Ethics: Proficiencies - TOP Flashcards
(47 cards)
Can you use a sliding scale?
Yes! But sliding scale standards must be objective and consistent. You can’t charge different rates arbitrarily —> fraud!
Are psychologists allowed to talk about their fees with one another?
No! It’s considered price fixing.
- This is not an ethical issue, but rather a legal issue. You could be sued for discussing rates among professionals.
(—) We need to trakc when insurance companies bump their rates—we gotta charge more than they are willing to compensate you!
In what psychologist capacities are you more likely to receive complaints to the psychology board?
Forensic capacities, child & family capacities, etc.
Question: You are seeing a fellow psychologist for therapy. They admit to having drug issues that may affect their work. What to consider?
- Confidentiality supersedes everything here! Big hurdle to jump over in order to break confidentiality
- “Imminent risk” is a very high threshold
- Is the client working with minors? Within the bounds of mandated reporting, then we may need to report (e.g., drugged out psychologist allows child to run into traffic)
PA and its law to protect children
The Child Protective Services Law
- Every state has some, but they’re different
- PA’s is relatively strict (thanks Sandusky!)
Some primary purposes of the Child Protective Services Law?
- Protect children
- Investigate reports quickly and competently
- Provide rehabilitation/intervention
Point about emotional abuse cases in PA
Only 1% of reports were identified as involving emotional abuse
- However, psychologists’ reported ~15% of cases as emotional abuse cases. We are more wary of emotional abuse!
What is GPS?
GPS = General Protective Services
- GPS is desinged to provide services to children for non-abuse cases requiring protective services
What kinds of services does GPS provide?
GPS provides services to children for several reasons including to prevent abuse, neglect, and exploitation
- IOW, GPS is tasked with servicing general abuse and neglect that don’t meet criteria for abuse reporting
- Examples: inadequate care, truancy, inappropriate discipline, physical injury that does not rise to the level of abuse
Who investigates?
Often it is Children and Youth Services (CYS) investigators who investigate
Connection between GPS (that level of investigation) and confidentaility
This level of reporting is NOT associated with your ability to break confidentiality
- Example: Let’s say you don’t have a professional realtionship with someone–you ARE able to access this level of reporting
Does every state have a GPS?
Nope
How can you report to GPS in PA?
Reports for GPS services can be made through ChildLine
Are GPS referrals the same thing as child abuse investigations?
Nope! Referalls are not child abuse investigations. Instead, they often involve things like inadequate care, substandard shelter, truancy, inappropriate discpipline, or physical injury that does NOT rise to the level of abuse
What is a child/minor?
A child/minor is an individual under the age of 18
Example: A 19-year-old says that an adult sexually abused them years ago. Must/Should you report as a Mandated Reporter?
Answer: No—they’re an adult!
- Exception: If you know that the abusing adult still has access to children (e.g., lives with children, works with children)
- If they were, for instance, 17 years old, then we would ahve to report via Mandated Reporting laws
What is a perpetrator?
A perpetrator is a “person who has committed abuse.” Refers to:
- Parents of the child
- Spouse or former spouse of the child’s parents (e.g., stepmother)
- A paramour (e.g., boyfriend/girlfriend) or former paramour of the child’s parent
- A person 14 years or older and responsible for the child’s welfare
- A person 14 years or older who resides in the same home as the child
- A person 18 years or older who does not reside in the same home as the child but is related wihin the third degree of consanguinity or affinity by birth or adoption to the child
Do perpetrators need to commit the the action?
Not necessarily. Certain individuals may be prepetrators for failing to act.
- Meaning they knew the abuse was occurring but did not take steps to intervene or prevent it
What does this mean: “an individual who is related within the third degree or affinity by birth or adoption to the child”
Relative within “third degree”:
- 1st degree from the child is a parent.
- 2nd degree is a grandparent.
- 3rd degree means one step further out—examples include aunt, uncle, great‑grandparent, or (adult?) niece/nephew.
Table of individuals who can commit abuse
Degrees of consanguinity (examples)
1st degree:
- spouse - children - parents
Second degree:
- siblings - half-siblings - grandchildren - grandparents
Third degree:
- uncles/aunts - nephews/nieces - great-grandparents - great-grandchildren
consanguinity —> by blood
Degrees of affinity (examples)
1st degree:
- stepchildren - stepparents - mother-in-law/father-in-law
Second degree:
- stepsiblings - brothers-in-law/sisters-in-law - step-grandchildren - step-grandparents
Third degree:
- step-uncles/step-aunts - step-nephews/step-nieces - step-great-grandparents - step-great-grandchildren
affinity —> by marriage
What is child abuse?
(point about intent)
Child abuse involves intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly doing any of the following acts
What is child abuse? Part 1
(actual acts)
Child abuse is intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly:
- Causing bodily injury to a child
- Creating reasonable likelihood of bodily injury
- Fabricating or exaggerating or inducing medical symptoms leading to potentially harmful evaluation/treatment
- Causing or contributing to serious mental injury
- Causing or enabling sexual abuse/exploitation
- Creating reasonable likelihood of sexual abuse/exploitation
- Causing serious physical neglect
- Causing death through action or inaction
For many of these, add “through recent act or failures to act”
