House guests - allowed or not?

[beebusy]

Hi,
We hope to apply for foster early in the New Year.
I'm just wondering if house guests are allowed when you foster?
We occasionally have one of our parents stay, or my cousin and her children. It's usually just one or two nights - and no more than a few times a year. We have spare bedrooms for guests. Is this allowed? And if so do the adults need to be DBS (CRB) checked?
Thanks!

I would assume as long as the child isn't left with them alone then they wouldn't need to be DBS checked .As far as I'm aware it's just members of the family who are living in the house that are checked.T

I would second what bexollie said - but each agency or LA will have their own specific policies. If your household changes, even if just for a few nights, you should tell the child's social worker and ask your social worker about it. But it shouldn't be a blanket no - and just make sure you're keeping an eye on the FC's and they aren't left alone with adults without a DBS check for extended periods of time without social workers' permission.

DBS checks should only be necessary if youre planning to leave the FC's alone with these people for a long time or if they are staying in your house longer term.

Anyway, should be an easy question for the social workers to answer when you arrange a home visit or on the phone to talk about fostering. You can always ring your local council and ask your questions to their adoption & fostering department, even if you're not planning to apply right now.

Good luck! :)

Great, thank you for your replies. That's really helpful! :-)