Mandated Reporting ( Psychology)

The Assignment (3–5 pages)

· Provide your fictitious case example, including the relevant details of the case.

· Explain why this case presents an ethical issue related to mandated reporting in your intended state of practice’s rules.

· Explain whether you would report the situation and why.

· Explain how you would negotiate the intended and unintended consequences of your decision to report or not.

PSYR 8704

A male age 15 has come in for a counseling session and presents with a blackeye. The initial response from the adolescent was that he was in a fight at school. Further into the session the adolescent breaks down and cries and says that he and his mother‘s boyfriend got into an argument that turned physical. The teens stated if he had argued with his mother’s boyfriend before but it had never gotten physical. The team expressed that he was not fearful and overall felt safe at home. Physical abuse is defined as any act which, regardless of intent, results in a non-accidental physical injury. Inflicted physical injury most often represents unreasonably severe corporal punishment (Commonwealth of VA, 2002).

The ethical issues presented in this case would be confidentiality, privacy and informed consent. The issue that is being presented as potential child abuse by caregiver. Mental health professionals and other mandated reporters have conducted professional practice that is subject to a variety of statutes mandating the reporting of child abuse and neglect (Small, Lyons, & Guy, 2002). There is a risk for falls reporting to occur, therefore it is critical to gather factual information prior to making the report. The professional must also consider the breach of trust from their client when they choose to break privacy and confidentiality. It is important to have had the conversation with your adolescent client at the initial session in regards to confidentiality and privacy as well as informed consent among minors. This conversation Will set the standard as far as what information will be shared and what information will be kept private.

Anyone can report suspected child abuse or neglect, but if you are identified in the Code of Virginia as a mandated reporter or you have received training in recognizing and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect, you are required by law to immediately report your concerns to the local department of social services or to the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline (Commonwealth of VA, 2002). I would be making a call to child protective services in regards to what was reported to me during the session with the adolescent. As a mandated reporter it is not my job to investigate whether the abuse did or did not occur. When you suspect that a child is being abused or neglected, you should immediately report your concerns to the local department of social services in your community (Commonwealth of VA, 2002). It is my job to ensure that what was reported to me by a child with a potential for physical abuse within the home is investigated by the proper agencies. Every state except Maryland and Wyoming impose criminal liability for failure to report child abuse and neglect (Small, Lyons, & Guy, 2002). Personally, it is not worth the rest of myself on my license to not report suspected child abuse.

The intended and unintended consequences can vary from family to family and situation to situation. The intended consequence for this particular case would be that the report of suspected child abuse be reported to the appropriate agencies. It would then be the hope that appropriate agencies such as the Department of Social Services (DSS) and Law Enforcement become involved and investigate what happened between the teen and the mother’s boyfriend. The unintended consequences could come in the form of the loss of a client at the extreme end. The family could begin to put two and two together and begin to place the blame on the counselor for DSS and Law Enforcement involvement. This could lead to the family ending sessions for the teen or anger surrounding the situation. Although I would never want to lose a client that I was able to make progress with and gain their trust, I would never want to brush potential child abuse under the rug just to protect the therapeutic relationship.

References:

Commonwealth of Virginia. (2002). A guide for mandated reporters in recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect. Retrieved December 30, 2018, from https://www.dss.virginia.gov/files/division/dfs/mandated_reporters/cps/resources_guidance/B032-02-0280-00eng.pdf

Margolin, G., Chien, D., Duman, S. E., Fauchier, A., Gordis, E. B., Oliver, P. H., Ramos, M. C., & Vickerman, K. A. (2005). Ethical issues in couple and family research. Journal of Family Psychology, 19(1), 157–167.

Small, M. A., Lyons, P. R., Jr., & Guy, L. S. (2002). Liability issues in child abuse and neglect reporting statutes. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 33(1), 13–18.