Approved Adults for Supervising Child Sex Offenders' Contact with Children

Introduction

This topic provides policies and procedures to approve adults for supervising child sex offenders' contact with children.

This topic applies to offenders who are subject to a special condition or direction not to associate with children under the age of 16 unless under the supervision of an adult approved by a probation officer (the exact wording of such conditions may vary).

Who can be an approved adult?

An "approved adult" is not the same as a support person. An approved adult must be:

assessed as suitable to supervise the offender's contact with children under 16, and
approved formally, in writing, by a probation officer.

Approved adults must meet the following criteria:

over the age of 20 years
fully aware of the offender's previous offending and high risk situations, and, in the opinion of the probation officer, will not support or collude with any further offending, and
have provided consent to a criminal history check, and have no convictions which suggest they would be unsuitable for supervising contact with children.
Note: Unsuitable convictions include:
- sex offences
- violence
- offences against children
- recent dishonesty offences, or
- offences indicating recent alcohol or other drug abuse.

Spouses and partners

In most cases it will not be appropriate for the offender's spouse, partner or significant other to be an approved adult. This is because of the likelihood of some degree of influence, duress or collusion. It may also place undue pressure on a relationship.

There may be very occasional cases where a spouse, partner or significant other might be an approved adult, but this would only be in very limited circumstances, where the person being considered has proven independently to:

be non-collusive, and
see the safety of potential victims as a priority.

Responsibilities of approved adults

The responsibilities of an approved adult are:

direct supervision
not to leave the offender alone with the child(ren) at any time
recognise and immediately address any early warning signs/ inappropriate behaviour
alert the probation officer to any early warning signs/inappropriate behaviour at the earliest opportunity, and
refrain from drinking alcohol during supervised contact.

Approving a person

When assessing someone for approved adult status, probation officers should take the following steps.

Step	Action
1	Obtain the offender's consent to fully disclose his/her offending history and high risk situations to the person being considered for approved adult status.
2	Meet with the person being considered and ensure they understand the responsibilities of an approved adult, and the offender's early warning signs and high risk situations. Ask for consent to do a criminal history check.
3	Obtain the criminal history. Reference: Volume 1, Part V, Chapter 2, Section e, Conducting Criminal History Checks on Relevant Occupants (please refer to the related links section on this page) Check that the person has no convictions which suggest they would be unsuitable for supervising contact with children. Unsuitable convictions include: sex offences violence offences against children recent dishonesty offences, or offences indicating recent alcohol or other drug abuse.
4	Determine specific times/places/occasions, and identify specific children for the supervised contact, rather than giving general approval for all contact with any children.
5	Develop a safety plan with the offender and approved adult which covers any potential risk issues which may occur during the supervised contact, and strategies to avoid and manage these.
6	Consult with: the service manager the Department of Corrections psychologist (where relevant), and any external agencies involved (eg, CYF, mental health services).
7	Record the decision in the offender's casenotes.
8	If the person is approved, complete the CPPS Agreement for Supervised Contact with Named Children template. If the person is not approved, record this in a letter to both the offender and the person.
9	Have the offender and approved adult sign and retain a copy of the agreement and place a copy on the offender's file. Copy the agreement into the offender's casenotes.

Approval by other agencies

The decision to approve a person to supervise a child sex offender's contact with children under a non-association direction or condition is the responsibility of CPPS.

Other agencies may be consulted in making this decision, but supervising adults should not be approved simply because another agency (e.g. CYF, family court) has approved them. The person must still meet the criteria set out above in order to be approved for supervising contact with children.

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