Law and Ethics - Working with Minor Clients: Prepare for Success and Avoid the Pitfalls

"Working with Minor Clients: Prepare for Success and Avoid the Pitfalls"

Webinar Description:

Working with minors requires an understanding of the laws and ethical standards that pertain to minor consent and the authority that minors, and/or others, have over the minor’s clinical information. Additionally, working with minors may involve the need to interact and share information with third parties. During this three (3) hour presentation, CAMFT Staff Attorney Alain Montgomery will review California minor consent laws and common issues related to the confidentiality of the minor’s healthcare information.

Educational Goals:

Participants will gain a better understanding of the applicable laws and the CAMFT ethical standards that relate to minor consent, the release of a minor’s health care information, and conflict of interest issues related to the treatment of minors. As a result of the workshop, participants will be better equipped to make informed and legally and ethically sound decisions when working with minors.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the ethical standards relevant to a therapist’s duty to determine who has the legal authority to provide consent and treatment for a minor.
• Explain the rights of minors to control the right of access to their information. 
• Distinguish when parents and other non-parental adults have the legal authority to consent treatment for a minor and exercise control over a minor’s healthcare information.
• Understand how to manage the varied roles that third parties may play during the course of the minor’s treatment.