Below is Vermont’s (poorly constructed but serviceable) statute:
Title 12: Court Procedure
Chapter 61: WITNESSES
Sub-Chapter 01: Qualifications, Privileges, And Credibility
12 V.S.A. § 1614. Victim and crisis worker privilege
§ 1614. Victim and crisis worker privilege
(a)(1) "Crisis worker" means an employee or volunteer who:
(A) provides direct services to victims of abuse or sexual assault for a domestic violence program or sexual assault crisis program incorporated or organized for the purpose of providing assistance, counseling or support services;
(B) has undergone 20 hours of training;
(C) works under the direction of a supervisor of the program, supervises employees or volunteers, or administers the program; and
(D) is certified by the director of the program.
(2) A communication is "confidential" if not intended to be disclosed to third persons other than those to whom disclosure is made in furtherance of the rendition of services to the victim or those reasonably necessary for the transmission of the communication.
(b) A victim receiving direct services from a crisis worker has the privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent any other person from disclosing a confidential communication made by the victim to the crisis worker, including any record made in the course
of providing support, counseling or assistance to the victim. The crisis worker shall be presumed to have authority to claim the privilege but only on behalf of the victim. (Added 1993, No. 228 (Adj. Sess.), § 8.)
Karen S. Guttentag
Associate Dean for Judicial Affairs and Student Life
Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT 05753
phone) 802-443-2024
fax) 802-443-2525
From: Melissa Rideout [mailto:]
Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2014 1:39 PM
To: Seguin, Angela DiNunzio
Cc: Becky Lockwood; Brett Sokolow; Morey, Patricia L; Bernstein, Lauren (LB); Jennifer Scott; ; Amanda Walsh
Subject: Re: mandatory reporting for victim's advocates
Below is the MA state statute:
Sexual Assault Crisis Counselor Privilege (MGL Chapter 22, Section 20J)
A sexual assult counselor is defined as a person who : is employed or is a volunteer in a rape crisis center; has undergone 35 hours of training; reports to and is under the direct control and supervision of a liscensed social worker, nurse, psychiatrist, psychologist
or psychotherapist; and whose primary purpose is rendering advice, counseling or assistance to victims of sexual assault. A rape crisis center is defined as any office, institution or center offering assisatnce to vistims of sexual assault and their families
through crisis intervention, medical and legal counseling.
20J is an absolute privilege, however recent court cases have challenged such due to a variety of circumstances
In order to maintain certificate, must complete 6 hours of training in regards to sexual assault each year.
On Wed, Feb 12, 2014 at 1:35 PM, Seguin, Angela DiNunzio <> wrote:
Would you (or anyone on this listserv who has a state statute that protects advocates) be willing to share what the language says in the statute? We do not have such a statute and may need to start advocating for one.
University of Delaware
Sent from my iPad
On Feb 12, 2014, at 1:32 PM, "Becky Lockwood" <> wrote:
Hello all. I have attached a powerpoint presentation from the DOE Office on Civil Rights that offers
some clarification regarding Peer Advocate programs and whether they are “mandated” reporters under Title IX. It is worth using this document with legal counsel to explore protections for Peer Advocates and whether they can report only aggregate data or anonymous
data re: the disclosures from students they receive. The Victim Rights Law Center provided this document to us at the Center for Women & Community. Our Advocates are protected by state statute as Rape Crisis Counselors.
Becky Lockwood
Associate Director of Counseling and Rape Crisis Services
Center for Women & Community
413.545.5832
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email message, including all attachments, may contain information that is confidential, proprietary, privileged or otherwise protected by law. It is
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From: Brett Sokolow []
Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2014 8:02 AM
To: Melissa Rideout
Cc: Morey, Patricia L; Bernstein, Lauren (LB); Jennifer Scott;
Subject: Re: mandatory reporting for victim's advocates
Advocates only have privilege when working under a state statute. Working for a mental health provider is not enough. But, advocates are not mandated reporters under title ix
regardless of state statute. Thankfully.
Brett A. Sokolow, Esq.
President & CEO, The NCHERM Group, LLC.
Executive Director, NABITA
Executive Director, ATIXA
On Feb 12, 2014, at 7:55 AM, "Melissa Rideout" <> wrote:
I have a question. In order for an advocate to have privilege/confidentiality, would they need to be supervised by a licensed mental health professional? If so, would it matter
if the supervising individual is a psychologist, social worker, or mental health counselor? I assume this might vary state by state. Our college is in MA and I'm curious to hear from others about this.
Thanks
Melissa
On Tue, Feb 11, 2014 at 3:12 PM, Morey, Patricia L <> wrote:
Thank you Lauren and Jenn,
This is an issue we advocates at the Women’s Resources Center—University of Illinois continue to struggle with in relation to our
Title IX Coordinator (as you know, JennJ). Recently there has been a slight shift in how our legal counsel is looking
at this and we are more hopeful of a resolution that will protect our students from beginning a process they are not comfortable with initiating! Hope to hear the responses from others on this list serve, too!
Pat Morey
Patricia L. Morey
Assistant Dean
Director, Women's Resources Center, University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign
2nd Floor; 703 S. Wright Street
Champaign, IL 61820 (MC-302)
217.333.3137
www.go.illinois.edu/wrc
Note: Privacy may not be guaranteed as email is not a secure means of communication. Concerns regarding confidential
matters are best addressed by calling or visiting the Women's Resources Center.
From: Bernstein, Lauren (LB) [mailto:]
Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 1:21 PM
To: Jennifer Scott;
Subject: RE: mandatory reporting for victim's advocates
I spoke to Catherine Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Right at the US Department of Education. She said directly
that victim advocates do not have to report for Title IX. There was also an OCR webinar from the ASCA that said the same. Aggregate statistics can be forwarded, but we are not required to provide identifying information or to have students coming to us initiate
timely warnings or investigations. She said that additional guidance will be provided soon as this comes up often. It affected me personally, as I took a social work license exam simply to protect the confidentiality of my students, when I was told that was
the only way. I do hope they provide written guidance soon, as I know this is hurting survivors on many campuses.
LB
Lauren (LB) Bernstein, MSW, LMSW |
Assistant Director for the Respect Program
Office of Health Promotion | Emory University Student Health and Counseling Services
The Respect Program engages
the Emory community to prevent & respond to sexual assault & relationship violence as part of the Office of Health Promotion.
From: Jennifer Scott []
Sent: Monday, February 10, 2014 1:10 PM
To:
Subject: mandatory reporting for victim's advocates
Hi All,
I am interested in learning more about how folks have clarified what is meant by "confidential" under Title IX. How have folks balanced creating a safe reporting space for students
with language about the obligation to respond when the university knows or should have known. Particularly, how have victim's advocates dealt with this?
--
Jennifer Scott
Assistant Director, Women's Center
Interpersonal Violence Services
North Carolina State University
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Melissa Rideout, PhD
Staff Psychologist/SMART Coordinator
Wheaton College
Counseling Center
42 Howard Street
Norton, MA 02766
Phone: 508-286-3905
Fax: 508-286-8264
NOTICE: Because e-mail is not a secure medium, confidentiality of e-mail messages cannot be guaranteed. To help ensure privacy, student-clients should not send sensitive, detailed or personal information to Wheaton College Counseling
Center staff via e-mail. E-mail should never be used to convey information of an urgent nature as we cannot guarantee prompt responses to e-mail messages. Our staff may not maintain 24-hour access to e-mail and may only check e-mail from time to time on
weekends or holidays. To discuss any concerns, please call the counseling center
(508) 286-3905 during counseling center hours, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or stop-in.
In the event of an emergency before or after hours, please contact Public Safety from any campus phone at extension 3333 or
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<OCRPresentationHandouts (2).pdf>
--
Melissa Rideout, PhD
Staff Psychologist/SMART Coordinator
Wheaton College
Counseling Center
42 Howard Street
Norton, MA 02766
Phone: 508-286-3905
Fax: 508-286-8264
NOTICE: Because e-mail is not a secure medium, confidentiality of e-mail messages cannot be guaranteed. To help ensure privacy, student-clients should not send sensitive, detailed or personal information to Wheaton College Counseling
Center staff via e-mail. E-mail should never be used to convey information of an urgent nature as we cannot guarantee prompt responses to e-mail messages. Our staff may not maintain 24-hour access to e-mail and may only check e-mail from time to time on
weekends or holidays. To discuss any concerns, please call the counseling center (508) 286-3905 during counseling center hours, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or stop-in.
In the event of an emergency before or after hours, please contact Public Safety from any campus phone at extension 3333 or (508) 285-5051; call 911; or go to your nearest hospital emergency room. If this message has
been sent to you in error, please notify the sender by replying to this transmission. Thank you for helping to maintain privacy.
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