Professional Recording Notes PDF

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Class notes from Professional Recording, Winter 2020 semester, Professor Ostinelli...

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Professional Recording Notes (CYCP215) Week One: Introduction Brief overview of professional writing tips A TIP OFF Assumptions: never assume anything Thoughts: record what you see and hear, NOT what you think Ideas: stick to the facts; don’t elaborate by inserting your own judgments Personal bias: personal awareness is important but check your bias at the door. Opinions: our opinions come from our experiences, not our client’s experiences Feelings: our emotions are not our clients’; don’t project yours in your writing Foregone conclusions: take nothing for granted; stick to what you know for sure The 5 C’s Clear: Paint a clear picture for the reader Concise: Brief and to the point. It is not a novel. Correct: Information is true and based on fact. Correct day, date and times Complete: Is all the necessary information in the report? Is there vital info missing? Courteous: Take the time to spell names correctly, reflect the rank of the person. This indicates the importance you place upon the report. Always write factually and objectively: it helps to think of writing only what you hear, see, smell, taste, feel. Level of Language Use formal language (no slang or colloquialisms-do not write how you speak). Strength Based Skills to Use: - Highlight as many positives as you can - Look for potential in the client and family - Pay attention to cultural richness - No negative labelling - Search for potential resources - List skills, talents, and abilities

Rules: - Never leave blank or empty spaces - Use a 24-hour clock - Write the date clearly to avoid confusion (what is the consistent order for your workplace day/month /year or month/day/year?) - Do not use acronyms unless this is an agency standard / policy - Cross-out mistakes with one single line through and intial initial - must be able to see the mistake underneath - No white out - Only use blue or black ink - Always use inclusive and respectful language PO

Respect Confidentiality Throughout: Never include identifying information about children, youth, and families other than the specific person you are writing about specific person you are writing about. - Always remember the level of care you take in report writing reflects who you are as a professional CYC. - It is possible for children, youth, and families to read what you have written about them.

Four guidelines when report writing: 1. Write Objectively  Objective writing conveys facts and information without emotional wording or an emotional tone  Your workplace writing must be an unbiased narrative of events, conversations and situations as you experienced them 2. Write in the active voice  Writing in the active voice identifies the doer(s) of the action in the sentence  It is essential to identify all individuals involved in any action, event or meeting  Every time you write reports that describe human involvement, you must be clear about who did what 3. Use jargon sparingly  Jargon can be described as special phrases, short forms, or acronyms used in a given industry  Jargon is only beneficial if everyone involved in the communication process knows the jargon 4. Avoid clichés and slang  Clichés are phrases have used over and over again until a common meaning is part of the culture

Week Two: Professionalism & Ethics Strengths-Based Writing Competencies of CYC’s Questions What relevance is there to professional writing? - professional development: reflection of own practice, know and understand workplace expectations, recognize boundaries - self-awareness (separate feelings from facts) - practice stress management so you’re able to effectively take in information at placement - take notes as you go - Foundational knowledge (knowing developmental milestones, exceptionalities, names of - communication skills and strategies, etc) - verbal and non-verbal communication - Assessing and evaluating individuals needs and situations - Respectful communication How to follow these guidelines? - seeking guidance from supervisors and peers - Using resources from this class and agency - Ask questions What does this look like at your agency? - Offering assistance, support, training and resources

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Looking over writing of others (daily logs, safety plans, treatment plans) asking questions (why is it written like this?) Understanding what writing is required in what situations

Week Three: Relevant Legislation Legislation CYC’s need to be aware of: - Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, AODA: Accessibility (physical, accessible documents, consent and admission forms - Brian’s Law, Bill 68, Mental Health Legislation Reform: anyone, not just a mental health professional - Safe Schools Act, Bill 81 - Youth Criminal Justice Act, YCJA - Child Youth and Family Services Act, CYFSA (Rights of Kids in Care) Relevant Legislation In-Class Assignment: 1. Review the Preamble and discuss in your group. What is important for CYCs to note? Under the Child, Youth, and Family Services Act (CYFSA),  Children have the right for their voices to be respected and heard.  Services provided to children and families should be child-centred and strength-based because youth and their families have better outcomes when services build on their strengths as well as maintain connections to their communities. These services are valuable in reducing the needs for interventions later in life.  Diversity and inclusion are critical aspects of services provided to children and families. These services should align with the Human Rights Code and Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (CCRF), which, in short, protects every Canadian’s right to be treated equally and be given opportunities without discrimination.  Systemic racism and the barriers it creates should be addressed, so all children have the opportunity to reach their full potential despite these barriers  CYFSA should be consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).  Ontario has evolving relationships with the Indigenous community. Ontarians must recognize that Indigenous communities have their own laws and distinct cultural, political and historical ties to the province, as well as recognize that Indigenous children should be happy, healthy, resilient and grounded in their cultures and languages as thriving individuals. CYFSA is to be consistent with Jordan’s Principle. Indigenous Peoples are also entitled to their own child and family services that recognizes their cultures, traditions, and values. After reading the Preamble, there are many important things for CYC’s to take note of. First, we need to review the CYFSA so we’re aware of what laws govern the various services and programs in Ontario for youth and their families, as well as what other Acts and Codes guide and affect the CYFSA. (For example, the UNCRC, CCRF, and the Youth Criminal Justice Act). As service

providers, it’s important for us to know the rights of children and their families to ensure our care and support is up-to-date, accessible, and respects their rights as put forth in CYFSA. CYFSA is also valuable to review so CYC’s understand the needs of a child before attending to them, and how various barriers can affect the quality of their care. Understanding their needs helps us to evaluate our own practice and find what kinds of support, services and programs are available and best suited to help youth and their families. 2. Explore Part I: Purpose and outline who the CYFSA applies to, and what our main role would be in ensuring the Act is followed. Who does CYFSA apply to? CYFSA applies to children and youth, their families, and service providers. CYFSA outlines the rights that youth and families have under Since CYFSA governs various programs and services available to youth and their families, service providers are also included in who the Act applies to. Similarly noted in the Preamble, service providers need to review and understand CYFSA to ensure we’re respecting the rights of youth and their families and providing a high quality of care that aligns with these rights. What is our main role in ensuring the Act is followed? “The paramount purpose of this Act is to promote the best interests, protection and well-being of children”, and so we need to ensure we give support to the youth’s family unit that follows the least disruptive course of action, such as early intervention, prevention, community support, and builds on strengths. We also need to provide support in a manner that respects the child/youth, their family, and their regional differences, such as cultural environment, physical, emotional, mental, and developmental differences, their race, creed, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity. To do this, we need to review and understand the Act for ourselves, as well as make it available and accessible to youth and their families so they’re also informed of their rights and can better participate in decisions about their services. 3. Summarize the rights of young people receiving services in your own words. Every child and young person receiving services under CYFSA has the right to:  Express their own views freely about issues that impact them  Have a voice and honest conversation about decisions being made about them  To participate in decisions about their services, including raising concerns or recommending changes to their services without interference or fear of reprisal  To be informed of their rights of this part in a language they understand For CYC’s, this section is especially important because this section directly affects the relationship between the client and us. When working with youth, we need to have conversations with the client about the quality of the support we’re offering, and what changes can be made to better support the youth and their family. We want to make sure we’re working with the young person and treating them with respect as opposed to assuming their needs without giving them an opportunity to voice their opinion. Lastly, informing them of their rights in a language they

understand is incredibly important, so they can completely understand their rights in an accessible way.

Week Four: Consent and Confidentiality The terms noted below will appear throughout this policy and have the following legal definitions under section 4 of PHIPA: "personal health information" (subject to certain exceptions) means identifying information about an individual in oral or recorded form, if the information: - relates to the physical or mental health of the individual, including information that consists of the health history of the individual’s family. - relates to the providing of health care to the individual, including the identification of a person as a provider of health care to the individual. PHIPA - the privacy legislation is intended to, among other things, protect the confidentiality, privacy and security of Ontarians' personal health information. "identifying information" means information that identifies an individual or for which it is reasonably foreseeable in the circumstances that it could be utilized, either alone or with other information, to identify an individual. - Any information that could release or disclose an individual's identity: name, where they go to school, diagnoses, family member’s names, etc. (Can’t be discussing about a new resident at your placement - Jim Jones – that is breaking Confidentiality) - There are ways to maintain confidentiality. Instead, ‘we have a new resident who was admitted’ - all you need to share Young people have the right to consent or decline to any treatment process, under the Child, Youth, and Family Services Act. - See also Health Care Consent Act (1996) - If under care of CAS, CAS worker would give consent - Unless they have been deemed to be a danger to themselves or others o then can be seen as involuntary and admitted to a facility when certified for 72 hours, 14 days (opinion of 2 physicians), 1 month and 3 months. (See Mental Health Act) Informed Consent: What it looks like - Reviewing all processes, Policies (see Health Care Consent Act, Mental Health Act) - What service/treatment/etc. will look like - Reviewing expectations - Knowing what they’re getting into - See Rights of Kids in Care (CYFSA for more info) - Clients need enough information about the helping process to be able to make informed choices about what they are consenting to (e.g., treatment, counselling etc.)

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It begins with the intake interview and continues for the duration of the helping relationship. The aim is to involve the client in a collaborative partnership Ontario Advocate’s Office, United Convention of the Rights of the Child- further outline consent For consent to be valid it must be (source: CMHA) - Related to the treatment - Informed - Given voluntarily - Not obtained through misinformation or fraud There is no general age of consent to treatment or counselling; instead, the issue depends on whether the young person is capable of consenting. A young person will be found to have capacity to consent or to refuse consent if they both: - Understand the information relevant to the proposed treatment in issue, and - Appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences of consenting or refusing consent. Confidentiality: What it means, what it looks like - Circle of Care o Applies to any individuals within an organization who are working with or in contact with the young person or their family for purpose of the services they are receiving. - Anyone who has worked previously with the young person/family, school, etc. They are not within the circle of care - they are an external organization. o E.g., you get a call from a teacher of a young person that used to be a client and they want to know information about their time with you, you cannot give out any information without written consent - disclosure/release of information needs to be signed. You cannot even acknowledge that you worked with them, speak to your supervisor for more info. - Must be in writing “Yes, I give consent to X organization to speak to Y organization as part of my care”- e.g., IEPs, psychological reports, Plans of Care, Treatment Plans, etc. Any report or Limits to Confidentiality - Threats of harm to self - Threats of harm to others - Expresses they are being harmed - Allegation that child under 16 is experiencing abuse or neglect there is an allegation of child abuse or neglect o you don’t have to prove it, but you must contact CAS and they go and do the investigation - Subpoena by the courts o a written description saying ‘we need access to the files of this individual’ as part of a court matter - anything they request, you must provide by law. Breaches of Confidentiality, what may be affected when confidentiality isn’t maintained

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o Trust o Professionalism o Self-esteem o Legal protections o Safety Impacts your relationship built with young person, their self-esteem, your professionalism; your word is meaningless if you do not keep their information private Requirement of duty to report goes beyond this - if they say ‘I need to tell you something, but you have to promise not to tell anyone’ you must work with them, remind them of the limits to confidentiality - it’s important to do this delicately and appropriately.

Is talking to Children’s Aid a breach of confidentiality? - “Duty to Report” obligation overrides any other obligations despite “provisions of any other Act” - CFSA says that any person, including those who perform professional official duties with respect to children, if they have reasonable grounds to suspect a child has suffered or is at risk of suffering certain types of harm defined in CFSA (sexual abuse or exploitation, emotional harm, physical harm, neglect) must report. - CAS is mandated by CYFSA which outlines confidentiality. Ways to Ensure Good Practice - Make use of informed consent procedures - Define clear contracts with clients - Do not practice outside your competencies - Take steps to maintain your competence - Document carefully - Know and follow provincial and federal laws - Know and follow the code of ethics - Respect confidentiality - Report any cases of suspected child abuse

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Keep relationships with clients professional Treat your clients with respect Obtain parental consent when working with minors Make it a practice to consult with colleagues Keep current client records Anchor your practice to a theory Abide by the policies of the institution that employs you

Tips and Tricks: - By law, kids under 16 can’t give consent but can give ‘assent’ – can still talk to them and explain in child-friendly language, but parent/guardian must give consent. - When requesting information from another school, professional, agency, etc. You must request in writing, with consent from family, and this must be on file before you even contact someone or are contacted. o This way you are giving the family all the information they need, you are not misleading them, this way they can make the right choice for them - When reviewing ALL risks and benefits, yes, talking about this may be uncomfortable, but here is how I can support you – what agency can do, what are the benefits, alternatives so the

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young person/family can make an informed decision ‘is this for me?’ “Do I want to be a part of this? Limits to giving consent: o If the young person has been court ordered to participate, e.g., residential treatment as part of sentence, probation, etc. o legally deemed not capable of giving consent, o if they have been held under assessment, deemed that their mental capacity is not capable of giving consent this is when they do not require to give consent, but you’re still talking to them, letting them know what’s happening, not doing things without their knowledge - when they’re in a better head space, attain their consent, talk about the process. Maintaining boundaries, understanding your position as a professional, and how you are there to support, outline how you can support, in order to maintain confidentiality, attaining consent, following policies - this is important to our success as CYCs

Week Five: Intake, Assessment, Needs-Based Goals, Treatment Planning What are Goals? - The goal is something for the young person to complete, not the worker - The goals should specifically address identified needs - Goals should always be proactive - something they are going to do versus something they are not to do - Goals should be behavioural not attitudinal - Goals should specify what constitutes success Why Set Goals? - Goals provide direction

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Goals tell you how far you have travelled Goals clarify everyone’s role Goals give people something to strive for

But First... - You need to understand the needs of an individual - You need to figure out the roles - the CYC, the young person, family - what is everyone’s responsibility? - You need to determine whether it is a short-term or long-term goal - Collaboration and commitment are needed, there might be some setbacks, how do you work around them – check in. - Goals are set collaboratively WITH the young person - Help improve achievement and success - Clarifies exactly what is expected and the measures used to determine if the goal is achieved and successfully completed - Time frames should be included for the completion of the goal - A date should be set to evaluate progress and to adjust the plan so that it responds to ongoing changes in need - There should be a signed “contract” between youth, CYCs, case manager and perhaps family - To work towards a program expectation is not considered good goal setting, for example “Conan will work towards getting to level four” Next, Make SMART Goals Specific: goals need to be clear. They tell you what is expected, when, and how much Measurable: it is easier to stay motivated to reach your goals when you have milestones to indicate your progress – the same is true for young people Attainable: goals must be realistic and attainable. The best goals require one to stretch a bit to achieve them, but they are not extreme Relevant: goals should have equal relevance to...