 | ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS |
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| Adopted by the IASSW Board of Directors on January 23, 1993 IASSW endorses the position that school social workers must maintain student and family rights to privacy and confidentiality. The duty to keep information confidential is governed by ethics and law. The fundamental ethics and philosophy of the social work profession support the dignity, values and rights of all people. The laws governing confidentiality are complex and in many cases conflicting. A major conflict exists between the duty of the school social worker to keep certain disclosures confidential and the responsibility of school personnel to divulge information. Therefore, it is important that social workers are cognizant of federal, state, local and district regulations of confidentiality applicable to them, in order to effectively perform their jobs and provide client services. All school social workers are subject to laws governing confidentiality under the School Records Act. It is the position of IASSW that the provisions of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act also apply to school social workers. Privileged communication is a legal right which exists by regulation or law that protects a recipient from disclosure of any information acquired during or in connection with providing services to the recipient. School social workers who are licensed under the Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act must be governed by the client's right to privileged communication. The Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act (III. Rev. Stat. 1987) provides that no licensed social worker shall disclose information obtained from persons being counseled by and/or consulting with the social worker in a professional capacity except when such disclosure is judged necessary to protect any person from a clear and imminent risk of harm to themselves or others. Further, the Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act indicates that, “The Mental Health and the Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act is incorporated as if all of its provisions were included in this Act.” Thus, school social workers must familiarize themselves with the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act (III Rev. Stat., Ch. 91 1/2, sec. 801-817). In general the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act (III. Rev. Stat. Ch. 91 1/2 sec. 3-501 and 801-817) “applies to all confidential and/or privileged communication.” This Act makes an exception for disclosure of minors under 12 years of age with parent consent, but only information relevant to the purpose of the disclosure sought. For minors over 12 years disclosure of communication is permissible where the therapist decides that disclosure is in the best interest of the child. The Abuse and Neglected Child Reporting Act negates both exceptions and applies to all minors, regardless of age. The Illinois School Code - Student Records Act (III Rev. Stat. Ch. 122, sec. 50-10) applies predominantly to records only - “writings or other recorded information are not deemed records when maintained by an employee of a school or other person at the direction of the school for his/her exclusive use: provided these are destroyed not later than the student's graduation or permanent withdrawal.” The school social worker has ethical obligations to more than one client and should discuss confidentiality and disclosure rights with the client and the family before disclosure. Confidentiality issues often require the school social worker to make sensitive and difficult judgments regarding the needs of the multiplicity of clients served: the student, the school, the family and the community. The complexity of decision making in actions related to confidentiality versus disclosure should be guided by ethical considerations, the determination of the “need to know,” the social workers professional judgment, the nature of the problems encountered, applicable laws and the best interest of the client. Therefore, IASSW advocates the position that maintaining confidentiality and disclosure rights in the best interest of the client is an ethical responsibility and a legal obligation subject to a variety of laws. Since there is no set standard to follow when there is a conflict between different bodies of law, the school social worker may need to seek legal consultation when making decisions involving complex and conflicting legal issues.
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© 1997-2008 Illinois Association of School Social Workers Updated on: April 19, 2008 |
