Privacy Notice

Fostering Changes Life – Privacy Policy

– Privacy Notice – Fostering Changes Life – 

 

Who is the data controller?

 Fostering Changes Life (FCL) is the data controller for the information that you provide. FCL is committed to protecting your personal information and ensuring that processes and procedures are in place to make us compliant with data protection regulations.

 

How we will use your information

FCL complies with the Data Protection Act and the GDPR and is registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) as a Data Controller.

This Privacy Notice explains how personal information is going to be used, for what purpose, who it will be shared with and why.   

 

Why we collect your data

The purposes for which the data will be used are:

  • Provide advice and guidance to prospective or approved carers
  • The recruitment, training, assessment and approval of persons wishing to become foster carers, including those persons who wish to become foster carers for family members –referred to as family and friends foster carers or connected foster carers.
  • Develop and improve our services
  • Ensure that foster carers and staff receive remuneration
  • Training and development of all foster carers and staff 
  • To enable us to support and supervise all of our foster carers and staff
  • Placement finding and matching exercises for children requiring placements with foster carer
  • In certain cases, such as safeguarding inquiries and criminal investigations we are legally obliged to provide information to the police. However we have procedures in place that allows this to be carried out in a secure and confidential manner.

We process personal data because it is necessary to comply with our legal obligations (Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 and the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010) and perform our public duty. In certain cases, such as safeguarding inquiries and criminal investigations we are legally obliged to provide information to the police. However we have procedures in place that allows this to be carried out in a secure and confidential manner.

 

What is the legal basis for collecting and processing this data?

All organisations must provide a legal basis for processing your information. In most cases this is found in the new data laws of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Article 9 of the GDPR also requires us to process your information based on your explicit and informed consent, with associated data subjects’ rights applicable at all stages. The Fostering Services (England) Regulations, 2011 allows FCL to provide Fostering services.

Furthermore, we have legal grounds to process this information because it is necessary to comply with a legal duty or fulfil a public task.  These are: 

  • Children Act 1989
  • Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000
  • Adoption & Children Act 2002 and associated regulations
  • Children Act 2004
  • Childcare Act 2006
  • Children and Families Act 2014, and
  • Children and Social Work Act 2017
  • Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011
  • Care Standards Act 2000
  • Children and Young Persons Act 2008
  • Independent Review of Determinations (Adoption and Fostering) Regulations 2009
  • Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010
  • The Care Planning and Fostering (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2015
  • The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review and Fostering Services (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2013.

 

Who will your information be shared with?

FCL services works in collaboration with a number of local authorities and third party agencies.  

  • Where you agree to the placement of a child from another fostering service we will share your information with that fostering service.
  • We are required to provide your data for the purpose of statutory data collection by external agencies including OFSTED.
  • If you apply to another fostering agency for the purposes of fostering or adoption the agency can ask to see the information that FCL may hold about you.
  • Where directed to by the court in any family proceedings.
  • Foster panel, Foster Talk, Fostering Network, NSPCC

We are statutory obliged to protect public funds, which include allowances and discretionary payments made to foster carers. In some circumstances we will be required to share information to authorised bodies for the prevention and detection of fraud.

  • Foster Talk – we purchase membership for carers and access independent support.
  • Fostering Network – we purchase membership for carers.
  • NSPCC – to access support services
  • GP and authorised NHS agencies
  • Other local authorities, independent fostering agencies and assessors would be able to view files if carers transfer to them, or if a safeguarding issue arises.

 How long will you keep this information for?

This information is set out in the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011. In addition we will keep your information for a period of time (1 year) where you do not proceed from enquiry to application to enable us to complete our statutory annual fostering return.

 How will my information be stored?

Your information will be stored securely on our computer databases. Access to these databases will be restricted to those who are entitled to view and process your data. If the information is collected in a paper format we will also ensure it is kept secure and destroyed when no longer required.

How long will we keep your information?

We will only keep your information for as long as we need to, so we can give you the service you need, unless we must keep it for legal reasons. The time can be different depending on the service you have asked for/are provided with.

Your rights

You have the right to ask to see the personal information we hold about you

  1. Ask us to change information we hold about you if it is wrong
  2. Ask us to delete the information we hold about you
  3. Ask us to limit the way we use your personal Information
  4. Data portability (have your data transferred to another Authority) 
  5. Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office  

To exercise any of these rights, please contact FCL.

We do not make automated decisions about you and your children.