Protection of vulnerable adults scheme
29 August 2007
Find out how the protection of vulnerable adults (POVA)
scheme must be used when you are recruiting staff.
About the scheme
Good recruitment practices contribute to safeguarding adults by
making sure people who carry out abuse are
excluded from the social care workforce.
Our report Safe and sound: Checking the suitability of new care
staff in regulated social care services highlights good practice in
this area.
The POVA scheme, run by the Department of Health, is an
important part of this. Its main feature is a list of
people who are unsuitable to work with vulnerable
adults.
People should be referred to, and included on, the POVA list if
they have abused or harmed vulnerable adults in their care or
placed them at risk of harm.
Service providers must check the list before
agreeing to employ staff and must not offer jobs in care positions
to anyone on it.
The POVA scheme applies to:
- registered service providers of care homes
- domiciliary care agencies
- adult placement schemes.
It also applies to employment agencies and businesses who supply
care workers to these providers.
Guidance
Department of Health
Guidance relevant to both care providers and our inspectors is
available on the Department of
Health's POVA web page.
This includes:
- A practical guide giving an overview of how
the scheme operates. This includes some important information about
changes in the regulations that allow people to start work in care
homes and domiciliary care agencies in advance of a full Criminal
Records Bureau (CRB) disclosure. This is only allowed in
exceptional circumstances and subject to certain safeguards
including a ‘POVAFirst’ check.
- A referral form which can be used by care
providers and, where appropriate, by CSCI staff to make referrals
to the POVA scheme.
- A set of frequently asked questions and
answers.
Social Care Institute for Excellence
The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has produced
guidance, Practice guide 7, which will assist
employers with making referrals. You can get this document from
SCIE’s website.
Guidance for CSCI staff
Our staff have a role in making checks against the POVA list for
people applying to register as service providers and promoting
awareness of the POVA scheme to service providers.
They also have the power to make referrals to the list under
certain circumstances.
Please note: this guidance is in addition to
that provided by the Department of Health.
New vetting and barring scheme
A new vetting and barring scheme, developed in response to the
Bichard Inquiry, will be introduced through the Safeguarding
Vulnerable Groups Act in October 2009.
Find out more about the scheme which covers children and
vulnerable adults from the Independent Safeguarding Authority
website.
Find out more
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