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CWE-CWR-15 Compassion, Welfare & Environment Community Welfare & Relief CORE Excellence v2.9.7

Confidential listening service: safe, accessible, and well‑governed.

Evaluating a confidential listening service that operationalizes Raḥmah (compassion) and Amānah (trust). This vital service provides a safe, non-judgmental space for community members, directly impacting their emotional well-being and building profound organizational trust and stakeholder loyalty. By upholding Sitr (concealment of private matters) and offering Naṣīḥah (sincere counsel), the organization fulfills the Maqāṣid (higher objectives) of preserving human dignity and mental well-being (Ḥifẓ al-ʿAql), ensuring vulnerable individuals receive empathetic support.

Compliance 7
  • Safer recruitment & Training: Identity checks, 2 references, DBS/criminal record checks, conflict declarations, code of conduct/adab pledge; competency sign-off (shadowing/observation) before solo work.
    HR/People Essential
  • Standardised risk triage + safety plan toolkit: use a scripted triage (ideation/plan/means/timeframe), a safety plan template, and a decision tree for 999/111/crisis team escalation (aligned with NICE NG105).
    Process Essential
  • Under-18s protocol (if applicable): age-check approach, safeguarding triage for minors, confidentiality explanation for children, and Children’s Code controls for online chat (high privacy defaults).
    Safeguarding Essential
  • Safeguarding Governance: Named Safeguarding Lead (and Deputy) appointed; documented escalation routes to Local Authority; LADO referral procedure for allegations against staff/volunteers.
    Governance Essential
  • Comprehensive DPIA & Data Controls: Processor/vendor due diligence (Art.28 contracts), role-based access control, encryption, DSAR/erasure workflow, and data sharing decision logs.
    Compliance Essential
  • Accessibility standard: publish reasonable adjustments offer (BSL/interpreting via vetted provider, text relay), provide gender-preference option where feasible, and monitor accessibility requests.
    Stakeholder Engagement Essential
  • Lone working and channel-specific risk assessments (phone/chat/in-person) including telephony security (CLI withholding) and venue safety (first aid).
    Compliance Essential
Good 3
  • Documented service model & boundary framework: define what the service is/is not (listening vs counselling/therapy), maximum session length, prohibited activities, and a standard 'service charter' script.
    Governance Essential
  • Quality assurance framework: monthly anonymised case note audit against a checklist (confidentiality script used, triage completed, referrals documented).
    Quality Essential
  • Business continuity: on-call backup rota, documented outage communication plan, and annual test of DR (e.g., switch to backup number/platform).
    Process Essential
Better 6
  • Multiple channels for access (phone, online chat, in-person) with seamless integration.
    Stakeholder Engagement High
  • Availability during key hours (e.g., evenings, weekends) and rapid response times.
    Stakeholder Engagement High
  • Culturally and linguistically sensitive service with multi-language options.
    Excellence High
  • Regular supervision/debrief and vicarious trauma support for listeners beyond minimum compliance.
    Wellbeing High
  • Data minimisation: no call recording by default; anonymised note-taking only when necessary; clear retention schedule.
    Compliance High
  • Offer interpreted sessions (including BSL) through a vetted provider; publish available languages.
    Stakeholder Engagement High
Best 1
  • Integration with local health ecosystems (e.g., formal partnerships with NHS trusts or mental health charities).
    Collaboration High

Related Criteria

CWE-CWR-01 Weekly Dignified Food Support Service (Food Bank, Pantry, or Hot Meals) CWE-CWR-02 Hardship-grant / zakāt emergency fund CWE-CWR-03 Volunteer management: hours logging, safer recruitment & safeguarding CWE-CWR-04 Partnerships with local authorities and community organisations (NGOs/VCSE) CWE-CWR-05 User-impact survey results
Version
2.9.7 2025-11-05

Discussion (1)

Administrator 2026-03-07 11:08:01.575612

📋 **Version updated: 1.0.0 → 2.9.7** **Changes:** Updated islamic_references from mizan-297.json

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