School Law and the confidentiality of Counseling

[RichMorris]

I am wondering if there are others among us struggling with this dilemma. The NYS Education Department has ruled that Social Workers in Schools cannot guarantee confidentiality to students because, and I have a a hard time with this, neither the student nor their parents pay for the counseling (or therapeutic relationship).  Therefore the school district is privy to everything shared in any session should they want to impose their will on the SW.  I am certain of the professional ethics, but where is this going especially regarding drug and alcohol, teen pregnancy, and other hot button issues surrounding Counseling with adolescents?

[Ryan]

You should contact your state board, but my understanding is that the Code of Ethics always takes priority because that is what the licensing board uses to secure a license. So while it may be good to follow the rules and regulations of the agency you are with (or NYS dept. of ed.) if you do something unethical and the board suspends your license you can't practice anyway.

I'm curious...what does your board say about this?

[Martha Anne]

Like you, I live in New York State and this decision by the Education Department is really way out of line with even common sense ethics and everything you and I know about social work practice.

How is a student (or his/her parents) going to trust the social worker and want to avail themselves of school social work services?

I had not heard about this decision!  Frankly, I would refuse, on moral grounds, to share private counseling session information with anyone other than the person(s) the student wants me to share it with, unless someone's life or safety was clearly at stake.   I would tell this to my school district and risk getting fired. So be it.

Why don't you contact the national and state NASW legal services about this issue?

[RichMorris]

I haven't been here for a while.  I apologize for the delay.  I certainly have refused to disclose confidential information that was not of a life threatening risk to anyone.  My main concern is that the powers that be in "host agencies" don't often understand Social Work Ethics. Despite having explained this over and over, there still exists this dichotomy between what I know to protect and the School District's belief that they have a right to know everything.  For example, being asked, "did the kid do it?" regarding graffitti, or if I knew a student was pregnant, or if a student uses a drug regularly are questions still being posed. 

We as school personnel are supposed to notify parents of every pregnancy.  How does that jibe with a teenager's right to confidential reproductive health services?  It just doesn't.  I find myself standing firm on confidentiality and wondering why the Law isn't protecting the students I work with.

When I can, I would like to pose this question to the sate licensing board.  Thanks for the input.

[swkerali]

It is difficult conveying our Code of Ethics to 'non-social workers.'  I do not understand their justification that just because they don't pay for the counseling services then confidentailty does not need to be upheld... what if you had a private practice and served someone pro-bono?  Would you be expected to 'forget' about confidentiality then as well?!!?  In my opinion, what they are pushing is unethical and untrue.  We uphold our own codes for the protection of our clients, regardless of who 'needs' to know.  The only law that can override that is the 'Duty to Warn.' Sometimes the hardest part of our profession is fighting the battle within our own selves. 
Good luck with your fight, keep us posted.

[Nic]

Hello.

Very sorry to hear about this decision in NY. Most SWs are publicly employed and are not directly compensated by their clients, although they certainly pay us indirectly through their taxes.

I'm researching this topic in preparation for writing a book on the privacy rights of minor students, especially as balanced against the rights of parents to direct the activities of their children. So, if you know of any good articles, please let me know.

In the meantime, you may be interested in reading an article I wrote last summer that you can find at http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sspw/doc/sswprivacyofminors.doc.

[nancylcsw]

First, let me say that I fully support your right to practice under the law and the NASW Code of Ethics. I have counseled with the NASW Ethics Hotine (available by calling the NASW home # in Wash., D.C.); either Dawn Hobdi or Andrea Murray. I have resigned from two jobs, because my employers tried to tell me how to unethically misuse my license.  Here in Arizona, parents have the right to view the records of any minor child.  The school board would not have the right to view anything except that they are on a clinical team of some sort, and it is "clinically necessary" to share info for the good of the client.  I have a hard time with this clincial team approach, myself.  The team would, for example, include a school social worker who is providing services to the student...in this case, only "need to know" information would be released.  I would expect that the school psychologist would be on a clinical team, if they are providing a supervisory or consulting role...I've stretched this about as far as I can.  Good luck. 

[juana17]

I am wondering if there are others among us struggling with this dilemma. The NYS Education Department has ruled that Social Workers in Schools cannot guarantee confidentiality to students because, and I have a a hard time with this, neither the student nor their parents pay for the counseling (or therapeutic relationship).  Therefore the school district is privy to everything shared in any session should they want to impose their will on the SW.  I am certain of the professional ethics, but where is this going especially regarding drug and alcohol, teen pregnancy, and other hot button issues surrounding Counseling with adolescents?

You are looking for school law? Then you should go to Harvard, it is home to the largest academic law library in the world. And counseling psychologists participate in a range of activities including teaching, research, psychotherapeutic and counseling practice, career development, assessment, supervision, and consultation.

[Editor and Publisher]

Dear friend
Greetings
Whether the clients pay or not,  CONFIDENTIALITY  must be maintained.  With informed consent you can divulge certain information if it is for the safety of the client/ classmates/ school as a whole.
Employer has no right to information in matters of professional service.
P J Naidu, JSSW, National Mentoring Initiative, jssw.india@gmail.com