Annex E: Designated Caseworkers Training & Selection
Criteria for designation
1. Applicants for designation are required to have successfully completed probation and possess three years' relevant experience as a Caseworker or to have a suitable legal qualification. In their written submission they are required to demonstrate that they meet the criteria and satisfy the personal competencies. A selection panel considers each application and those applicants who pass the sift are invited to appear before local interview panels. Successful applicants are thereafter recommended for specialised training.
Training
2.1 Applicants undertake an intensive Service Internal training programme which involves assimilating a comprehensive Resource pack through distance learning and attending a Foundation Course (legal principles) and a separate Advocacy Course.
2.2 An applicant is only recommended for designation where at the conclusion of their Advocacy training they pass an independent assessment of competence undertaken during that period.
2.3 After successfully completing the Advocacy course, DCWs have to complete on-line e-learning modules covering Case Management Hearings and Custody Time Limits and a face-to-face one day event dealing with Bail Applications. It is recommended that this is done no longer than three to four months after the Advocacy assessment. The training equips the applicant with the knowledge and advocacy skills to undertake a review and presentational role in the magistrates' courts in accordance with the Director's General Instructions under section 7A (4) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. There are additional required e-learning modules whose purpose is to further enhance their knowledge. These are on Domestic Violence, the Threshold Test, Conditional Cautioning, and the Fraud Act 2006.
2.4 A Designated Caseworker must complete 16 hours of continuing professional development training per year.
