Independant Safeguarding Authority
We have some concerns about the new procedures. Currently we will carry out our own reference checks following a CRB. Where someone has a criminal record, or has had other problems, we will carry out a risk assessment and try and place them in a suitable volunteering opportunity. This has resulted in some vulnerable people getting their lives back on the tracks. If the ISA just blocks them rather than allowing organisations to make contextual judgements, then many people will miss out. What do others think?
I don't particularly find the ISA an attractive proposition, but I understand one of the reasons it was set up was to make dispassionate decisions about whether to allow someone to work/volunteer with children/vulnerable adults. Many organisations are currently blocking otherwise suitable people simply on the basis that they had a criminal record; rather than making a judgement call based on what information was declared/on the CRB and what risk of harm to children/vulnerable adults there might be. The ISA at least offers a structured process of making a decision with the opportunity to make representations if an individual is barred.
So I think it's six-of-one, half-a-dozen of the other: if the ISA gets it right and makes individual judgements then it should work and be fairer to those people who have a criminal record. I'm not saying that will be the case, but I understand the rationale behind doing it this way.