Commissioners do not get infinite time to evaluate providers. In practice, most provider decisions get made under pressure, on incomplete information, and against a very short shortlist. This guide covers the questions worth asking, the checks that catch problems, and the red flags that should take a provider off the list.
The questions most commissioners don't ask, but should
Most provider conversations cover availability, cost and location. Those matter, but they do not tell you whether a placement will last. The questions below tell you more:
Who signs off a placement decision?
Ask who has the authority to accept or decline a referral, and what they assess it against. If the answer is "our commercial team" or "whoever is available", placement decisions at that provider are being driven by the need to fill beds.
What is your agency usage rate?
A healthy provider should be under 10% agency. Above 20% is a quality signal: the provider cannot retain staff, which means placements will experience inconsistent staffing, which means higher breakdown risk.
How quickly do I hear about an incident?
Serious incidents: same day. All other incidents: 24 hours. Anything slower means either that reporting is slow or that incidents are being filtered before they reach you.
Can I speak to a commissioner who currently works with you?
A provider with strong commissioner relationships will offer references readily. Vague deflections on references suggest the reference pool is shallow or unhappy.
What is your decline rate on referrals?
A provider who accepts every referral is a provider whose placements will break down. A good answer gives a number: we decline referrals where we could not support the young person safely, and we declined this many in the past six months.
What "fully vetted" should mean
"All staff DBS checked" is only the start. Ask for the vetting pack: enhanced DBS, right-to-work verification, reference chain, probation review process, rolling DBS updates. If a provider cannot describe this in detail, the vetting claim is thin.
Property standards: beyond the basics
Gas safety, electrical safety, fire risk assessments: these are the legal floor. Look for more: how quickly are repairs responded to, what is the decoration standard, are communal spaces functional (working kitchen, working laundry), is the location reasonable for the young person's education and health appointments.
A tidy photo gallery on a website is not evidence. Ask for a property visit before placing.
Financial stability
This is commissioners' least favourite question because it feels awkward, but a provider who runs tight on cash cannot sustain placements when something goes wrong. Ask about operating reserves, ask whether payroll is covered forward, and take a view on whether the provider will still be there in six months.
A named contact who can decide
Every placement should come with a single named senior contact. When you call, that person either answers or calls back within the day. They know the young person and the placement, and they can make a decision themselves.
References
Ask for two current commissioner references and call them. Ask what has gone wrong and how the provider handled it. Every provider has had things go wrong. If the reference cannot describe one, the reference is not telling you enough.
Website vs operational capability
Anyone can build a polished website. Treat the website as marketing, and the due diligence pack, the property visit and the reference calls as the evidence. If there is a gap between what the website claims and what the evidence shows, trust the evidence.
Red flags
- CIW claims for 16+ provision: misrepresentation of regulatory position.
- No decline rate: provider accepts everything.
- High agency usage: above 20%.
- Slow incident reporting: you find out days later.
- No named senior contact: every call is a new person.
- Reluctant on references or property visits: something is hidden.
- Polished website, thin paperwork: marketing without infrastructure.
Where TIFA Life sits against these criteria
TIFA Life is not a CIW-registered children's home or care service. We accept placements only where needs can be safely met within our supported accommodation model. We assign a named senior contact to each placement and make our safeguarding, staffing, property and reporting evidence available for due diligence. We assess referrals across all 22 Welsh Local Authorities, with active delivery concentrated across South and West Wales.
For the full picture: for Local Authorities, quality and safeguarding, or make a referral.