Acknowledgement of Billeting Conditions Dear Parent/Caregiver ____________________________ Salvation Army has received an indication that you may be willing to provide accommodation for a child/young person who is participating in the ____________________________ (event). This activity will involve the provision of accommodation for visiting groups from (time and date) to (time and date) _________________________ ______________________________________________. We are very grateful for your offer to billet visiting children/youth. The Salvation Army has policies and procedures relating to child safety and protection. We strive to set a standard of best practice in the care of our participants and we trust that you share our concern and thus understand the need for the billeting contract we use. In order to formalise the billet, please sign and return the undertaking below. All adults residing in your home need to be aware of this undertaking. We hope you will enjoy having the billeted children/youth in your home and anticipate that they will benefit from the experience of staying with you. Please retain this section for future reference. Return the completed slip below to ________________________________________ (name). Yours sincerely ____________________________ Corps officer Sign ____________ Date Undertaking to provide billet I understand that The Salvation Army is committed to providing a safe environment for children and youth, so I (name) (number) from (dates) Sign ______________________________ agree to provide appropriate accommodation for ___ children/youth during the (event) ________ to _____________________________ being held ________. I advise that I am not aware of anything in my history, or the history of the people within this household that would preclude our hosting the children/youth during this visit. I undertake to provide a safe and secure environment for them and to do my utmost to ensure that they are not exposed to harm. All adult members of this household have read and are aware of this undertaking. ____________________________ Signature Version: March 2015 ____________ Date Safe Salvos Guidelines for Use: Application for Ministry Form Page 1 of 2 Billeting Billeting has been a traditional way of providing low cost accommodation for youth and children’s groups involved in visiting other corps e.g. musical and sports groups. Billeting needs to be a planned activity in which corps officers, billeting co-ordinators, team leaders, the host families and the parents of the visiting children and young people are fully informed and implement arrangements that have been agreed upon by the corps officers involved. All events involving billeting must have the approval of the corps officer and the participating corps or group. The corps officer, or delegated team leader, retains overriding responsibility for the welfare of the children and young people they accompany for the duration of the activity. This responsibility cannot be transferred to parents, or other volunteers of external organisations. Reasonable steps need to be taken to anticipate possible risk situations for children and young people and to plan and, if necessary, implement strategies to address them. Consideration needs to be made in matching children and young people with host families with relevant information shared on a ‘need to know’ basis. Every host billet must be personally known to the billet organiser, and sleeping accommodation should be seen prior to the visit. Corps officer needs to be aware of others who reside in the home and visit during the billeting time. Ensure that no child billets alone and that there are no mixed billets – that is, children and youth of the opposite sex in the same billet – unless they are in separate rooms in the same house. If the well being or safety of a child or young person is at risk, or there is the suspicion that this could be so, they should be relocated to another approved accommodation arrangement and the parents/caregivers informed that this has occurred. Host corps: Ensure that Safe Salvos training has been delivered at your corps to raise awareness of best practice with children or young people, including those responsible for arranging billets. No children or young people should be billeted in homes considered unsuitable by the host corps officer. No adult should share a room with a child/young person unless prior written parental consent is given. Ensure that the Billeting Conditions form has been completed by the billets. Ensure that the visiting children are with an approved adult if they visit other homes. Inform the visiting corps, no later than two weeks beforehand, of the names, addresses and phone numbers of where the children or young people are to be billeted. Corps making the visit: Ensure that all accompanying adults have completed training in Safe Salvos to raise awareness of best practice. Ensure parent/guardian completes a consent form and the Individual Record/Permission Form is updated. Failure to complete these forms will result in the participant being unable to take part in the visit. One week beforehand, ensure parents/guardians have the full details of billets, informing them that they can make contact with their billet should they wish to do so. PRIVACY The Salvation Army is committed to upholding the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Our detailed privacy policy can be accessed online at http://salvos.org.au/privacy-policy/, by contacting our Privacy Officer on 02 9266 9554 or by writing to us at PO Box A435, Sydney South NSW 1235. Our privacy policy includes information about how you may access and update the personal or sensitive information we hold about you and details of how you can complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles and how we will deal with your complaint. Version: March 2015 Safe Salvos Guidelines for Use: Application for Ministry Form Page 2 of 2