Hi ladies...
It's been a pleasure doing this assignment with you both.
Rhonda, special thanks for putting this blog together. It was a terrific forum for us to use. Thank you also for compiling and submitting everything.
Again, thanks to you both!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Section: Disclosure of Records/Information to Outside Agencies and/or Consultants
Section #131...The SafeStop Center staff will sometimes be required by private insurance companies or Medicaid/Famis to disclose limited confidential information about the minor client in order to justify continued payment for sessions. It is the policy of this center to release only the minimum information required to keep the benefits available to the client, generally no more than the diagnosis and the recommended course of treatment.
Section #132...The SafeStop Center staff can and may disclose confidential information to outside agencies when seeking to facilitate educational resource availability for the minor client, including but not limited to school administrators, special education coordinators, independent tutors and guidance counselors. Only essential confidential information necessary in facilitating these services will be disclosed.
Section #133...The SafeStop Center staff can and may disclose confidential information to outside agencies when seeking to facilitate basic living resource availability for the minor client, including but not limited to medical professionals, health and welfare agencies, appropriate child service agencies and professional caregivers. Only essential confidential information necessary in facilitating these services will be disclosed.
Section #134...The SafeStop Center staff constantly seeks to provide minor clients with the best possible mental health care services. In order to do so, counselors sometimes consult with outside mental health care providers and/or scholars to discuss client cases. The SafeStop Center staff will only discuss the case of a minor child with the prior consent of his/her guardian or advocate, and will attempt to gain the consent of the minor child as well.
Section #135...The SafeStop Center staff is legally and ethically bound to disclose confidential client information to law enforcement agencies and/or Child Protective Services if a staff member determines that a minor child client is in danger, poses a danger to him/herself, and/or poses a danger to others.
Section #136...The SafeStop Center staff maintains a policy of minimal disclosure in all instances in which confidential information must be revealed. Staff will never disclose more than is required by an authorized outside agency or entity.
Section #132...The SafeStop Center staff can and may disclose confidential information to outside agencies when seeking to facilitate educational resource availability for the minor client, including but not limited to school administrators, special education coordinators, independent tutors and guidance counselors. Only essential confidential information necessary in facilitating these services will be disclosed.
Section #133...The SafeStop Center staff can and may disclose confidential information to outside agencies when seeking to facilitate basic living resource availability for the minor client, including but not limited to medical professionals, health and welfare agencies, appropriate child service agencies and professional caregivers. Only essential confidential information necessary in facilitating these services will be disclosed.
Section #134...The SafeStop Center staff constantly seeks to provide minor clients with the best possible mental health care services. In order to do so, counselors sometimes consult with outside mental health care providers and/or scholars to discuss client cases. The SafeStop Center staff will only discuss the case of a minor child with the prior consent of his/her guardian or advocate, and will attempt to gain the consent of the minor child as well.
Section #135...The SafeStop Center staff is legally and ethically bound to disclose confidential client information to law enforcement agencies and/or Child Protective Services if a staff member determines that a minor child client is in danger, poses a danger to him/herself, and/or poses a danger to others.
Section #136...The SafeStop Center staff maintains a policy of minimal disclosure in all instances in which confidential information must be revealed. Staff will never disclose more than is required by an authorized outside agency or entity.
Section: Disclosure and Consent of a minor client
Section #123 ....The SafeStop Center and it’s staff, volunteers and administrators will honor the confidentiality privileges of all clients; adult, adolescent and children. Whenever possible, informed consent will be gained from parents, caregivers or legal representatives. Minor children old enough to understand the counseling process will receive services with a client assent if parents, caregiver or advocate cannot be located.
Section #124.....The SafeStop Center staff can and may disclose confidential information if directed by a court ruling, or to provide necessary services for the minor client’s well being, or to consult with other professionals (only to the extent necessary to aid client), or to protect the client from harm injury to himself or others.
Section #125...The SafeStop Center staff will discuss with potential minor clients the center’s policies regarding informed consent, assent, limitations of the confidentiality agreement and precautions taken to protect information stored in any manner. These conversations will be documented at the start of services, and monthly thereafter. The confidentiality policy discussion may be made at a later date in the event of emergency crisis intervention.
Section #126...The SafeStop Center staff will get minor client’s permission to disclose information to an absentee parent, other than when court ordered. It is SafeStop Center’s policy to involve family of the minor client’s in counseling services whenever possible if doing so will aid the minor client. If said minor client does not have family, the staff will aid in having an advocate assigned to the child to aid in the decision making process.
Section #127...The SafeStop Center staff and volunteers will not use, circulate or post any photographs of minor clients without written usage agreement from parents, caregiver or advocate.
Section #124.....The SafeStop Center staff can and may disclose confidential information if directed by a court ruling, or to provide necessary services for the minor client’s well being, or to consult with other professionals (only to the extent necessary to aid client), or to protect the client from harm injury to himself or others.
Section #125...The SafeStop Center staff will discuss with potential minor clients the center’s policies regarding informed consent, assent, limitations of the confidentiality agreement and precautions taken to protect information stored in any manner. These conversations will be documented at the start of services, and monthly thereafter. The confidentiality policy discussion may be made at a later date in the event of emergency crisis intervention.
Section #126...The SafeStop Center staff will get minor client’s permission to disclose information to an absentee parent, other than when court ordered. It is SafeStop Center’s policy to involve family of the minor client’s in counseling services whenever possible if doing so will aid the minor client. If said minor client does not have family, the staff will aid in having an advocate assigned to the child to aid in the decision making process.
Section #127...The SafeStop Center staff and volunteers will not use, circulate or post any photographs of minor clients without written usage agreement from parents, caregiver or advocate.
Records Confidentiality Statement
All records regarding your therapy that are maintained by Safe Spot are considered private and confidential. No records will be released to a third party without your express written consent. These records are also protected by state and federal law, as well as by standards of our profession as outlined in the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics and the American Psychological Association Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. Under specific circumstances, exceptions to confidentiality apply. These exceptions are mandated by law and our ethical commitments and include the suspicion of child abuse or neglect, or a serious and immediate threat to the life or welfare of you, another person, or the community at large, or a court order.
These protections include all written and electronic information, including email consultations with other colleagues of Safe Spot, facsimiles, computer files, therapist notes, insurance related information, and all written and electronic documentation associated with your services through Safe Spot. All therapy notes regarding your services at Safe Spot will be maintained on a computer at our agency that is not connected to the internet to verify that these records are kept secure. In addition, all computer files containing client information will be password protected, and the computer will require a user name and password for use. Only authorized personnel will have access to the computer containing client information. There are risks to confidentiality of any information that is transmitted via the internet. Safe Spot will utilize every available security measure to maintain the integrity of these communications.
Any hard copies of notes will be kept locked in a filing cabinet maintained by your therapist or our office personnel. All personnel and volunteers who have access to any client information have agreed to abide by the confidentiality requirements of our organization and have signed a confidentiality statement agreement.
In the event of a subpoena by an officer of a court to have access to your records, Safe Spot will enlist our attorney to protect the client privilege and will ask the court to review the necessity of the subpoena and request that the court protect your right to confidentiality. If the court disagrees with our request, they will issue a court order with which we would comply, which is acceptable practice under our professional ethical standards.
Under state and federal law and our professional ethical standards, you have the right to review and request copies of your records. It is our obligation to help you understand your records and to assist you with reviewing these records. We will ask that you sign a release for these records.
In the event that your therapist is no longer employed by Safe Spot, retires or is deceased, Safe Spot will continue to maintain your records securely. Should you wish to have a professional outside of Safe Spot review your records, you can request copies in writing. All client records are maintained for ten years from the date of your termination of services at Safe Spot. These records are maintained by a professional records maintenance firm contracted by Safe Spot to securely store your records. This firm ensures that records are kept locked and no employee is permitted access to any records. At the end of the ten year period, these records are completely shredded.
All of the above stated policies regarding the security of your records contribute to the success of your therapy at Safe Spot, and we are committed to upholding our obligations to protect your right to confidentiality.
I, the undersigned, have read the policy regarding my records of services with Safe Spot.
These protections include all written and electronic information, including email consultations with other colleagues of Safe Spot, facsimiles, computer files, therapist notes, insurance related information, and all written and electronic documentation associated with your services through Safe Spot. All therapy notes regarding your services at Safe Spot will be maintained on a computer at our agency that is not connected to the internet to verify that these records are kept secure. In addition, all computer files containing client information will be password protected, and the computer will require a user name and password for use. Only authorized personnel will have access to the computer containing client information. There are risks to confidentiality of any information that is transmitted via the internet. Safe Spot will utilize every available security measure to maintain the integrity of these communications.
Any hard copies of notes will be kept locked in a filing cabinet maintained by your therapist or our office personnel. All personnel and volunteers who have access to any client information have agreed to abide by the confidentiality requirements of our organization and have signed a confidentiality statement agreement.
In the event of a subpoena by an officer of a court to have access to your records, Safe Spot will enlist our attorney to protect the client privilege and will ask the court to review the necessity of the subpoena and request that the court protect your right to confidentiality. If the court disagrees with our request, they will issue a court order with which we would comply, which is acceptable practice under our professional ethical standards.
Under state and federal law and our professional ethical standards, you have the right to review and request copies of your records. It is our obligation to help you understand your records and to assist you with reviewing these records. We will ask that you sign a release for these records.
In the event that your therapist is no longer employed by Safe Spot, retires or is deceased, Safe Spot will continue to maintain your records securely. Should you wish to have a professional outside of Safe Spot review your records, you can request copies in writing. All client records are maintained for ten years from the date of your termination of services at Safe Spot. These records are maintained by a professional records maintenance firm contracted by Safe Spot to securely store your records. This firm ensures that records are kept locked and no employee is permitted access to any records. At the end of the ten year period, these records are completely shredded.
All of the above stated policies regarding the security of your records contribute to the success of your therapy at Safe Spot, and we are committed to upholding our obligations to protect your right to confidentiality.
I, the undersigned, have read the policy regarding my records of services with Safe Spot.
An Opening Statement
I think that we need to have an opening statement regarding the overall committment of our organization to the ethical principles established by the ACA and the APA, something along the lines of:
As an organization, we are committed to assuring the confidentiality of all of your communications with us. We never release information about you unless you expressly request it in writing or unless we are compelled to by a court order.
In order for you to better understand our committment to your right to confidentiality, we provide all clients of our organization with a copy of our confidentiality policies and the laws governing confidentiality in the State of Illinois.
We are committed to providing the highest quality of services to our clients, and believe that our committment to privacy is essential to the success of the therapeutic relationship. Our organization conforms its confidentiality statement to the standards set forth by all applicable state and federal laws, and by the standards adopted by the professional associations that govern our profession: the American Counseling Association and the American Psychological Association.
REFERENCES
Clemson University: Counseling and Psychological Services. Confidentiality Statement.
Retrieved from
http://www.clemson.edu/studentaffairs/redfern/divisions/caps/confidentiality.php
As an organization, we are committed to assuring the confidentiality of all of your communications with us. We never release information about you unless you expressly request it in writing or unless we are compelled to by a court order.
In order for you to better understand our committment to your right to confidentiality, we provide all clients of our organization with a copy of our confidentiality policies and the laws governing confidentiality in the State of Illinois.
We are committed to providing the highest quality of services to our clients, and believe that our committment to privacy is essential to the success of the therapeutic relationship. Our organization conforms its confidentiality statement to the standards set forth by all applicable state and federal laws, and by the standards adopted by the professional associations that govern our profession: the American Counseling Association and the American Psychological Association.
REFERENCES
Clemson University: Counseling and Psychological Services. Confidentiality Statement.
Retrieved from
http://www.clemson.edu/studentaffairs/redfern/divisions/caps/confidentiality.php
Records for me, then
So I just want to make sure we are all on the same page:
Felicia will handle communications with other agencies and professionals
Wanda will handle the statement regarding sharing information with parents
Rhonda will construct the statement regarding the confidentiality of records
Do we feel that this is comprehensive enough? Is there anything that we might be missing?
Felicia will handle communications with other agencies and professionals
Wanda will handle the statement regarding sharing information with parents
Rhonda will construct the statement regarding the confidentiality of records
Do we feel that this is comprehensive enough? Is there anything that we might be missing?
Hi Wanda and Rhonda!
My primary email was down, and I didn't receive the invitation to contribute until just now. I did leave a couple of comments yesterday, including a few name suggestions. "Safe Spot" is fine with me, though, if that is what you all would prefer. Also, I mentioned that I would like to work up the portion of the statement that addresses outside and/or collaberative exchange of information guidelines and policies, as an agency of this nature would certainly provide referral information and would work with social and other community service providers, along with the handling of information requested by authorities and within the legal system. I will post what I have in the next few hours.
Stuff
Hi,
A big thing is going to be the informed assent for the children if no parents can be found whcih is too often the case. Collaberation with supervisors and /or director will be huge in such grey cases and should definitely be noted, I agree.
Did we get an extension?
I will post my rough draft as soon as humanly possible.
Thanks.
Wanda
A big thing is going to be the informed assent for the children if no parents can be found whcih is too often the case. Collaberation with supervisors and /or director will be huge in such grey cases and should definitely be noted, I agree.
Did we get an extension?
I will post my rough draft as soon as humanly possible.
Thanks.
Wanda
Who Has Access
No Latte ;-( But my coffee's good and my daughter is seranading us!
I agree, not all would have access to all confidential client records...but I think that our policy has to address certain situations that might arise in which certain people in the agency (Let's go with Safe Stop, unless Felicia has something different in mind) would need access to client information. For example, I could forsee marketing, during a fund raising campaign, approaching psych staff and asking if they knew of any stories they could use for marketing materials. Having a policy in place to protect client's right to privacy, such as first discussing the situation with the director of the agency and your supervisor, then approaching the client in a respectful manner, making sure the client understands that there would be no repercussions for not agreeing to appear in the literature, that the agency would involve the client in all aspects of approving the materials, etc.
I can see sharing information with educational support persons in the case of a child with special needs and this should be discussed with parents and supervisors...
I guess I just want to make sure that all the bases are covered in advance with a specific policy that would cover all the contingencies, so that there are no surprises...
I agree, not all would have access to all confidential client records...but I think that our policy has to address certain situations that might arise in which certain people in the agency (Let's go with Safe Stop, unless Felicia has something different in mind) would need access to client information. For example, I could forsee marketing, during a fund raising campaign, approaching psych staff and asking if they knew of any stories they could use for marketing materials. Having a policy in place to protect client's right to privacy, such as first discussing the situation with the director of the agency and your supervisor, then approaching the client in a respectful manner, making sure the client understands that there would be no repercussions for not agreeing to appear in the literature, that the agency would involve the client in all aspects of approving the materials, etc.
I can see sharing information with educational support persons in the case of a child with special needs and this should be discussed with parents and supervisors...
I guess I just want to make sure that all the bases are covered in advance with a specific policy that would cover all the contingencies, so that there are no surprises...
Structure and name
Hi Rhonda,
Hope you are enjoying your latte', I'm thoroughly enjoying the left over froot loops from my boys!
The statements look like an overall standard except for the non-profits that cannot fill all positions. Although the hundreds of volunteers that fill those holes work just as hard, I would hesitate to give them full clearance to priveleged info or even just sensitive information. I think we need to be sure to cover volunteers in there too. Did the class get an extension?
As far as the name what about "Daybreak" or "Safe Stop" or "Redo"?
Wanda
Hope you are enjoying your latte', I'm thoroughly enjoying the left over froot loops from my boys!
The statements look like an overall standard except for the non-profits that cannot fill all positions. Although the hundreds of volunteers that fill those holes work just as hard, I would hesitate to give them full clearance to priveleged info or even just sensitive information. I think we need to be sure to cover volunteers in there too. Did the class get an extension?
As far as the name what about "Daybreak" or "Safe Stop" or "Redo"?
Wanda
Friday, September 12, 2008
Structure of Agency
Here are links to a couple of agencies on-line which do homeless drop-in centers:
http://www.womensdropin.org/aboutus.htm
http://www.safehorizon.org/page.php?page=homelessyouth
http://myfriendsplace.org/
http://www.billwilsoncenter.org/
They seem to have a similar structure:
Board of Directors
Center Director/Executive Director
Clinical Supervisor
R.N.
Licensed Social Worker(s)/Psychologist(s)
Educational Support Person
Group Facilitators
Marketing Staff
Finance Staff
Volunteers
Any one I'm missing?
Also, in addition to these on staff positions, there seems to be a tremendous amount of coordination between other social service/health care/school agencies and these centers, all of which would have to be addressed in a confidentiality policy.
These centers provide meals, individual counseling, support groups, case management, benefit procurement assistance, educational support, community advocacy, transitional housing assistance, meal programs, and other various support programs.
I think this could provide us with a nice framework from which to think about how to identify all the potential areas we would need to address with our statement.
Cheers!
Rhonda
http://www.womensdropin.org/aboutus.htm
http://www.safehorizon.org/page.php?page=homelessyouth
http://myfriendsplace.org/
http://www.billwilsoncenter.org/
They seem to have a similar structure:
Board of Directors
Center Director/Executive Director
Clinical Supervisor
R.N.
Licensed Social Worker(s)/Psychologist(s)
Educational Support Person
Group Facilitators
Marketing Staff
Finance Staff
Volunteers
Any one I'm missing?
Also, in addition to these on staff positions, there seems to be a tremendous amount of coordination between other social service/health care/school agencies and these centers, all of which would have to be addressed in a confidentiality policy.
These centers provide meals, individual counseling, support groups, case management, benefit procurement assistance, educational support, community advocacy, transitional housing assistance, meal programs, and other various support programs.
I think this could provide us with a nice framework from which to think about how to identify all the potential areas we would need to address with our statement.
Cheers!
Rhonda
Name for our "Homeless Drop In Center?"
We should think of a name for our center, and probably talk a little bit about the structure so that we have a little bit of guidance as we construct our confidentiality statement so that it is cohesive. Any ideas?
Rhonda
Rhonda
Client Records & Sharing information with other professionals
Hi Wanda & Felicia,
If its okay with both of you, I would like to concentrate my efforts on developing a policy statement regarding client records and communications/sharing information with other professionals. This seems like a really interesting subject given that there would be a significant amount of interactions with other agencies, medical professionals, educational professionals, etc.
Thanks!
Rhonda
If its okay with both of you, I would like to concentrate my efforts on developing a policy statement regarding client records and communications/sharing information with other professionals. This seems like a really interesting subject given that there would be a significant amount of interactions with other agencies, medical professionals, educational professionals, etc.
Thanks!
Rhonda
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Statement
Hi Ladies,
I think this is great, thanks Rhonda for setting it up. My idea is that we each work on a section of the statement, post it here for review and suggestions and then whomever is the secretary can put it together for the classroom post. It is just a thought though! I would love to take the section regarding the confidentiality of the minor clients in relation to disclosure to parents.
Wanda
I think this is great, thanks Rhonda for setting it up. My idea is that we each work on a section of the statement, post it here for review and suggestions and then whomever is the secretary can put it together for the classroom post. It is just a thought though! I would love to take the section regarding the confidentiality of the minor clients in relation to disclosure to parents.
Wanda
Ethics Work Group 2 - Confidentiality Statement
Hi Wanda & Felicia!
I think this forum will provide us with a nice space to work collaboratively!
I think this forum will provide us with a nice space to work collaboratively!
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