Among the great challenges posed to democracy today is the use of technology, data, and automated systems in ways that threaten the rights of the American public. Too often, these tools are used to limit our opportunities and prevent our access to critical resources or services. These problems are well documented. In America and around the world,…

This guide is designed to help advocates--including biological and adoptive parents, resource parents, adult students in foster care, and service providers--understand and advocate for the educational rights of children in New Jersey's foster care system. The guide explains the requirements of federal and state laws that particularly affect these…

As state policymakers implement statewide longitudinal data systems that collect, store, link and share student-level data, it is critical that they understand applicable privacy and data security standards and laws designed to ensure the privacy, security, and confidentiality of that data. To help state policymakers navigate this complex legal…

The Forum Guide to the Privacy of Student Information: A Resource for Schools was written to help school and local education agency staff better understand and apply The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law that protects privacy interests of parents and students in student education records. The Forum has developed…

Analyzes ethical/legal aspects of confidentiality and privileged communication as they relate to school counselors. Makes suggestions for establishing confidentiality in school setting while taking into account scope of practice issues and obligations of informed consent. Presents guidelines for when and how to break confidentiality in situations…

Discusses the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Library Awareness Program and presents the American Library Association's policy on confidentiality of library records and suggested procedures for implementing the policy. Relevant state and federal legislation are summarized, and suggestions are offered for library administrators dealing with the…

This practical guide will sensitize the professional school counselor to legal and ethical issues involved in working with minors in school settings. Using a case study approach and more than 100 cases representing school counselors daily dilemmas, chapters help the reader connect the reality of school counseling to critical federal and state…

This brief guide to interview training in survey research is designed for persons without previous training or experience in interviewing. Basic techniques of interviewing are presented in such a manner as to facilitate the training of persons with varying educational and socioeconomic backgrounds. Topics include: the interviewer's role in the…

Addiction to illicit hard drugs, and particularly opiates, has increased in the past few years. Yet, there are few comprehensive evaluations of the treatment systems, and there is little systematic planning for programs to meet current and anticipated changes in the community's need for treatment. This report has been written to assist community…

This guide was written to help school and local education agency staff better understand and apply the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law that protects privacy interests of parents and students in student education records. The Forum has developed full reports on student (and staff ) privacy guidance, but a shorter…

Attempts to clarify the legal issues involved in the duty of school counselors to warn and protect when counseling suicidal youths (unemancipated minors) and offers some guidelines on how to prevent legal vulnerability. Considers the liability crisis, standard of care, the right to privacy, and the balance between confidentiality and the duty to…

Designed to help school districts meet the Child Find requirements of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, the manual considers ways of locating unknown handicapped children and reviews aspects of recordkeeping, confidentiality and due process. An initial section addresses the role of Chld Find in the delivery of special…

This monograph about accountability and communication in record keeping is intended for human services professionals. Eight terms are defined in an introductory glossary. The first section discusses the purpose of records. The next section discusses clarity in staff notes. Key points are offered for effective communication through staff notes. The…

The model policy and rules presented here were based on the final rules concerning education records appearing in the "Federal Register" and are designed to help those developing and implementing local policy and rules. The model policy is a short statement of direction concerning student records. The rules, covering 21 different areas,…

This manual was designed to familiarize social workers with the dramatically restructured family court practices in order to prepare them for a family court appearance. Chapter I presents a brief history of the family court and describes such aspects of the family court as confidentiality of proceedings, impact of a court record on the individual,…