Enter Title

Boundaries

100

What should you do if a participant asks for your personal contact information?

Inform them that we provide the numbers for various services and for the program upon their discharge if they need assistance, but personal contact will not be appropriate.

200

What should you do if a former participant contacts you on social media?

Delete the request, block the user, and complete an incident report.

300

What should you do if you see a former participant outside of the program?

Do not approach them or initiate a conversation. If they approach you then you can be polite and ask them how they are doing, but it should be clear that continued contact would not be appropriate.

400

What are the policies on gift-giving between participants and staff?

If a situation calls for a participant to receive a gift, the gift will be from the program, not from an individual staff, and will need to be approved by a supervisor. In order to not offend, staff can accept small gifts from participants (artwork, bracelets, etc.), but the boundaries of the relationship need to be clear when doing so.

500

What are some key differences between personal and professional relationships in this setting?

Personal relationships have an equality of power, reciprocity of meeting emotional needs, and can end if there is a problem. Professional relationships with our participants maintain our authority, recognize that our job is to meet their needs but the participants have no responsibility to meet ours, and do not have the option of ending if we do not get along.

Confidentiality

100

What are some examples of actions we take to protect confidentiality?

Keep participant files protected, encrypt attachments sent to outside parties, not put participant names in email subjects, etc.

200

How do we inform participants of our practices regarding confidentiality?

In the intake and orientation; Notice of Privacy Practices and Participant Rights.

300

What should you do if someone calls the program and asks for information regarding a participant?

Neither confirm nor deny that the participant is in care, and either connect them to a relevant staff (FR, Andreea, or a supervisor) or take a message and call back number.

400

What should you do if someone asks what the program is while at the park or on an outing?

You can say that we are a social service through Heartland Alliance. You can explain that the exact nature of the service and the children's identities are confidential if they try to get more information.

500

What should you do if a participant requests to review their own file?

First try to figure out what they actually want to know about their file to determine if viewing the file will actually meet the need they are feeling. If viewing the file is appropriate, we view the file together with them.

Ethics

100

What is the difference between ethics and morals?

Morals are personally defined, often by cultural or religious experiences. Ethics are externally defined by a community or organization.

200

What should you do if a participant asks you a question about their legal case?

Recommend they speak with NIJC or their attorney; we are not able to give legal advice to participants.

300

What are the 5 types of ethics we are responsible for following?

Marketing, clinical, financial, human resource, and business.

400

We should act to prevent discriminatory behavior against participants and staff based on what categories?

Age, gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, or any basis proscribed by law.

500

Where can you find company and stakeholder policies on boundaries, confidentiality, and ethics?

In the policy binder upstairs, on the intranet, or on the J Drive.