Types of programs: Programs that present social challenges, personal safety concerns, access to client’s personal information, or potential risks to the organization’s reputation. FCS examples include: parenting and financial planning classes; parenting for divorcing parents and/or foster parents; classes including parents charged with child neglect; and court-diversion programs.
Considerations
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Choice of location
- Public site, safe location.
- Easy exit from classroom location.
- Avoid one on one situations, whatever the location.
- Avoid home visits.
- Easily accessible, well lighted.
- Inform your office of your meeting location, your anticipated time at the location and a phone number or other way to contact you at that location.
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Arrange for a co-teacher or presence from the court or your office whenever possible
- Discuss potential problem issues and behaviors with agency/court representative prior to the start of programming. Agree upon strategies to address the potential problem issues and behaviors.
- Avoid being in the classroom alone with the participants.
- If a participant causes disruption, request agency/court representative’s presence in class during future sessions or arrange to have person reassigned or suspended from the classes.
- Do not put your personal safety at risk.
- Have your cell phone with you in the classroom and emergency numbers programmed into the cell phone.
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For these programs, use the cost recovery approach recommended for the FCS program area.
- This is particularly true if a pattern of individual or couples teaching is evident.
- It may not be time/cost efficient in the future to offer a program for one or two individuals; courts and agencies may need to reconsider how they schedule programming offered by OSU Extension.
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Professionalism
- Counsel support staff or other office staff how to respond to questions that may come from participants, agencies or attorneys.
- Do not share personal information, home address or telephone number.
Reporting Guidelines
- Agencies sometimes want feedback about a client’s participation in your program.
- Discuss in advance the information that can be provided.
- Reports should be requested in writing by agency or as a result of a court subpoena.
- The information that can be provided is limited to:
- Record of attendance – sign-in/sign-out sheet
- Curriculum taught – copy of teaching outline, materials provided
- Level of participation in class sessions (examples: Mr. X entered into discussions, Mr. and Ms. Y showed evidence of having read the materials assigned)
- Remember, you are an educator and do not offer opinions, recommendations, treatment goals, or discuss behavioral patterns.
- Keep a copy of the request and your response if an agency requests a report.
- Do not discuss the case with unauthorized persons or attorneys representing any parties in a court case.
Court Appearances
- Appear in court or write a deposition (letter) for the court or an attorney only if subpoenaed by the court. When this happens, notify your county director and regional director and send the associate director, operations a copy of the subpoena immediately.
- OSU Extension policy guidelines (Policy Handbook under conflict of interest) indicate Extension professionals do not serve as expert witnesses in court. If subpoenaed by the court, you may/must serve as a fact witness.
- Testimony in court is limited to the items outlined in reporting guidelines above: attendance, curriculum, level of participation.
- Do not discuss the case with attorneys. Contact Extension associate drector, operations and CFAES Human Resources if approached by an attorney.
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Joyce McDowell, Barb Ludwig
Administrative Cabinet approved – April 2004
Reviewed – 2008; revised by Karen Bruns –2013