La. Admin. Code tit. 4 § VII-1723

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section VII-1723 - Foundational

A. Basic Considerations. These standards address the issues and concerns which apply across all areas of the organization and program implementation. They provide basic guidelines to assure the highest ethical standards with regard to behaviors of staff, volunteers (including boards of directors and advisory boards), and the guarantee of confidentiality. These standards ensure that informed and skillful assistance is provided to family violence survivors in an empowering, non-victim blaming way, determining the extent of danger and proper ways to prepare for future safety.

B. Standards

1. Ethics

a. Family violence programs abide by an accepted code of ethics that ensures excellence in service delivery and professionalism among family violence advocates when working with survivors and representing the program.

b. Programs are equal opportunity employers. No person is discriminated against seeking employment, or while employed, on the basis of age, sex, race, color, disability, national origin, religion, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, abuse status (i.e., battered or formerly battered), or parenthood.

c. Program employees do not discriminate in the provision of services or use of volunteers on the basis of any status described above. No program discriminates or retaliates against any employee who exercises her/his rights under any federal or state anti-discrimination law.

2. Confidentiality

a. Confidentiality of Facilities

i. When it is the policy of a family violence program to keep the location of their shelter or other facilities confidential, the program employees and volunteers are prohibited from disclosing information regarding the location of those facilities except in the following specific cases:

(a). to medical, fire, police personnel or agencies, when their presence is necessary to preserve the health and safety of survivors, employees, or volunteers at the facility;

(b). to vendors and others with whom programs have business relationships on a need-to-know basis. The executive director or designee ensures that written agreements are executed by representatives of such businesses pledging to keep the location of the facility confidential;

(c). to any other person when necessary to maintain the safety and health standards in the facility. The executive director or designee may disclose the location of the confidential facility for the purpose of official fire inspections, health department inspections, and other inspections and maintenance activities necessary to assure safe operation of the facility;

(d). to supportive individuals of a shelter resident who have been approved as a part of case management, who have been prescreened by staff, and who have signed an agreement to keep the address and location of the facility confidential. Staff ensures that the individual's presence at the facility does not violate the confidentiality of other shelter residents at the facility;

(e). confidential, written records of services provided by staff members, and/or volunteers are maintained. These records indicate the types of services provided; the individual or family to whom services were provided, the dates of service provision, the content and outcome of the interaction(s); the staff and/or volunteer providing the service(s); and provisions for future or on-going services.

b. Confidentiality of Survivor Information

i. Information received by family violence programs about survivors is confidential. Records on survivors are kept in locked files to assure confidentiality. Employees and volunteers are prohibited from disclosing survivor information except in very limited circumstances. Employees and volunteers are prohibited from releasing information about survivors to other employees and volunteers of the same family violence program except in the event of a specific need-to-know. A staff member or volunteer is considered to have a need to know when their work relates directly to the survivor for whom information is available.

ii. Confidential information may be released after a survivor signs a statement authorizing the release. The survivor should be informed about:

(a). to whom the information will be released (name of person or agency);

(b). a date by which the information will be forwarded to the person or entity to whom it will be released;

(c). the purpose for which this information is being released to this person or entity;

(d). the specific information that will be released; and

(e). the right to withdraw permission at any time.

iii. Staff and volunteers report information about any suspected abuse or neglect of a child or dependent adult according to the Louisiana Child and Adult Protection statutes.

(a). Regardless of a person's status as a family violence survivor, staff and volunteers are required to report suspected abuse of a child or dependent adult.

(b). After the filing of a program initiated abuse report, family violence staff must cooperate with the Child or Adult Protective Services regarding the investigation of the abuse report. This includes assisting the protective services staff in gaining access to the survivor and child(ren) in a manner that maintains the confidentiality of the non-reported survivor receiving services from the family violence program. This, however, does not compel the following:

(i). violating the confidentiality of survivor/children who are not named in the abuse report as a victim or perpetrator of the abuse reported;

(ii). releasing information not directly relevant to the reported abuse.

c. Medical Emergency

i. Program staff and volunteers can release confidential information about a survivor during a medical emergency.

(a). Released information is relevant to the preservation of the health of an adult survivor or such a survivor's minor child in the event the survivor is not able to authorize the release or the survivor cannot be found in a timely manner.

(b). Released information is limited to the medical emergency.

(c). Released information is limited to the medical personnel or institution treating the adult survivor or minor child.

d. Fire Emergency

i. Where a fire exists, information that would otherwise be confidential may be disclosed to fire fighting personnel if such disclosure is necessary to preserve the health and safety of survivors, employees, or volunteers of the family violence program.

(a). Released information is limited to the fire emergency.

(b). Released information is limited to emergency fire and safety personnel treating the adult survivor or minor child.

e. Threats of Harm

i. Any form of firearm or weapon in the facility is prohibited even when locked in a locker at the facility. Program staff will include in their assessment for services appropriate questions to identify those survivors who possess firearms or other weapons and assist them in making arrangements for someone else to keep them while they are receiving services.

ii. Should a survivor pose a risk of harm to self or others, this information can be reported to an appropriate agency/individual. Program personnel will competently assess whether this disclosure is appropriate and necessary. Disclosure of this otherwise confidential information can be made to:

(a). licensed medical or mental health personnel or facilities, law enforcement personnel;

(b). identified, intended victim(s);

(c). the parent(s) of minor children making the threat.

Information released must be limited to that which is directly pertinent to the threatening situation.

f. Violence, Threatened Violence, or Other Crime by Survivor

i. In the event a survivor engages in or threatens to commit a violent act or other crime on the premises of a family violence program facility, such may be reported to law enforcement personnel. Program personnel will competently assess the circumstances and will disclose information only if deemed appropriate and necessary. Released information must be pertinent to the threatening situation.

g. Search and Arrest Warrants Meeting Specific Criteria

i. Family violence program employees and volunteers release otherwise confidential information in specific circumstances:

(a). when law enforcement personnel present a criminal arrest warrant which names the individual and alleges that the individual is located at the program, or its street address;

(b). when law enforcement present a search warrant that specifies the individual or the object of the search and alleges that the individual or object of the search is located at the program, or its street address.

h. Subpoenas

i. The executive director or designee of each family violence program is the only person authorized to respond to subpoenas for the program, employee, former employee, or volunteer. Should a process server present him/herself at the family violence program, he/she is directed to the administrative offices where the executive director or designee may be found. Identity of the shelter location cannot be confirmed to the process server.

ii. Regardless of what type of subpoena and regardless of whether the subpoena is for an appearance for a deposition or for an appearance at court, the executive director or her designee should advise whoever issued the subpoena of the provisions of the R.S. 46:2124.1 which is the privileged communications and records statute for family violence programs.

iii. If a survivor who is residing in the shelter has not given written permission for the program staff or volunteers to acknowledge that she is in fact a resident of that shelter, the person shall advise the process server that the identity of shelter residents is confidential but that in an effort to be of assistance that they:

(a). obtain the name of the person to whom the document is directed;

(b). document the type of subpoena being served, i.e., subpoena for deposition, subpoena duces tecum, subpoena to appear at a court hearing, etc.;

(c). obtain the name and telephone number of person requesting the subpoena (attorney, judge);

(d). obtain the date, time, and where to appear;

(e). obtain the name and telephone number of process server; and

(f). refer above information to the survivor (if known) or to the executive director or her designee or other appropriate person as dictated by policy of program.

i. Civil Child Custody Orders, Custody Papers, "Child Pick-up" Orders, Service of Process and Other Law Enforcement Documents

i. These documents do not in and of themselves present grounds for violation of survivor confidentiality. As described above, any such order or document must be accompanied by a criminal arrest warrant or a search warrant designating the program as the location to be searched and a description of who or what the search is authorized to produce. The executive director or designee is the only person authorized to respond to civil child custody orders, custody papers, "child pick-up" orders, service of process and other law enforcement documents.

j. Involuntary Commitment Orders

i. The statutorily protected privilege of confidentiality belongs to survivors, who have a right to know if legal documents have been issued that are addressed to or about them. Staff does not reveal that a survivor is in shelter or otherwise receiving program services. In the event of the attempted enforcement of a civil involuntary commitment order, staff, while maintaining privilege, makes every attempt to identify the name of the person trying to serve the order and any other relevant information. Staff then notifies the named survivor(s), when possible, of the order and the additional information.

k. Confidentiality Regarding Deceased Persons

i. Family violence programs maintain confidentiality of records after the person is deceased. Records of the deceased person belong to the family violence program and programs are under no legal obligation to release them. Further, programs have no legal authority to release records unless ordered by a judge or if the deceased person has signed a release prior to her death. If, however, breaching confidentiality would assist in the prosecution of the perpetrator of violence, the executive director or a designee shall seek the counsel of an attorney prior to releasing information.

l. Confidentiality of Minors

i. Except for the reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect or when a child is assessed to be of danger to her/himself or others, program staff is under no legal obligation to violate the confidence of a child.

m. Religious Activities

i. Organized religious activities by an outside group or individual or staff within a shelter or non residential domestic violence program are prohibited. Survivor-directed initiatives for religious activities shall not be prohibited but must not take place in common, community shelter or program areas. However, staff who work directly with survivors are encouraged to be aware of the survivor as a whole person. Such staff will include the survivor's spiritual as well as physical, mental and emotional well being as a necessary part of their work with the survivor.

Survivors are not prohibited from considering their rabbi, priest, pastor, shaman, or any other member of an organized religion, as an ally who may visit the survivor under the same guidelines as any other ally.

3. Safety Planning

a. Family violence programs provide 24 hour per day staff to assist survivors of family violence with determining levels of danger/lethality and assist them to develop a personalized plan for safety.

b. Safety planning includes a danger/lethality assessment to determine the survivor's immediate level of danger, completed by trained advocates and documented in case notes or on a standardized form developed for the purpose of danger assessment.

c. Interim assessments are made during the shelter stay or nonresidential service.

d. Assessments screen for stalking and contain planning alternatives for stalking.

e. Safety planning meets the needs of the caller, i.e., a survivor wanting to leave, a survivor intending to stay, survivor with children and pets.

f. Safety planning is a continued process during a shelter stay or advocacy participation, especially at periods of increased risks, i.e., filing of court documents, court hearings, or any strategic move by the survivor or perpetrator.

g. Safety plans are survivor-directed, and staff facilitated/guided.

h. Safety plans are produced in a manner that allows for customization for individuals' specialized needs.

i. Safety planning contains emergency response protocols for use during in-progress emergency and in anticipation of an impending emergency. Minimum steps to assist survivors in determining existing options are provided to plan for the following:

i. getting help or getting away;

ii. accessing transportation;

iii. accessing a linkage to outside helpers;

iv. protocols for the safety of children and pets;

v. securing belongings;

vi. determining a safe, alternative escape location;

vii. getting assistance from the family violence program.

j. Documentation of safety planning includes but is not limited to:

i. a logged note indicating that safety planning was offered during hotline calls;

ii. case notes or a standardized form indicating safety planning was offered during initial residential and outreach intake services;

iii. case notes or a standardized form indicating safety planning was offered on a regular basis and especially during changes in a survivor's plans or in event of a significant occurrence affecting the survivor, survivor's children or the batterer. Examples: the survivor's court appearances, resumption of or beginning new job, an order for visitation of children by the batterer, a batterer being served stay away orders or being released from jail after an arrest involving the survivor and/or children.

La. Admin. Code tit. 4, § VII-1723

Promulgated by the Office of the Governor, Office of Women's Services, LR 27:530 (April 2001).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 46:2122B and R.S. 46:2127B1.