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3.1.7 Criminal Records Bureau - Certificates of Disclosure

Contents

  1. Requirements
  2. Process
  3. Assessment and Checks before Placement with Relatives and Friends
  4. Withdrawal of Application
  5. Renewal of Certificate of Disclosure for Existing Foster Carers
  6. Frameworki

    Appendix 1: Template for Risk Assessment

    Appendix 2: Frameworki CRB Process - Administrator Tasks

    Appendix 3: Internal Memorandum Template


1. Requirement

A certificate of disclosure must be obtained for prospective carers and any other adult living in the household. There is also a requirement to obtain a certificate of disclosure for any children aged 16 or over living in the household with the exception of foster children placed by Oxfordshire County Council. It may also be appropriate to obtain a certificate of disclosure for any relatives or friends who spend significant amounts of time in the household.


2. Process

  • Social Worker completes application form to obtain certificate of disclosure. They must record either Foster Carer or Adopter as the 'Position Applied for'. (For a certificate of disclosure on a foster carer's own child aged 16, or a lodger please record: Position applied for: "in household of foster carer or adopter") Nothing else.
  • Send to HR Vetting and CRB Team in Shared Services
  • HR administrator checks form and if correct sends off request
  • If clear, the certificate of disclosure is returned to the social worker
  • If the certificate of disclosure highlights any convictions or concerns, HR administrator forwards it to Service Manager Fostering or Adoption (Service Manager Family Support if relates to Private fostering). The Service Manager then contacts the relevant worker to request a risk assessment. Please see attached template for completion of risk assessment.
  • Social worker completes risk assessment and sends to the Team Manager for approval and signature. It is not permissible to copy certificates of disclosure. To do so would jeopardise our registration with the Criminal Records Bureau as it is in conflict with the CRB Code of Practice.  This is managed by asking the prospective foster carer/person in household/adopter to write down the details in their own words within the risk assessment framework.
  • When assessing applicants' criminal records, consider the offence in terms of:
    • The nature, seriousness and relevance
    • How long ago it occurred
    • If it was a one off or part of a history
    • The circumstances of it being committed
    • The changes in applicant's personal circumstances
    • Country of conviction
    • Decriminalisation
    • Remorse/values
  • Social worker sends risk assessment to the relevant Service Manager
  • Service Manager makes a decision as to whether the application can be progressed in the light of the risk assessment and sends memo to social worker to confirm decision. (See Appendix 3 for suggested format for memo).
  • Service Manager sends the certificate of disclosure to be placed on the applicant's file
  • Certificates of disclosure should be kept on file and destroyed after six months.  It is permissible to keep the top section of the certificate on file and a copy of any risk assessment that has been completed. The top section gives the name of the staff member and the fact that Oxfordshire County Council has received it and a reference number. However it does not give a date so this must be recorded.


3. Assessment and Checks before Placement with Relatives and Friends

  • Before any placement with a relative or friend is made, the child's social worker must assess its suitability.  The proposed carer and all members of the household aged 16 and above must be checked with the Police Family Protection Team (by telephone),
  • The social worker must ask the proposed carers to sign written consent for statutory checks to be undertaken and to complete applications for Criminal Records Bureau checks; the social worker should then arrange for them to be sent to the HR Vetting and CRB Team as soon as practicable for checks to be made.


4. Withdrawal of Applicant

If a foster carer or other applicant withdraws from the process when a certificate has revealed disclosures and there has not been an opportunity to carry out a risk assessment and make a decision then the certificate may be kept for 3 months just in case the individual changes their mind and resurrects their foster carer application. This needs to be agreed with the relevant Team Manager

If they do not come back within 3 months the certificate must be destroyed securely. A note then needs to be placed on the retained application files to ensure that if for any reason the individual does resurface that fostering services are aware that a new certificate of disclosure must be carried out and that there were offences disclosed on a previous certificate of disclosure but that no risk assessment was conducted as the applicant withdrew.


5. Renewal of Certificate of Disclosure for Existing Foster Carers

lf the offences predate the renewal period, the previous risk assessment together with all previous correspondence should be forwarded to the Service Manager. If further offences have occurred an updated risk assessment will be required.

The policy for keeping CRB information may be found at the following link: CRB Storage Policy


6. Frameworki

The procedure for recording information relating to certificates of disclosure on framework i has been added as Appendix 2: Frameworki CRB Process - Administrator Tasks.


Appendix 1: Template for Risk Assessment

Click here to view Assessment Form


Appendix 2: Appendix 2: Frameworki CRB Process - Administrator Tasks

  1. Task received from Social Worker to start CRB episode on FWi and send off CRB's
  2. Enter details on CRB form of date completed and date sent to CRB Team.
  3. On receipt of Disclosure notice enter Disclosure no and date of approval on CRB form. Complete box with date for next clearance in 3 years time (if relevant). Pass hard copy of notice to Social Worker.
  4. Upload any relevant documentation (i.e. Risk Assessments etc if there have been issues).
  5. Send Mandatory Request for Authorisation Task to SW.
  6. On receipt of approval from SW complete relevant outcome box. If further checks required select future work holder (usually administrator) and future date.
  7. Finish episode.
  8. SW records the date of the certificate of disclosure on the front screen of the carer's FWi record.


Appendix 3: Internal Memorandum Template

Click here to view Memo Template

End