• family clr view the entire family as their clt-the family is important in clts' lives-they should enlist their support, involvemt of them as support network when appropriate A1d
• code A7 states clrs are to clarify at outset which persons are clts & nature of the relatioships the clr will have with each involved person
• clr will seek consent/agreement from all involved parties who have the capacity to give consent
• law view the family as having separate and distinct rights & responsibilities that are individual in nature

• iin family clf-all capable adult must give consent

Client welfare

• ethical practice demands that family clrs make every effort to minimize the risks to individual
• the law demand that all clts within a family group be able to rely on the clr to act in a manner that furthers their best interest & protect them from harm
• when working with nontraditional parents-only the biological parents or court-appointed guardians have legal rights of control & authority over children

• when clr engage in risky techniques,they must ensure clt come to no harm

Family violence

• clrs must clg the victim of abuse & abusive partner separately-& to encourage victims to leave the relationship

Privacy, confidentiality & privilieged communication

• clrs can guarantee confidentiality ethically to each member of family/couples
• general rule-privilege is waived with third parties present
• clrs should alert family other members of its unit are not held to same privilege betw clr-clt

Family secrets

• clrs should use their professional judgment divulging or maintaining confidentiality/secrets that will be of greatest benefit to family

• a custody order by a court defines the nature of the rights & responsibilities of 2 parents who are separated or divorced in relation to a child or children
• legal custody carries rights & obligation to make decisions involving education, discipline, medical care, & other matters significant to child's life-also when parent have or not legal custody can take the child
• defines which parent has physical possession of a child at which times, orders child support pymts
• both parents have the right to receive info regarding child'sschool records, correspondence about child, to contract for clg for child

• In divorce actions, if there are children under the age of 18 who reside in the state of New York, a demand for custody is mandatory.
• If the children reside outside the state of New York, custody is not allowed to be determined (except in certain instances according to stipulation or agreement between the parties).
• Children under 21 years of age must be supported by both parents, to the extent that each parent is able to do so under the Child Support Standards Act.
• Custody cannot be awarded to persons other than the child’s mother or father, except under very limited circumstances which require additional hearings .
• In the instance where a change of residence is involved, a New York court will give preference to the custodial parent’s decision to relocate (so long as their intent is not to frustrate the visitation rights of the non-custodial parent).

If parents can't come to an agreement, courts in New York make custody decisions based on what is in the "best interest" of the child. Determining what the best interests of a child are depends upon many factors, including the:

• Child's age, gender, mental and physical health
• Health of parents
• Lifestyle and other social factors of parents
• Love and emotional ties between parent and child
• Parents ability to provide food, shelter, clothing and medical care
• Quality of schools in a given locale
• Child's preference if the child is over 12
• Ability and willingness of the parent to foster a healthy relationship between child and other parent
• Stability of the environment

When deciding which parent should have primary custody, courts usually consider the following:

• Physical and emotional health of the parents
• Evidence of child abuse and child neglect
• Availability of the parents to take care of the child
• The home environment of both parents
• Who has been the primary caretaker if responsibilities between the parents differ
• The willingness to encourage the child's relationship with the other parent
• The preferences of the child if it's mature enough to make its wishes known
• An agreement between the parents

What Happens When the Court Has Made a Decision?

The custody order is signed by the judge and then filed with the court clerk. Both parents are bound by it. If either of the parents do not follow the custody order the other parent may bring the issue before the judge who can modify it.

Visits can be unsupervised, supervised, or therapeutically supervised, and may also involve a safe place of exchange or a monitored exchange:

• Supervised Visits: A parent can't be alone with the child. The court will choose someone to supervise the visits if there are serious concerns about a parent's ability to act properly with the child or where there has been domestic violence.
• Therapeutic Supervised Visits: A mental health professional supervises the visits and can try during the visits to improve the parenting skills of the parent.
• Neutral Place of Exchange: A safe location where a child goes from one parent to the other for visitation. Examples: a police station, school, library, or mall.
• Monitored Transition: A third person is present when the child goes from one parent to the other for visitation. The reason for this is to make sure of the child's safety and a calm situation for the child.

iNFORM CONSENT

• the purpose of the group, format, procedures, ground rules
• psychological risks involved in group participation
• what services can and cannot be provided within group setting
• the division of responsibility betw leader and participants
• the rrights and responsibilities of group members
• confidentiality and its limits
• ways the group process may or may not be congruent with [participants culturevalues
• freedom to leave the group if it does not turn out to be what a member wants or needs

• clts in group settings have less freedom to determinethe topics or process of clg-the group leader determines the purpose of the group
• the aim id discussin group purpose is to help members determine whether their goals in seeking clg will be met within the group context
• there are psychologial risks involved in group clg which increase b/c the group leader has less situational control over events
• members who are considering exiting the group should openly discusss this in the group setting-should explain why they want to leave
• mandated clts need to be informed premature departure from could place themin a compromised legal position
• both group leaders and members have responsibilities to the group
• with minors, group leader must obtain parental consent to group clg

• leaders to secure inform coonsent prior to group clg
• when screening, they should look for suitable participants and exclude those who may not fit the group in problem, personality, issues
• ACA code specify choosing candidates whose needs and goals are compatible with the group, who are likely to contribute to the group
• those excluded are hostiles, overtly aggressive communication style, acutely psychotic, those who are highly suspicious or paranoid, those with varios personality disorders narcissitic or antisocial
• when recruiting minors from teachers, avoid stigmatizing the candidates, school clrs are advised not to give the group a name-allow student to see clr at their own discretion to discuss participating in group

• gr betw therapeutic pressure vs oup leaders have ethical responsibility to take precautions to protect group members from physical, emotional, or psychological trauma A8b
• 4 potential dangers: scapegoating members, subjugating members to undue pressure, misuse of confrontation, injury resulting from group exercises or activities that involve physical contact
• ASGW in its Ethical Guidelines for group Clrs states that it is essential for group clrs to differentiate betw therapeutic pressure that is apart of any group and undue pressure-they are reminded members have to find their own answers than feel pressured into doing what the group think is important
• group clrs have ethical responsibility to avoid coercing participants to change directions, to intervene when other members use undue pressure
• group clr to model confrontation & intervene when it is being misued
• any participant at risk to cause harm should be excluded or monitored closely
• the law of assault & battery requires no physical contact, clrs should inform members prior to clg of any touching or personal contact with members

ASGW guidelines:

• define limits of confidentiality
• stress the important of maintaining confidentiality
• set a norm of confidentiality
• provide the group with a sample of how confidentiality could be breached inadvertently
• inform group of potential consequences of purposely breaching confidentiality