THE SALVATION ARMY
USA SOUTHERN TERRITORY
ATLANTA GEORGIA
________________________________________________________________________________
The Salvation Army
Policy and Guidelines on Confidentiality and the Protection of Personal Privacy
POLICY
People seek help from Salvation Army program units when
they have special needs which may range from fairly simple to painfully
difficult. Their need for service and
the help that can be given is determined through sharing factual and personal
information. For this to be effective, there must be trust that the program unit will
hold the shared information confidential.
Therefore, the commitment to confidentiality extends to
all Salvation Army officers, employees, and volunteers. It includes the knowledge that a person is or
has been a recipient of service. The
Salvation Army will consider carefully matters of confidentiality as they
obtain within the particular setting and commit itself to the highest level of
agency practice within a given community.
The presumption of confidentiality applies to The
Salvation Army unit as a whole, not only to an individual staff person, since
client information is normally shared internally for legitimate purposes of
training, supervision, records accountability, and expanded client service.
Principles of confidentiality and how these are carried
forward in the program unit will be part of the orientation of each new
employee, advisory organization member, and other volunteers. As a general principle, no information about
individuals receiving Salvation Army services will be disclosed outside of the
organization except when informed written consent has been obtained from the
service recipient. National Salvation
Army guidelines, which are received and updated periodically regarding
particular confidentiality issues, should be available to all staff.
Individual program units will assume responsibility for
being fully aware of and responsive to the requirements pertaining to
confidentiality that impact upon them as a result of contractual commitments,
the requirements of law specific to the program, the demands of
standard-setting bodies, as well as Salvation Army standards for the particular
program.
Original Approval by the May 1981 Commissioners'
Conference
Latest Revision Approved by the May 2000 Commissioners'
Conference (pp. 524-526)
GUIDELINES
The following guidelines are issued in connection with
The Salvation Army Policy Statement on Confidentiality and the Protection of
Personal Privacy.
1. Fact of
Participation
The
fact that an individual is or has been a participant in a Salvation Army social
service or community service program should not be disclosed outside The
Salvation Army unit, except as may be specifically defined in the national
standards in effect for the particular kind of program. This restraint will not apply to public
meetings or programs in which participants take part as "members,"
e.g., troop activities, community center programs, and boys' clubs.
Inquiries
by visit, telephone or letter regarding a participant in a Salvation Army
residential program should be answered with the statement that information as
to whether a particular individual is or has been in residence cannot be
divulged; that, if in fact the individual is in residence, he/she will be
advised of the inquiry, and that, at his/her discretion, the client will or
will not communicate with the inquirer.
2. Disclosure
to Other Organizations
Disclosure of limited client
information to other social service agencies, for the purpose of a referral to
or from The Salvation Army, generally would be permitted if a determination is
made that the disclosure is in the interest of the client.
Before client records can be
disclosed to individuals or agencies outside of The Salvation Army, the written
consent of the client must be obtained.
The consent should be in writing and should identify the information to
be disclosed, the person or agency to whom it will be disclosed, the purpose of
the disclosure, and the date upon which the client's consent expires. Use of the Authorization for Release of
Information form is recommended for this purpose. The form may be found in the resource, "Basic
Social Services -- A Primer of Policies, Standards, and Procedures."
On the other hand, information is
to be withheld where The Salvation Army is required by law (as in alcohol and
drug programs regulated or funded by a federal agency or in child care or
health care facilities, which disclosure is prohibited by state regulations)
and/or where by contract The Salvation Army has agreed to maintain the
confidentiality of client records.
Disclosure of information relating
to program participants should not be made to employers, credit agencies,
unions, or other similar organizations, except under terms and conditions
contractually defined where employment is an integral part of the program
(e.g., contracts with federal or state correctional authorities for early
release programs), or at the request, and with the consent of the participant.
If there is doubt about whether
client information should be disclosed, local legal counsel should be obtained
and the appropriate Salvation Army administrative headquarters should be
consulted before the information is disclosed.
3. Clearing
House
Whereas, as a general rule, there
is no objection to participation by The Salvation Army in clearing houses,
there are any number of situations in which such
disclosure is prohibited by contract or regulation or where disclosure of the information
could damage the client. Because of the
varied and fluctuating makeup of the usual Army case load, written consent of
the client should be included in the clearing house procedure. The information provided to the clearing
house should be limited to that which is necessary for the clearing house to
perform its basic function. The clearing
house should provide some written statement (e.g., agreement or policy
statement) that the clearing house will limit the further disclosure of such
information.
Where clearing house information is
shared electronically by several agencies through computer access, the clearing
house should have written agreements from each participating agency limiting
computer access to appropriate staff at each agency.
4. Information
to the Client
In some situations The Salvation
Army may be required by state or municipal law to disclose to the participant
information contained in his/her own case record. Information disclosed should be limited to
that which is included in the formally completed and approved case record. The formal case record should contain factual
information, not informal counselor notes and/or casual observations. Information provided by other agencies should
not be shared, as it is not the property or responsibility of The Salvation
Army.
5. Law
Enforcement Personnel
Except
where a crime has been committed at a Salvation Army institution, disclosure to
law enforcement agencies, whether local or state police, district attorney or
the FBI, of the participation by an individual in a Salvation Army program, or
of information contained in record, should be refused.
Whether served by an attorney in a
civil action or at the instance of a governmental agency, a subpoena served on
The Salvation Army for information regarding a participant should be
resisted. It is noted that a subpoena is
not the same as a court order.
Specifically, local legal counsel should be retained to appear in court
to move to quash the subpoena, thus compelling the person seeking disclosure of
the information to show the court good cause for such disclosure, in order to
request a court order. In any case,
before any action is taken, the local Salvation Army operation should contact
its immediate administrative headquarters.
Since an arrest warrant or a search
warrant is a court order which has been issued by a court after a showing of
probable cause, if such a warrant is presented to a Salvation Army facility
relating to a client in residence, The Salvation Army facility should cooperate
with the law enforcement agency in making the arrest or the search, preferably
in a manner which will involve the least disruption of the program at the
facility.
Because law enforcement personnel
are precluded from conducting a search of a residence without an arrest or
search warrant, and because a criminal summons does not constitute a warrant,
The Salvation Army should not produce a participant or otherwise cooperate with
law enforcement personnel seeking to serve a criminal summons on a resident at
a Salvation Army institution. Law
enforcement personnel should be advised that they will be required to produce a
valid arrest or search warrant before The Salvation Army will cooperate with
them, whether in making the arrest or the search, on the terms set forth in the
prior paragraph. (This paragraph added per NLC's letter
of August 17, 2001)
6. Release of
Records Under Court Order
The Salvation Army is the owner and
controller of all client records. No
records may be removed from Salvation Army premises or transmitted to other
parties without specific written approval by The Salvation Army officer in
charge or the executive director, in consultation with local legal counsel.
In the event that Salvation Army
client records are required by order of a court of competent jurisdiction, when
good cause for such disclosure has been determined by the court, the records
which have been subpoenaed by the court shall be delivered to the court, on the
date requested, only by The Salvation Army officer in charge or the executive
director or other staff as designated in writing.
If the court requires a review of a
client record, The Salvation Army representative shall bring (not send) the
record to the court, and request that the court review such record in closed
chambers and admit only the minimum portion of such record which is relevant to
the proceedings under consideration.
7. Limitations
of Court Testimony
No Salvation Army personnel shall
testify concerning areas of a client's life for which they are not fully
educated and licensed to make appropriate professional assessments.
8. Child Abuse
Notwithstanding
any other provisions of these guidelines, Salvation Army facilities will comply
with all state and municipal laws requiring reporting to governmental agencies
of instances of child abuse. Failure to comply
with such laws can result in criminal sanctions.
Original Approval by the May 1984 Commissioners'
Conference
Latest Revision Approved by the May 2000 Commissioners'
Conference (pp. 527-530)
Issued by the authority of
The Territorial Commander
TFC: December
2002
Colonel Gary Herndon
CC; May 2002 (524 - 530)
Chief Secretary