Government-backed guidelines state that it is best practice to carry outCRB checks on regular visitors to foster carers' households. Thisincludes baby sitters who might, at times, have sole charge of a fosterchild.
But last summer, a CRB audit of who is eligible for these checksrevealed that the law does not actually allow regular visitors to fostercarers' households to be vetted.
Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 the assumption is thatyou are entitled not to be CRB checked unless the law makes an exemptionand only foster carers and members of their immediate household arecovered by the current list of exemptions.
"Up until late last year, checks had been happening by default - thepractice was that if someone was coming to your household on a regularbasis, such as a babysitter, you would do a CRB check," said PhilipSutton, development worker at The Fostering Network. "We've nowdiscovered there is no legal basis for these checks, so since lastsummer none have been done."
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