Which legislation relates to client confidentiality

Case study 2 To be consistent with the child protection legislation, you are required to notify Community Services against Mandy's wishes. Workers from Community Services do not interview the alleged perpetrator. Their role is to interview the young person to confirm there is a case of sexual abuse before referring the matter to the police who would then investigate.

Unless the perpetrator is charged, they would not be told the identity of the accuser. Even with this information, Mandy might still be worried that the perpetrator will guess who accused him. She can tell the interviewers as little or as much as she chooses. You might help her by exploring the advantages or disadvantages of giving information.

Case study 3 Unless you can resolve Jim's situation quickly, for example by referring him to a refuge, you must also report his case to Community Services.

Children who are homeless are considered to be 'at risk' and you are mandated to report this situation. Case study 4 All people except clergy, medical practitioners and legal advisers are required to give the police any information they may have about a serious crime including arson, murder, assault and sexual assault. Top of page Summary Overhead transparency 'Duty of care' requires workers to keep clients, themselves and other workers safe from harm, where possible Young people with AOD issues are particularly at risk and this can result in conflicts of interest for workers who must balance the rights of young people against the need to protect them from harm A wide range of legislation impacts on the lives of young people and can vary from state to state.

In most states, child protection legislation requires workers to report situations where children and young people are at risk. Comments will be used to improve web content and will not be responded to. Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback.

It will be used to make improvements to this website. Table of contents Section A. Section B. Topic 2: Professional conduct. Topic 3: Worker values. Topic 4: Professional ethics. Topic 5: Confidentiality. Topic 6: Duty of care. Topic 7: Supervision. Feedback Provide feedback If you would like a response please complete our enquiries form. Comments Comments will be used to improve web content and will not be responded to. Enter the second , fourth and last digits of Even with the passage of this law there are limitations to the confidentiality of social work records in Connecticut.

What follows is a description of the key provisions of the statute including the limitations and exemptions to the law. Who Has Confidentiality? Any individual who consults a social worker for the purpose of evaluation or treatment can claim confidentiality of their records see below for others who are authorized representatives.

Additionally, the law states that any individual who reasonably believed they are being treated by a licensed clinical social worker LCSW may claim confidentiality of their records. What Communications and Records are Covered? All oral and written communications and records thereof relating to the evaluation and treatment of the client s.

The confidentiality applies wherever the communications took place. The client holds the right of confidentiality and the right to waive their confidentiality. If the client has been declared incompetent to assert or waive their confidentiality a guardian or conservator who is duly appointed to act for the client holds the right of confidentiality. The statute does not specifically address children who are clients however one can make a case that under the statute if the child can understand their rights to confidentiality they should be able to invoke those rights and if not that it would fall to the next of kin or a duly appointed guardian.

Our readers may want to seek the advice of an attorney when dealing with confidentiality questions regarding children. How Is Consent Given and Withdrawn? Under this statute consent is to be given in writing by the client or their authorized representative. Any consent given shall specify the individual or agency to which the communications and records are to be disclosed, the scope of the communications and records to be disclosed, and the purpose of the disclosure and the expiration date of the consent.

A copy of the consent form must accompany any communications and records disclosed. The client or their authorized representative may withdraw any consent form at any time by written notice to the social worker with whom or the office in which the original consent was filed. The withdrawal of the consent does not affect communications and records disclosed prior to notice of the withdrawal, except that such communications and records may not be re-disclosed after the date of the notice withdrawing consent.

What Are the Exemptions to the Statute? The statute specifies six specific areas of exemption to the confidentiality of communications and records.

Some of these are very clear-cut and others are based on the social workers professional judgment.