Do ask and do tell: Rethinking the lawyers duty to warn in domestic violence cases. This case founded that therapists are obligated to inform an identified third party of potential risk if a client He says that he is going to use a club or hurt her if she does not straighten up.The social worker questions further and determines that this threat is very serious. Legal and ethical implications of HIV and duty to warn for counselors: Does Tarasoff apply? Still other states have not passed any laws on this topic. However, when professionals are dealing with patients who can cause harm to the society, they can breach this law and act as per their responsibility to warn and protect the targeted victims and report the case to the appropriate authorities about the intended threatening act (Taleff, 2010). University of Cincinnati Law Review, 175, 447-496. The social worker considers reporting this situation to Adult Protective Services. Walcott, Cerundolo, and Beck (2001) cite the second Tarasoff case, establishing a duty to protect. This case established that therapists are obligated to inform an identified third party of potential danger if a client indicates that he or she may harm another individual. Ethical Concerns and the Duty to Warn and Duty to Protect. The social worker decides that there is a duty to warn based on the threat posed to Davids wife. This duty shall be discharged by the psychologist, After Tarasoffreturned from asummer inBrazil, Poddarmurdered Tatiana with a knife. 1976) 5551.p.2d 334. Since the second Tarasoff decision in 1976, there has been argument and debate as to the applicability of this judgment to the client-social worker relationship. With an increasing population of older clients in the United States, there are issues around caring for the frail elderly. The next day, the social worker was fired for negligence. The ethical obligation of confidentiality may conflict with the objective of preventing harm to others. A prior LDF Legal Issue of the Month article, Social Workers and the Duty to Warn, reviewed court decisions that have addressed this more than 6 years ago. She wants to become pregnant but does not want to tell her husband about the test results. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 30, 417-424. Duty to Warn Licensed social workers and other mental health professionals are compelled to reveal confidential information about their client when they are a harm to 2. Therapists should find out whether a patient has ever seriously injured or thought about seriously injuring another person. However, social workers responsibility to the larger society or specific legal obligations may on limited occasions supersede the loyalty owed clients, and clients should be so advised. Both David and his wife are in counseling separately for Davids violence toward his wife. Where do you stand? Social Work, 48 (2), 237-246. They posit that the challenges to making a decision about duty to warn and to protect are based on whether the client poses a serious risk of violence to another and what steps are necessary to protect an intended victim. SocialWorker.com All material published on this website Copyright 1994-2021 White Hat Communications. Every state in the nation have different positions on the issue. NOTE: Edited on July 25, 2013, and November 16, 2014. He sees three stages to making this decision: (1) gather relevant data to evaluate dangerousness and make a determination based on this data, (2) once determining a situation to be dangerous a course of action must be taken, and (3) the therapist must implement this decision. A social worker has recommended that an 88-year-old woman receive home health care. Confidentiality is very important to such clients, because of the stigma attached. Huprich, Fuller, and Schneider (2003) consider the question as to whether the therapist has the obligation to warn a third party of risk of transmission of HIV if his or her client is actually putting another party at risk. In the legal context, this responsibility is known as the duty to warn or the duty to protect. The husband has stated that he would hurt his wife if they divorced. A . NASW provides a valuable Web site (http://www.naswdc.org/ldf/legal_issue/2008/200802.asp?back=yes ) on duty to warn laws in different states (NASW, 2011). This is at the discretion of physicians in many states. Consider the following hypothetical example. These core values are service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. Scott Thompson has been writing professionally since 1990, beginning with the "Pequawket Valley News." Duty to warn and interventions with HIV-positive clients. Tarasoff is an important decision with legal implications, and only 13 states in the U.S. lacked Tarasoff-like provisions at the time of Herberts report in 2002. Social workers should frequently utilize supervision and consultation when working on this issue of duty to protect, because it has ethical and malpractice considerations. Seek the clients consent for the social worker to warn the potential victim. The family refuses this request, feeling that the 88-year-old woman can care for herself in her home. The husband reports that he has made threatening comments to his wife in the past. For instance, if a client tells the social worker that he feels capable of violence when he gets angry, there is no duty to warn because the statement is too general. All rights reserved. Duty to warn means that the social worker must verbally tell the intended victim that there is a foreseeable danger of violence. Duty to warn and duty to protect have implications for social work practitioners in the fields of mental health, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, and medical social work. The question for the clinician is whether in this situation something should be done and then what to do. The social worker in assessing the dangerousness of the situation decides that there is no duty to protect or warn. Social workers often work with clients who are HIV-positive or have AIDS. Depending on the state, social workers have a legal obligation to report threats of violence and to warn the potential victims. Following the Tarasoff decision, many social workers believe that they have a duty to warn third parties of the danger posed to them by clients. The police only warned Poddarto stay away from Tarasoff. Social work educators, practitioners, and students need to become knowledgeable about these concepts and their application in various specialties of social work. Duty to warn laws vary depending on the state, so if you are a social worker, you should research the current laws for your state rather than relying on general principles to guide your actions. (2002). Legal & Ethical Issues Facing Social Workers. The environment has changed for social work and confidentiality, as social workers now divulge confidential information to third-party payers. Melchert and Patterson (1999) discuss how being HIV-positive may pose a different situation from that of the Tarasoff case. This means the duties for reporting child abuse and adult/elder abuse and the duty to inform and assist with individuals in domestic violence situations. Duty to warn is an important issue not only in Mental Health practice but also in Tort Law. Kopels, S., & Kagle, J. D. (1993). In each section, the definition of key terms is discussed, mandated reporters are identified, and reporting duties are clarified in a manner designed to ensure the highest level of clinical practice. Buel, S., & Drew, M. (2007). The client was somewhat delusional and stated that he might hurt his father that evening. Journal of Counseling and Development, 73 (4), 397-400. That said, even in the latter states, social workers must meet the standard of care with regard to whether they should have disclosed confidential information to protect a third party from harm. Thank you. Some states require duty to warn only if there is an immediate threat to a specific person, while others require a duty to warn for threats to the public in general. Walcott, Cerundolo, and Beck (2001) describe the facts of the Tarasoff case. It is a six-member board appointed by the governor. 1 P. 5 . Duty to Report Adult or Child Abuse, Neglect or Exploitation By law, the persons licensed as health care practitioners have a duty to report to the Virginia Department of Social Services or the local departments of social services any known or suspected incidences of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of children or elderly and incapacitated adults. Tarasoffs family sued the campus police and the university health service for negligence. 4. The legal principles of obligation to warn and duty to safeguard were first introduced in 1976, with the truth of Tarasoff V. Regents of the University of California. Encourage the client to agree to a joint session with the potential victim in order to discuss the issues surrounding the threat (unless this might increase the risk). duty to warn . Since the first Tarasoff decision in 1974, there has been an expansion of the debate around duty to warn and duty to protect, in that the social work literature has expanded to include mental health, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, and medical issues. Borum, R., & Reddy, M. (2001) Assessing violence risk in Tarasoff situations: A fact based inquiry. Disclaimer: Beating the Social Work Exam is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB). Melchert, T., & Patterson, M. (1999). Social work educators, practitioners, and students need to become knowledgeable about these concepts and their application in or a . Brian has not disclosed his diagnosis to anyone and maintains that it is not necessary to do so because he practices safe sex. (p. 397). A professional social worker conducted an intake interview with a client with a history of mental health problems and violence toward his father. Following is a hypothetical vignette of just such a situation. A social worker failing to become knowledgeable about these critical issues can be subject to ethical and legal problems, including malpractice and ethical complaints before licensing boards. A physician may need to consult a medical social worker to work with the family on this critical issue, because sharing the information may save the relatives life. People who commit domestic violence will often commit criminal acts such as homicide, assault and battery, criminal trespass, terroristic threats, stalking, and sexual assault. For a social worker to be justified in violating confidentiality, the client must have made a specific, imminent threat to an identifiable person. Social workers are confronted every day with difficult ethical concerns around duty to warn and duty to protect beyond the mental health field. Couples therapy can work when each person has contracted for no further incidents of violence. The discharge of the duty may require the therapist to take one or more various steps, depending on the nature of the case. may exist when there is Social workers need to seek out knowledge in this area to be effective practitioners and educators. Pullman, D., & Hodgkinson, K. (2006). In domestic violence situations, there can be an identified threat of harm to a victim. (b) The social worker is required by law to disclose essential information out of a duty to protect, warn, or report; (c) The social worker is a defendant in a civil or criminal action or is a respondent in a disciplinary process; or (d) A client has raised his mental condition as an element in a civil action and the court has ordered the Most States have Mandated Duty to Warn , which means that mental health professionals ARE REQUIRED by the State Law to warn 3rd party of imminent danger, and the professionals are protected by the law from legal action by the clients whose confidentiality is breached. Courts have established that social workers have a legal obligation to warn the potential victim if they believe their client presents an imminent threat to that individual. Appelbaum (1985) states that since the time of Tarasoff, mental health professionals have been concerned about confidentiality and the prediction of dangerousness. During the course of counseling, Brian discloses that he continues to be sexually active with his wife and also occasionally with anonymous male partners. Divergent ethical perspective on duty-to-warn principles with HIV patients. Steven Granich, LCSW, MPA, DSW, is Assistant Professor of Social Work at Lock Haven University. Mental Health Professionals. Clinical Genetics, 69, 199-203. more than 4 years ago. The wife has threatened to divorce her husband. Duty to predict, warn or take precautions to provide protection -- Liability. The legal concepts of duty to warn and duty to protect were first introduced in 1976, with the case of Tarasoff V. Regents of the University of California. Duty to Warn and Protect in Medical Social Work Social workers practice in the medical field, where many ethical dilemmas may arise with respect to duty to warn and duty to protect. However, if the client says that he plans to kill his supervisor at work, there may be a duty to warn if the social worker believes the threat to be serious. The North Dakota Board of Social Work Examiners [Board] was formed in 1983 by the legislative assembly. And finally, the duty to warn can result in legal problems for the clinician whether or not he/she takes reasonable precautions. only obligates therapists to inform individuals and authorities of any specific threats. His work has also appeared in "Talebones" magazine and the "Strange Pleasures" anthology. Social workers also need to protect potential victims by referring them to safe places where they are not exposed to violence. For example, it is unclear whether a duty to warn applies to a client knowingly exposing a sexual partner to HIV. Should she report the case to the police as a threat? In 1976 the court revised and updated its opinion, adding to the obligation to warn the intended victim with the need to take actions to protect the intended victim such as Disclose only the minimum amount necessary to protect the potential victim and/or the public. (p.4). duty to protect . Social workers may be consulted by medical personnel to help resolve issues in genetic counseling. This refers to the duty of a counselor, therapist to breach one of the most important bonds between a client and a therapist; the law of confidentiality. From: The New Social Worker, Winter 2012, Vol. The social worker must make a decision. Since the Tarasoff case in 1974, duty to warn and duty to protect have become important as concepts in the field of social work and other helping disciplines. For a social worker to be justified in violating confidentiality, the client must have made a specific, imminent threat to an identifiable person. Stanard and Hazler (1995) report a case in which duty to protect seems important. Code of Ethics for the American Academy of Physician Assistants. In 1974 in the initial ruling the court opined that where a psychotherapist had reason, arising out of a professional relationship with a patient, to believe, or reasonably should have believed, that the patient was intending to harm a specific victim, that a duty existed to warn that victim (Mills, 1984). Social Work Confidentiality and Duty to Protect . Failure to protect potential victims of violence can result in losing ones job at an agency. David has hurt his wife three times with moderate injury each time. The Duty to Warn/ Protect is a very controversial issue amongst mental health professionals. 19, No. Social workers are held to a constellation of core values (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], 2008, preamble). The first Tarasoff case imposed a duty to warn the victim, whereas the second Tarasoff case implies a duty to protect (Kopels & Kagle, 1993). Genetic knowledge and moral responsibility: Ambiguity at the interface of genetic research and clinical practice. As of 2012, some states had passed laws establishing a mandatory duty to warn . The third topic is the Tarasoff ruling (which resulted in psychotherapists duty to warn and protect) and its requirements, as outlined in case law. 1. Dolgoff, R., Loewenberg, F. M., & Harrington, D. (2009). Essay Help Online Service Order an essay online from TFTH and get it done by experts and see the difference for yourself. The amendment states that mental health providers are mandated to warn or protect a specific person or persons, including those identifiable by their association with a specific location or entity, against the violent behavior of a person receiving treatment from the mental health provider when the providers client has communicated a serious threat of imminent physical violence against such persons or entity. Retrieved http://www.naswdc.org/ldf/legal_issue/2008/200802.asp?back=yes. If the client doesn't trust his social worker and withholds important information, the social worker won't be able to treat the client effectively. Poddar stated to the university health science psychologist that he intended to kill an unnamed woman, who was identified as Tatiana Tarasoff. All rights reserved. Brian is a 24-year-old married bisexual man entering counseling to deal with grief and depression associated with a recent diagnosis of HIV infection. At the beginning of a professional relationship and during the professional relationship as necessary and appropriate, a social worker must inform the client of those circumstances under which the social worker may be required to disclose client information specified in subdivision 3, paragraph (a), without the client's consent. As in the Tarasoff ruling, the statute notes that the principle of duty to warn is an exception to the general principle that a social worker shall not "disclose any information about a client acquired from or revealed in the course of or in connection with the performance of the social worker's professional services."