover in Lamplight, the reason should be recorded, and the case should be flagged to the function responsible for managing warm handovers. Where the referral came from a professional referrer or agreed external system, the referrer or system should be updated. The update should explain that the referral was not appropriate for Restitute and give brief guidance where the referral appears to show misunderstanding of Restitute’s criteria.

3A.9 No response and non-attendance

3A.9.1 No response to initial communication or assessments

1. If the person does not respond to the initial welcome email or baseline assessment request, Restitute will make one further contact attempt.
2. The further contact attempt may be by SMS, email or call, using the agreed safe contact route and any recorded contact restrictions.
3. If there is still no response, a final message must be sent explaining that the referral will be closed if the person does not make contact.
4. If there is no response after the final message, the case should be closed as did not respond.
5. All contact attempts and closure decisions must be recorded in Lamplight. Where the referral came from a professional referrer or agreed external system, the referrer or system should be updated.

3A.9.2 Non-attendance at onboarding

1. If the person does not attend the onboarding appointment, Restitute will offer one alternative appointment.
2. The alternative appointment offer should be sent by email and/or SMS.
3. If there is still no response or the person does not attend the alternative appointment, a final message must be sent explaining that the referral will be closed if the person does not make contact.
4. If there is no response after the final message, the case should be closed as did not respond.
5. All contact attempts and closure decisions must be recorded in Lamplight. Where the referral came from a professional referrer or agreed external system, the referrer or system should be updated.

3A.9.3 No response to the 8-week waiting-list check-in

1. If the client does not respond to the 8-week check-in within 5 working days, one chaser must be sent.
2. If there is still no response after a further 5 working days, the case should be closed as non-engagement.
3. The case should not be closed if there is a safeguarding, risk or vulnerability reason to keep the case open or escalate.
4. A closure email must be sent confirming that the case has been closed and explaining that the client may re-refer in future if they need support.
5. The decision and all contact attempts must be recorded in Lamplight.

3A.10 Waiting-list management

1. Waiting-list management begins once a person has completed onboarding, meets criteria and wants support.
2. The purpose of waiting-list management is to hold the person safely until allocation, monitor for changes in risk or urgency, avoid starting support before allocation, keep records accurate, and make sure allocation decisions are based on current information.
3. Any contact from a waiting client must be read properly and recorded in Lamplight.
4. The response should be brief, humane and boundaried. Workers should not provide mini-sessions, extended emotional processing or casework before allocation.
5. Any meaningful change in circumstances must be reviewed for risk, safeguarding or priority allocation.
6. Any client who has been waiting for 8 weeks must receive a check-in.
7. The 8-week check-in must acknowledge the wait, confirm whether the client still wants support, invite the client to say whether anything has changed, explain how to contact Restitute while waiting, and ask the client to flag any urgent issue, court date, safeguarding concern or major deadline.
8. The 8-week check-in and any response must be recorded in Lamplight.

3A.11 Priority indicators and escalation

1. Priority indicators help Restitute decide whether a client should be escalated or considered for priority allocation.
2. Priority allocation is not based on who appears most distressed on the day. It must be based on objective risk, urgency, vulnerability or external pressure.
3. A client must be escalated or considered for priority allocation if any of the following indicators are present:
4. violence from the victim toward the carer or other family members
5. a loved one missing from home
6. active suicidal intent, self-harm intent or intent to harm others from the client or loved one
7. a loved one is in hospital due to self-harm, an attempt to complete suicide or harm by others
8. a statutory or legal process happening within 7 days, including ABE interview, court hearing or child protection deadline
9. imminent risk of a child being removed
10. loss of accommodation or immediate risk of homelessness
11. If any priority indicator appears, the worker must record the contact in Lamplight, follow escalation procedures immediately, inform their supervisor the same day, and consider whether priority allocation or an interim safety plan is required.

3A.12 Allocation

1. Allocation is the point at which active Restitute support begins.
2. Allocation must be structured and intentional. It must not be treated as simply giving the next client to whoever has space.
3. Allocation decisions must be made by the allocation function.
4. The person carrying the allocation function must consider worker capacity, worker experience, client risk level, case complexity, safeguarding concerns, practical availability, conflicts of interest, and whether the worker is likely to be able to remain with the client through the expected period of support.
5. Workers must not be allocated to clients, family members, referrers or connected individuals they know personally, socially or professionally unless this has been explicitly considered and agreed through the management or supervision route.
6. Conflict of interest examples include where the worker knows the client, survivor, alleged perpetrator, referrer or key family member; where the client is a current or former colleague, trustee, director, volunteer, contractor or close associate of the Delivery Site or Restitute; where the worker has prior knowledge of the family through another role; where the case could create a personal, financial, reputational or relational conflict; or where the client could not reasonably feel that they have a private and independent support space.
7. If there is doubt about a conflict of interest, the safer decision is to allocate to another worker or seek a Core Team decision before allocation.
8. Once allocation is agreed, Lamplight must be updated from waiting list to allocated, any local tracker must be updated where used, the support worker must be notified, the client must be told who their support worker is and when to expect contact, and the professional referrer or agreed external system should be updated where the referral came through that route.
9. Any risk, safeguarding or priority information must be clearly visible for the support worker.
10. The allocated worker should make contact within the agreed post-allocation timeframe. If the client does not respond after allocation, the non-attendance and non-engagement process must be followed.
11. Example wording and templates for allocation notifications are held in Appendix C.

3A.13 Safeguarding during referral, onboarding and waiting

1. Any safeguarding concern identified during referral, onboarding or waiting-list contact must pause the normal pathway where needed and be handled through the agreed safeguarding route.
2. Any urgent concern, safeguarding concern or priority indicator must be recorded clearly in Lamplight and escalated.
3. Safeguarding information must be considered when deciding whether the referral should proceed, whether the person should remain waiting, whether priority allocation is needed, whether warm handover is appropriate, or whether closure would be unsafe.
4. Where safeguarding information affects a pathway decision, the reason for the decision and any action taken must be recorded in Lamplight.

3A.14 Recording and Lamplight requirements

1. Lamplight is Restitute’s case management system and the controlled client record for this pathway.
2. Referral records should include referral route, referrer details where applicable, client contact details, reason for referral, relationship to survivor, consent information, eligibility information, date of acknowledgement or response, and next action.
3. Onboarding records should include essential information or a brief understanding of the client’s situation, whether the person attended, eligibility decision, consent and confidentiality discussion, safeguarding information, risk or priority indicators, completed risk assessment, waiting-list decision, any professional referrer update and any action required before allocation.
4. Waiting-list records should include date added to waiting list, any client contact while waiting, any professional contact while waiting, 8-week check-in date, response to 8-week check-in, chaser sent where required, closure decision where required, and any escalation or priority allocation decision.
5. Safeguarding records must follow the safeguarding policy and should include the concern or disclosure, date and time, who was involved, what was said or observed, advice sought, action taken, information shared, outcome and further action required.
6. Workers must complete the relevant Lamplight sections fully and accurately so that the client’s role, the person they are supporting, family context, professional involvement, risk, priority indicators and allocation needs are visible before allocation.
7. A local pathway tracker may be used for operational oversight in larger Delivery Sites, but it is not the controlled client record and must not replace Lamplight.

3A.15 Appendix references

1. Example wording and templates for common 3A communications are held in Appendix C.
2. 3A should be read alongside the safeguarding policy, digital safeguarding statement and relevant local safeguarding procedures.

3A.16 What must stay the same and what can change locally

1. The Restitute Model needs to be delivered consistently, even when it is used in different places.
2. Local Delivery Sites may adapt local arrangements where this does not change the model.
3. Local changes must not remove key safeguards, weaken eligibility, reduce recording requirements, bypass safeguarding, remove supervision or allow support to become unstructured.

3A.17 Audit and spot-check resource

1. The 3A audit and spot-check checklist is held in the Client Pathway Standards and Practice Audit and Spot-Check Pack.
2. The checklist may be used for supervision, Lamplight record review, pilot-site review, quality assurance or learning after a concern, complaint, safeguarding issue or pathway breakdown.
3. It is not completed for every client. Lamplight remains the controlled client record.