Scenario
You are the school counselor for a middle school. During a session, an 11-year-old girl tells told you that she is being sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend.
Call your local social services department and ask what steps they require to report child abuse in your county and state. Address the following, using the appropriate ethical standards and codes to support your approach:
Outline the detailed reporting criteria for your state.
Describe the steps will you take with the girl regarding her disclosure.
Discuss the steps will you take in your state in reporting this abuse.
Speculate how reporting this case might affect the girl at home.
Describe how reporting this case could affect your relationship with her.
The codes and standards below should be followed in this case, even if the counselor is wary of jeopardizing the client’s trust or relationship.
Ethical Codes and Standards
The appropriate ACA (American Counseling Association) ethical codes that apply to this case are:
A.1.a. Primary Responsibility.
A.2.d. Inability to give consent.
B.2.a.. Confidentiality – Serious and Foreseeable Harm and Legal Requirements.
The appropriate ASCA (American School Counseling Association) ethical standards that apply to this case are:
A.1.a. Responsibility to Students.
A.2.e. Confidentiality.
A.9.d. Serious and Foreseeable Harm to Self and Others.
A.11.b., c., d. Bullying, Harassment and Child Abuse.
F. Ethical Decision Making.
When faced with an ethical dilemma, school counselors and school counseling program directors/supervisors use an ethical decision-making model such as Solutions to Ethical Problems in Schools (STEPS) (Stone, 2001).