Mandated Reporting Laws

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atbarnes

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Hey all,

I am currently in my second year of a clinical psychology program. I work as a therapist in training at a local high school. Working with this population often raises concerns in terms of what I do and do not have to report. I have been given soooooooo many different "takes" on what is reportable and what is not (in terms of sexual consent among minors) that I don't even know what to believe. There is such a fine line between Penal Code and APA ethics that I have found many clinicians in the field are not very well informed on the laws either (that includes the professor of my Ethics class). I know that "type" of sexual contact, age of individuals involved, etc. all determine what we are mandated to report. So any clarification on this topic would be much appreciated (p.s. I live in California).

Furthermore, I am concerned about the built in "moral biases" of mandated reporting (e.g. possible mandated reporting anal and oral intercourse) but again I am not sure if this is even true.

Thanks a lot for all your help. All I want is to ethically serve my clients and to maximize beneficence.

Sincerely,

Concerned in California
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This is not the kind of thing where you want to be taking advice from an online community. (Also, it may break SDN policy against asking for/providing legal advice).

You need to talk to your supervisor about this (sooner rather than later) and come up with a plan together.

Good luck.
 
First and foremost...always let your supervisor know everything, as you are practicing under their license. Ultimately the decision is theirs to make, though additional consultation can be helpful to tease out some of the nuances that may not be as apparent as a trainee. My first practica was with MR, EH, and SED kids...and it seemed like every month I was going to my supervisor with grey-area situations. It was pretty frustrating because many cases can be argued from both sides, which is why consultation is so important. It doesn't change once you are out and practicing under your own license, so you need to really know the APA Ethics Code, your state laws, and also have other professionals that you trust available for consultation.
 
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As a school psychology student this is obviously something we went over in a lot more detail in class, we had a whole chart on when you had to report sexual encounters by students depending on the age of the two parties. But this does vary by state, and often by schools within a state. The main answer is what people have already said....check with your supervisor to learn what the rules or guidelines are in your institution. Obviously there should be other people at your institution who can answer that question as well, but your supervisor should bea safer bet.
 
A lot of states have hotlines in their social services where you can call and ask hypothetical questions.
 
You can always call CPS, tell them the dilemma and ask them if it is reportable or not. Document what they say and who said it....voila
 
OP does have a good point that supervisors are not always well informed themselves. They also often bring in their own biases and want to report things that may not reach the state mandated level. At the same time we do have to defer to their decisions even if we would make a different one were we an independent practitioner. In my state I think there is a hotline you can call at the state psychological association level to get advice on these issues. I'd check and see if there is something like that in CA (I'd hope/assume there is).
 
If your supervisor is ill informed, my next step would be to check with someone at the school who can tell you about school regulations (possibly the principal). My understanding is that most schools have set policies about these issues and can give very specific rules for when you must report, when you should never report and when you can use your judgement. These rules can vary somewhat by school system, even within a given state. I would check with someone from within your school system before checking with someone outside of it.
 
FadedC said:
If your supervisor is ill informed, my next step would be to check with someone at the school who can tell you about school regulations (possibly the principal). My understanding is that most schools have set policies about these issues and can give very specific rules for when you must report, when you should never report and when you can use your judgement. These rules can vary somewhat by school system, even within a given state. I would check with someone from within your school system before checking with someone outside of it.
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It is important to know your responsibilities and limitations as a provider before broaching any issue with the school. School policy can often conflict with the APA Ethical Guidelines and sometimes even with the state laws. Just because a school says, "this is how we do it", doesn't mean that is how you should do it. As a trainee, your role in this is moderated by your supervisor, so everything needs to go through him/her. If you have doubts about the recommendations from your site supervisor, it is worth speaking to someone in your program about it. It is better to consult and not need it, then to need consultation and not have it.
 
Thanks to all who have answered. I am in no particular situation and wondering whether or not to report. And as many of you said, a lot of the time supervisors don't necessarily know all the answers (thank god, because we will all be supervisors one day and I certainly will not have all the answers).

My concern mostly stems from all the conflicting information that I have received. I'll learn one thing in didactic training, another in an ethics course, and another from my supervisor. And consulting with the reporting hotline is always useful.However, it came to my attention that even most hotlines are not necessarily bound by the same laws of confidentiality that we are as psychologists in training. They may encourage you to report something based on the letter of the law but that may be a violation of confidentiality.

Thanks all for your patience with my concerns and it is wonderful to hear that others sense the "grayness" of all of this.
 
I, too, have received conflicting information in regards to "should I tell or should I not...?" I agree that it's best to talk one-on-one with a supervisor to clear up issues of concern. It's also important that your CLIENTS understand what you can and cannot report! I suggest talking it over with a supervisor and mentioning any conflicting advice (e.g. "You mentioned that I do not need to report this but in my ethics class we learned... blah blah blah.")
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
It is important to know your responsibilities and limitations as a provider before broaching any issue with the school. School policy can often conflict with the APA Ethical Guidelines and sometimes even with the state laws. Just because a school says, "this is how we do it", doesn't mean that is how you should do it. As a trainee, your role in this is moderated by your supervisor, so everything needs to go through him/her. If you have doubts about the recommendations from your site supervisor, it is worth speaking to someone in your program about it. It is better to consult and not need it, then to need consultation and not have it.
Click to expand...

I obviously agree that you should check with your supervisor first, but as a school psychology student I've always been taught to be very aware of the rules of your school system regarding things like student sexuality and breaking confidence.
 
FadedC said:
I obviously agree that you should check with your supervisor first, but as a school psychology student I've always been taught to be very aware of the rules of your school system regarding things like student sexuality and breaking confidence.
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Authorization of Supervision is included in most standardized confidentiality agreements during internships. Supervisors are not violations of confidence unless they have dual roles, which would be highly unethical.
 
aequitasveritas said:
Authorization of Supervision is included in most standardized confidentiality agreements during internships. Supervisors are not violations of confidence unless they have dual roles, which would be highly unethical.
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I could be wrong, but I think by "breaking confidence," the poster was referring to reporting the sexual encouter(s) to the authorities rather than discussing the information with the supervisor.

Although yes, every consent form I've ever seen in a teaching hospital/clinic mentions that everything discussed in session can/may be discussed with supervisors. However, I always verbally review this information with my patients, along with the limits of confidentiality, before beginning any assessment or treatment.
 
sydb1367 said:
check out this link for the CA rules on when to report based on the individuals ages:
http://www.endabuselb.org/Publications/When-To-Report-Consensual-Sexual-Activity.pdf

and this one for more specifics on what constitutes reportable actions per CA penal code:
http://www.teenhealthlaw.org/filead...DVConfidentialityReporting_11-15-10-Final.pdf
Click to expand...

Interesting, so in California it's based purely on the age difference between individuals. From what I've learned, that's not the case in NYC, for example if the patient was 12 then you'd have to report them regardless of whether their partner was a similar age.
 
AcronymAllergy said:
I could be wrong, but I think by "breaking confidence," the poster was referring to reporting the sexual encouter(s) to the authorities rather than discussing the information with the supervisor.

Although yes, every consent form I've ever seen in a teaching hospital/clinic mentions that everything discussed in session can/may be discussed with supervisors. However, I always verbally review this information with my patients, along with the limits of confidentiality, before beginning any assessment or treatment.
Click to expand...

Exactly 🙂
 
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