Confidentiality
When can you break confidentiality without an ROI?
Reporting to CYFD or APS abuse or neglect. Medical emergency.
What type of mindset is best to take on when thinking of trauma-informed care?
Hospitality mindset. You let the resident set the pace of things.
As a resource and service specialist what is your primary responsibility?
The interest of the resident.
You call a resident to complete case management but they decline and say they have plans.
Make a note for justification purposes.
A reporter asks to speak with the executive director. What do you do?
Transfer call to 118.
A resident's probation officer calls to verify if the resident is staying at shelter, but she was discharged this morning. You have an ROI signed at intake for this person. What can you say?
You cannot confirm or deny residency. ROI is automatically expired at discharge.
A resident has been coming into the office all hours of the night. She gets very defensive when asked to put on her mask, and she keeps reporting strange noises and suspicious people. What is the resident likely experiencing?
Hyperarousal
A crisis caller from Esperanza shelter is trying to transfer due to her abuser finding her. She signed an ROI from Esperanza shelter for the questionnaire. What do you do next?
You send a Safehouse ROI as this is the only valid ROI our shelter accepts.
A resident tells you they believe their roommate is in the bathroom using drugs.
First, check on the roommate and have something personally verifiable to report. Then make a note to include the original reported concern as well as what you saw during your interaction.
A person calls to ask questions about donation pickup. it is 8:30 AM. What should you do?
Offer to transfer them to the thrift store 302 to leave a message or if they don't want to leave a message, transfer to 126.
CYFD and APD come to the shelter to do a child well-check on a current resident's child. We did not make a report. What do you do?
Do not confirm or deny residency. Let the resident know immediately and escort them to the intake office to conduct the check. ONLY if resident is willing to comply.
A resident reports to you that her roommate smokes the same cigarettes as her abuser and it is making her uncomfortable. What is this an example of?
Intrusion
At what point does a resident's substance use become a reason for discharge?
At the point the resident is a danger to themself or others due to their intoxication. OR if they use substances on site.
Your co-worker calls on their day off to tell you that they just saw a resident on the corner panhandling.
Do not take a note. What a resident does off grounds is not something we would monitor.
A person calls insisting they have an intake appointment at 1400. You ask and check all crisis calls but show no record of them coming into shelter. What do you do?
First, clarify what type of intake they are trying to complete. Rule out a wrong phone number for All Faith's children's safehouse.
A resident comes into the office and asks about their roommate who went to the emergency room the night before. The resident want to know if the person has called to give a status update.
We cannot discuss another resident with anyone. We kindly let the resident know she will need to contact the resident directly for any information.
A resident is written up for having her children outside of the room without her for the third time today. When staff goes to check on her she is in bed asleep and unaware of where her children are. What is this an example of?
Detachment
Disclosing the identity of a person who has NOT received services is...?
A breach of confidentiality.
A resident comes back from an interview and informs you they go the job and will be starting next week. They request specific clothing for their first shift.
Email the purchase request and write a note regarding their employer, position, salary, schedule, and immediate needs.
Bernalillo County Sheriff's office call asking if a person is a resident in shelter. They explain that a missing person's report was made and the person was known to be in a DV relationship.
Do not confirm or deny. Simply state, "I have no information for you." if the person is a resident encourage them to communicate with authorities regarding the missing person report.
At what point does a person have VAWA confidentiality protection?
From the first point of contact, including a referral call.
A male resident becomes defensive when asked for his discharge paperwork and feels the need to state he isn't a liar. He becomes irritated and raises his voice to staff. The staff who is helping him immediately apologizes and tells him he can go to his room and it will be taken care of in the morning. Who is likely in trauma response?
Both. The male resident is showing signs of hyperarousal while the staff is showing signs of constriction.
If a person is a victim of sexual assault and referred by SANE, how long can they stay in shelter.
There is a courtesy stay period of up to 5 days.
A resident discloses during their weekly that their wedding anniversary is coming up next week.
Make a note. Especially detailing how the resident deals with grief or signs to look out for. It may be easier to get the details before the event.
You get a call from a male who claims to be a resident's brother and asks for the resident by name. The caller ID is blocked and you have an ROI under the name of the person claiming to be the caller. What do you do?
Do not disclose. You can err on the side of caution when you are not sure. Just because a release is signed does not mean you have to disclose anything. Use your judgement!