As a school counselor one is passing through the halls acknowledging students as they prepare to leave for the day. You notice a student having problems gathering her things and attempt to assist her. The student is startled and practically jumps out of her skin. You reach to pick up her books and notice she has bruises on her arms. The student immediately thanks you and grab her books and walk away. You instantly assume the child is being abused and your mind is racing with thoughts of what to do. According to the ACA Code of Ethics (2005), (Standard B.2.a.) Counselors are held ethically responsible for protecting one from harm (Remley & Herlihy, 2010, p. 234). As a professional school counselor one should be aware of the state or district laws pertaining to abuse and neglect. One should also be knowledgeable of what their state’s constitutes as abuse and …show more content…
Although the law does not specifically state the school counselors as one who is legally and ethically required to report suspected cases of abuse or neglect because one works in school, however the role of the school counselor is to ensure that students are safe from harm. The school counselor is legally mandated to report suspected child abuse or neglect within 24 hours once they have reason to believe abuse or neglect has occurred. Suspected abuse or neglect should be reported to the Department of Social Services by contacting the toll-free child abuse or neglect hotline. Reports should be made in the county where the abuse or neglect took place or in the county where the child resides. (State Statutes Search Results, n.d.). Before one reports suspected abuse one should be well-informed of the types of abuse and neglect in their
Participating in the Mandated Reporter Training is a helpful tool for understanding the role of a social worker as a professional if and when one learns information concerning abuse of a minor. The goal of a social worker is to improve the quality of life for all individuals and if one learns about any type of abuse-physical, sexual, emotional, and/or neglect- it is their responsibility to bring this information to the proper authorities. The training stated that, “Research has shown that when multidisciplinary protocols are followed arrest and prosecution rates increase and trauma to the child decreases” (Arizona Child Abuse Info Center).
I believe the school psychologist was not acting ethically. According to Standard I.1.1, "parent consent is required if the consultation about particular child or adolescent is likely to be extensive and ongoing and/or if school actions may result in a significant intrusion on student or family privacy beyond what might be expected in the course of ordinary school activities." Since the counseling group would be considered "extensive", the school psychologist needs a formal approval or denial of the services she intends to provide. The school psychologist also decided to send a letter explaining what the counseling session. While the letter does seem to provide extensive information on the sessions, the school psychologist has no way to know if the parents received the letter, or if the
The ASCA reminds school counselors that they are to guide and assist students who are victims by supplying appropriate services (ASCA, 2016). When abuse is suspected, a guidance counselor must personally report the abuse to child protective services (CPS). Cuff vs. Grossmont Union High School District reminds us how vital it is to follow all reporting procedures. In the state of Virginia, teachers, and those working in public and private schools, are mandated reporters and must report within 24 hours of the suspected neglect or abuse; even if the abuse occurred in the past (DSS.VA.GOV). Failure to report will result in criminal actions. Although school counselors are held to confidentiality terms, cases such as these warrant a duty to warn and an ethical obligation to protect. The American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) state that as Christian counselors, one should always disclose confidential information when a life is endangered, this includes events such as suicidal ideations, bullying, and abuse (AACC, 2014). Although the ASCA and the AACC provides guidance to crisis responses, there are still legal and ethical issues that may not be
Read the following case study of 4 high school seniors. Then give your interpretation of the Identity Status of each, according to the model of James Marcia (1994). If you were their high school guidance counselor, what career/academic guidance would you offer each student?
Stone, C. B., & Zirkel, P. A. (2010). School Counselor Advocacy: When Law And Ethics May Collide. Professional School Counseling, 13(4), 244-247. Retrieved March 12, 2014, from http://dx.doi.org/10.5330/PSC.n.2010-13.244
There are so many people who could be considered as third parties who are obligated by state laws to report any type of neglect or abuse to the proper authorities. To get to the point some of the third parties who have a commitment to report child abuse or neglect which happens to be in the professional field are doctors, dentists, teachers, police officers, day care workers, clergymen, lawyers, therapists or counselors and etc... Sometimes professionals who are considered to be third parties have the advantage to whether or not if they report child abuse or neglect to the proper authorities. Others people that can be considered as third parties are family members, friends of the family and associates, but most times these groups of people may find it difficult to do so because of family ties to the abuser (Hess & Orthmann, 2010).
1 Running Head: COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAMS. 2 COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAMS How Effective are the Comprehensive School Counseling Programs in School? Sophia Henry American Public University Abstract In this research paper, there will be a discussion on how effective school counseling programs are in schools.
Child abuse and neglect is a very serious issue that can not be taken lightly. We need to provide continuing public education and professional training. Few people fail to report because they want children to suffer abuse and neglect. Likewise, few people make deliberately false reports. Most involve an honest desire to protect children coupled with confusion about what conditions are reportable. Educational efforts should emphasize the conditions that do not justify a report, as well as those that do.
HS 43 Term Paper 4 Core functions of a Substance Abuse Counselor By Roslyn Smith Introduction This paper will discuss the following 4 Core Functions of a Counselor: Case Management, Client Education, Crisis Intervention, Referral and their primary purposes. Discussion Case Management According to IC & RC, Case Management is defined as, “activities intended to bring services, agencies, resources, or people together within a planned framework of action toward the achievement of established goals.
Counselors have large shoes to fill. They not only administer assessments, but are also involved in group counseling, individual counseling, and have to plan and implement comprehensive school guidance programs. A counselor must know and be competent in all realms of their position. School counselors work with all children, including children with disabilities in various settings within the school (Villalba, Latus, Hamilton, & Kendrick (2005 p 449). As stated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), school counseling services must be made available to all students in special education programs as part of their right to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) (Bowen & Glenn, 1998; Clark, 1998). School counselors are to take on this role in the educational and personal-social well being of students in special education programs. Federal law does require that children, who receive special education services, and do not display appropriate behavior have a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) team (Villalba, Latus, Hamilton, & Kendrick (2005) p 449). This team constructs a BIP. Since counselors should be active on the FBA team, there is a need here that must be addressed because this article defines a lack of knowledge present with practicing counselors. With that, counselors do receive relevant training throughout their program. There are only so many classes and hours of instruction that the pre-counselors receive. The curriculum that is generated encompasses what counselors need, but could their be a few gaps and missing pieces? This study was conducted to determine counselors awareness, knowledge, and role in the Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) process (Villalba, Latus, Hamilton, & Ken...
It’s up to the adults to report child abuse, if not there should be a penalty for not reporting child abuse. I agree with failing to report is classified as a misdemeanor because even though it's not as big as a felony, it dealing with a life. “People who fail to report child abuse or neglect can also face penalties and consequences in states with mandatory reporting laws. In states with mandatory reporting laws, those subject to the reporting requirements must report cases of suspected child abuse through a hotline or law enforcement agency. Failure to do so in a timely manner is considered a misdemeanor in most states and can result in fines, jail time, or both”(Child). Failing to report child abuse should weigh heavy on you, because knowing there is a child being abused, you should want to help. So basically, if the child abuse gets worse, that’s a child’s life and you should be penalized for not reporting when you knew it was happening. Adults should be more accountable for child abuse and feel that it is their responsibility “Any person who suspects child abuse or neglect is required to report. It has came up over time that many untrained individuals would file spurious reports. Not technically true, “On Feb. 11, he amended his legislation to include requirements that employees must provide proof of training at the start of each school year, and
As a human service professional, there will be times when it is necessary to become involved with cases that surround abuse and or neglect. The types and classes of people that we will provide services for will be a mixture of different cultures, situations, and circumstance surrounding the abuse. In the scenario presented, a teacher has referred a set of twin students to the human services professional who must intervene in a situation of abuse. The father is known throughout the community to make threats, which causes concern about the safety of the worker and the child. The topic of discussion of this paper will focus on prevention methods and interventions.
Professional ethical conduct is essential to the success of any client, whether it is in individual counseling or in a group setting. Professional psychologists, therapists, counselors, social workers or others in the field of human service or help have the duly responsibility to continuously become aware of their professional responsibilities, and manage their practice based on areas of ability. This paper will research ethics within groups and individual counseling, and compare their similarities and their differences.
Today child neglect is the largest part of child abuse in the United States, and almost two-thirds of all reported cases in child protective services is neglect (Dubowitz). Before the 1970’s child abuse mostly referred to physical abuse; however, now it encompasses physical, emotional, and sexual abuse as well as neglect (Compton’s). Physical abuse is when a child is hurt by getting hit, punched, kicked, or any other form of beating by an adult (Compton’s). This abuse will only harm the child physically and though it is horrific and can lead to long term effects it will normally only lead to violence. Emotional abuse is when an adult is hateful to the child by calling him names, and another form of emotional abuse is when an adult is punishing a child in a way that will cause him mental trauma (Compton’s). Emotional abuse is terrible for the child’s self-esteem however they can go and learn that they are important to the world by their contributions. Sexual abuse is when a child is touched inappropriately or molested (Compton’s). This is detrimental to a child but in most cases the child will block this out for when they grow older it is like it never happened which will cause no harm to their mental state. Neglect is when an adult will not seek medical help for their child and will not provide them with food, shelter, clothing, or emotional support (Sullivan). This is where the real trauma takes place on a child. The child will not suffer from being hit but they suffer from starving until someone is kind enough to feed them or they die from malnutrition. The child will not suffer from a parent calling them names but they might never know if their parent knows their name or cares to even speak to th...
The Effectiveness of School Counselors There it is the second week of May, where all the students start to tremble about how they're going to get through their AP classes and wondering if they're gonna live past finals week to be able to graduate. Throughout the chaos the only ones who are sure that their senior class is on track and ready to graduate are the counselors. Who unlike teachers have been almost like a guardian angel who have watched over and been able to guide students throughout their high school career.