Test Bank + Answers Ch12 Legal And Ethical Issues In School

CHAPTER 12: LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES IN SCHOOL SETTINGS

Multiple Choice

1. Supervisors' first and foremost responsibility is to protect:

1. clients
2. themselves
3. supervisees
4. the counseling profession

2. While working in this role, supervisors invite supervisees to focus on their own experiences as they work with clients:

1. coach
2. counselor
3. teacher
4. consultant

3. While working in this role, supervisors provide guidance related clients and supervisees' work with them:

1. coach
2. friend
3. teacher
4. consultant

4. Supervisors engage in these three primary roles:

1. teacher, friend, and counselor
2. teacher, coach, and counselor
3. teacher, consultant, and coach
4. teacher, consultant, and counselor

5. Requirements for post degree supervision of school-based professionals are regulated by state departments of education, and:

1. are consistent across states
2. vary from city to city
3. vary from state to state.
4. vary from school to school

6. Additional training requirements and obtained additional certification or licensure as appropriate for all but which:

1. Play therapy
2. EMDR
3. Dialectical Behavior Therapy
4. The Empty Chair Technique

7. The A-B-C-D-E strategy is a(n)

1. note taking format
2. ethical decision making framework
3. crisis intervention model
4. technique related to Reality Therapy

8. If you are being supervised, you will want your supervisor to:

1. review and sign your notes.
2. never see your notes
3. review but not sign your notes
4. write your notes for you

9. Your notes should be kept:

1. in a box on your office floor
2. in a file in a locked file cabinet
3. in a file on your desk
4. in a file in an unlocked file cabinet

10. In this component of your notes, you should include your ideas about what interventions you want to use and toward which goals:

1. Subjective
2. Objective
3. Assessment
4. Plan

11. In this component of your notes, you record your thoughts about the student’s presenting issue or concern.

1. Subjective
2. Objective
3. Assessment
4. Plan

12. You should avoid using words that are judgmental in your counseling notes. Which of the following words is judgmental:

1. worried
2. spoiled
3. anxious
4. fidgety

13. In this component of your notes, document your observations made of the student during your session:

1. Subjective
2. Objective
3. Assessment
4. Plan

14. In this component of your notes, reflect information that the student has told you:

1. Subjective
2. Objective
3. Assessment
4. Plan

15. This is also known as the Buckley Amendment:

1. PPIHA
2. HIPPA
3. FERPA
4. REFPA

16. At this age, a trip to the school-based professional helper’s office is generally not a problem:

1. 4-10
2. 11-14
3. 14-16
4. 16-18

17. This document outlines an excellent process for identifying, assessing and managing students who may pose a threat to others within the school environment:

1. Assessment of Risk
2. Risk in the Community
3. Identification of Threats
4. Threat Assessment in the Schools

18. A professional helper has a legal duty to report all but which to the appropriate authority:

1. peer to peer bullying
2. physical abuse
3. emotional abuse
4. sexual abuse

19. Threat Assessment in the Schools was developed by:

1. The CIA and the FBI
2. The Secret Service and the FBI
3. The Secret Service and the Department of Education
4. The Department of Education and the FBI

20. If a younger person has made an explicit threat toward another named individual, the professional must:

1. keep the information confidential
2. both warn that individual and his or her parents if the child is a minor
3. warn that individual only
4. warn the parents if the child is a minor

21. When a student threatens him or herself, threatens others, or reports being abused, the plan of action is:

1. ambiguous
2. clear
3. confusing
4. vague

22. Minors _______ legally give consent to receive counseling services

1. occasionally can
2. can
3. cannot
4. sometimes can

23. According to the ASCA Ethical Standards, primary obligation of confidentiality is to the:

1. student
2. parent
3. teacher
4. counselor

24. School counselors primarily follow which set of ethical codes?

1. National Association of Social Work
2. National Association of School Psychologists
3. American Psychological Association
4. American School Counselor Association

25. This means that a person giving consent has the legal authority to make a consent decision, a clear understanding of what it is he or she is consenting to, and that his or her consent is freely given and may be withdrawn without prejudice:

1. Informed consent
2. Assent
3. Confidentiality
4. Privacy

True/False

1. There is no need for school psychologists to obtain informed consent and parental permission prior to working with a student in the school.

2. In emergency situations or when a student self-refers, the school psychologist may not assist a student client prior to obtaining informed consent from parents or caregivers.

3. According to the ASCA Ethical Standards, there does not appear to be a definite answer to the question of whether a school counselor is required to get permission from a student’s parents or caregivers to engage in a counseling relationship.

4. If a student client has been referred for your services by another individual (e.g., parent or teacher), it is important to obtain student assent.

5. When formal informed consent is sought, parents are not asked to sign documentation indicating that they have received this information.

6. A student who makes a threat may be placed on a safety plan.

7. Once the parents have acknowledged that they have heard and understand their rights and those of their child within this counseling relationship, this creates a sort of contract that permits treatment.

8. Consent from the student includes an agreement on the purposes and goals of counseling and well as the techniques and procedures.

9. As a professional within the schools, you will need to know school policies but will not need to know the federal and state laws related to working with minors and families in school settings.

10. Within school settings, issues related to informed consent, confidentiality, privileged information, and parental rights complicate service delivery, but also provide us with important guidelines that protect children and families.

Short Answer Essay

1. Write an example SOAP note.

• S Met with student for 30 minutes. Student indicated that he is feeling a lot of pressure around school work (e.g., not sleeping at night, unable to relax, wanting to give up). He also noted worries about which colleges to attend and how to afford his education. Student would like to bring his grades up and begin to feel more at ease. Right now he describes his situation as “impossible.”
• O Student appeared quite anxious and perhaps depressed. He rubbed his hands on the tops of his legs throughout our conversation. He also did not make eye contact and did not appear to be as well groomed as usual (e.g., shirt untucked, hair not combed). At the end of the session, he appeared a bit more relaxed.
• A Student appears to be experiencing a great deal of stress related to school work and future educational plans. This anxiety may be interfering with his sleep and result in his feeling tired and down. As an initial baseline, I asked the student to rate the level of anxiety he is experiencing (1 = relaxed, 10 = overwhelmed). He provided a rating of “7.”
• P Next week, I plan to explore current stressors with the student. He also expressed interest in learning relaxation exercises that he can practice at home and in class. During the week, he will note those times when he feels most and least stressed.

2. Discuss dual relationships and how you will handle them as a school counselor

• Because of the unique role of school-based professionals, it is important that these individuals maintain clear boundaries between their professional role and other roles in their lives. This type of separation is much easier said than done. School-based professionals sometimes serve as advisors of student groups or coaches within their schools. These activities increase the chances that you may end up working with a student who you have seen or will see.
• When a school-based helper works and lives in the same town, the chances for bumping into students and their parents in the community is quite high. If you live in a rural community, it will be virtually impossible to maintain a strict boundary between professional and personal roles.
• In all instances, a reasonable policy is to maintain the clearest boundary possible and to communicate clearly with all parties involved as to your role in certain settings. As long as you are open and honest with students and families regarding the potential issues, you have taken steps to reduce the potential for harm. If for whatever reason, the school-based professional cannot maintain objectivity (e.g., student is the child of a close friend or relative, student assaulted your child who attends the same school), it is critical that the student be referred to another mental health professional in the school or district (e.g., school psychologist, school counselor) or to an outside agency.

3. Describe the A-B-C-D-E ethical decision making model. Identify what each letter represents and include examples.

• A: Assessment – the professional helper considers all aspects of the situation, including those of the client as well as himself.
• B: Benefit – the professional helper evaluates which course of action is likely to be the most beneficial to the client and others who might be involved (e.g. family members).
• C: Consequences and Consultation – the professional helper considers all of the possible consequences associated with different courses of action. Additionally, he consults with a supervisor or more experienced professional to discuss these components.
• D. Duty – the professional helper must consider to whom he is professionally responsible. In most instances this will be the student client, but in some instances this may lie with another individual as in a situation of needing to warn another individual of pending harm.
• E. Education – the professional helper considers his education related to the particular issue and refers to texts, notes, and professional ethics to assist in decision-making.

4. Discuss the “duty to warn”. As a school counselor, what types of situations may arise where you will have to perform this duty?

• When professional helpers enter into a counseling relationship, there are certain responsibilities or “duties” that they are expected to follow in a skillful and responsible manner, consistent with the standard of care maintained by others in their field. Furthermore, you accept that there are certain duties which you are legally and professionally required to perform such as protecting the welfare of a student client who is a danger to him or herself, informing others if a client is a danger to others, and reporting suspected child abuse.
• When a student threatens him or herself, threatens others, or reports being abused, the plan of action is clear. The professional helper must complete an assessment of the situation and inform the appropriate parties. Many schools have established threat assessment guidelines that allow you to determine the degree of threat (e.g., specificity of the plan). Based on the level of threat, there are certain actions that should be taken.
• For example, if a younger person has made an explicit threat toward another named individual, the professional must warn that individual and his or her parents if the child is a minor. Additionally, the student who made the threat may be placed on a safety plan (e.g., backpack check in the morning, escorted to the restroom).
• The Secret Service and the Department of Education worked together to create an informative document, Threat Assessment in the Schools which outlines an excellent process for identifying, assessing and managing students who may pose a threat to others within the school environment.
• In instances of child maltreatment, the appropriate authorities must be notified (e.g., Child Protective Services). If a professional helper has any reasonable suspicion that a minor has been physically, sexually, or emotionally abused or neglected, that individual has a legal duty to report this suspicion to the appropriate authority. Although the details and paperwork required vary by state and school district, there is a duty to inform.
• When the presence of or potential for danger is vague, as when an adolescent reports considering a sexual relationship with her boyfriend or is experimenting with alcohol, the professional helper will want to consult with a supervisor or use an established ethical decision-making process to guide his or her actions. The laws related to these issues vary from state to state, and districts may place additional restrictions on the scope of information provided in these areas. Therefore, it is always important to have a thorough knowledge of state law and district policy beforehand so you will know how to respond to these unexpected disclosures.