Privacy Notice - Looked After Children and Care Leavers Service

Nature of work

The Looked After Children and Care Leavers Service comprises the following teams:

• Looked After Children’s Team
• Child Asylum and 16 Plus Team
• Fostering Team
• Children’s Social Work Finance Team
• Emergency Duty Team (EDT)

Looked After Children’s Team

The team fulfils statutory duties to assess need and progress care plans for children in the care of the local authority (Looked After Children). Direct work with Looked After Children and their families is undertaken to inform relevant assessments and support progress towards independence in adulthood. Work may also be undertaken for children in need under Section 17 of the Children Act.

Child Asylum and 16 Plus Team

The team responds to referrals of newly arriving Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) – undertaking relevant assessments of need and providing accommodation where this is necessary.

The team also takes responsibility for (non UASC) looked after children once they are 16 years old and have a pathway plan - supporting them as care leavers into adulthood (up to 25 years of age). The team progresses the care plans and pathway plans for children in the care of the local authority and fulfils statutory duties to young people who subsequently leave the care of the Local Authority.

Fostering Team

The team is responsible for recruiting, training and assessing prospective foster carers (including connected persons carers). The team is responsible for providing supervision, training support, and support to approved foster carers (including out of hours support).  Work is undertaken in close liaison with the children’s social work teams to provide the best possible placement for the child.

Children’s Social Work Finance Team

The Children’s Social Work Finance Team oversees and administers the financial invoicing and payments for the Childrens Social Work Service. The team ensures that financial regulations are complied with and payments are made accurately and in a timely way to ensure minimum disruption in service delivery. Transactions may relate to financial support provided to families, and, to services delivered to children and families on behalf of the local authority by third party agencies.

Emergency Duty Team (EDT)

EDT provides an emergency out of hours Social Work response to concerns relating to both Children and Adults as well as provides an out of hours Approved Mental Health Practitioner response where mental health concerns have been identified. They then pass their work over to the day teams for them to carry on the work as required.

Why we need your information

Your information will be used to fulfil our statutory duties to promote the welfare and safety of children we work with.

Type/Classes of information processed

We process a variety of information relating to the above which may include:

• personal details
• family details
• lifestyle and social circumstances
• health information
• financial information
• employment and education details
• housing information
• visual images, personal appearance and behaviour
• licenses, permits or registrations held
• student and pupil information
• business activities
• case file information
• record of criminal offences
• Births and Deaths details
• Texts, phone records and information from social media

We may also process what is referred to as special categories of information that may include data revealing:

• racial or ethnic origin
• political opinions
• religious or philosophical beliefs
• trade union membership
• membership of professional bodies
• health or data concerning a person's sex life or sexual orientation

Who information is processed about

We process information for the following classes of individuals where this is relevant to the business of the team as outlined above:

• service users and customers
• staff, persons contracted to provide a service
• complainants, enquirers or their representatives
• professional advisers and consultants
• the Judiciary
• other local authorities
• carers or representatives
• witnesses
• offenders and suspected offenders
• license and permit holders
• traders and others subject to inspection where they in a position of trust
• representatives of other organisations
• healthcare users/patients
• survey respondents
• victims of crime

Who information may be shared with

What follows is a description of the types of organisations we may need to share some of the personal information we process with, for one or more reasons.

Where necessary or required we share information with:

• service users and customers
• family, associates or representatives of the person whose personal data we are processing
• current past and prospective employers
• healthcare, social and welfare organisations
• educators
• providers of goods and services
• financial organisations
• debt collection and tracing agencies
• service providers
• local and central government
• ombudsman and regulatory authorities
• press and the media
• professional advisers and consultants
• courts and tribunals
• trade unions
• professional bodies
• survey and research organisations
• police forces, including non-home office police forces
• housing associations
• voluntary and charitable organisations
• religious organisations
• Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS)
• data processors
• regulatory bodies
• prisons and youth offending institutions
• customs and excise and border agency
• local and central government
• international bodies (including law enforcement, regulatory and professional bodies)
• partner agencies
• licensing authorities
• legal representatives, defence solicitors
• police complaints authority
• the disclosure and barring service
• register of births and deaths
• Local Authority Social Care Services
• Probation Services

How long we will keep your information

We will not keep your information any longer than needed. The length of time will vary from service to service and will be guided either by legislation which states how long records should be retained, e.g. records of initial contacts (12 months) through to adoption records (100 years) or by the business need to keep the information (which will vary).

Transfers Overseas

It may sometimes be necessary to transfer personal information overseas. When this is needed information may be transferred to countries or territories around the world. Any transfers made will be in full compliance with all aspects of data protection legislation.