Re: Privacy Certificate

["Kati Arata" <karata@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is not a legal memo, but we recently dealt with this issue with our IRB, child protection agency and OJJDP.  We are doing a study which includes survey assessment of adjudicated delinquents on probation.  A variety of behaviors are assessed, including the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.  While I am a mandated reported in our state as a licensed psychologist, our DHR said that in this setting I was acting as a researcher - which they did not consider a mandated reported.  Further, in examining the CTQ, they felt that only the questions regarding possible sexual abuse would need reporting as the other questions were not specific enough.  Our consent indicates to the parent and child that suspicion of abuse may be reported to the probation officer (CPS felt that was sufficient - they did not want us reporting because the child could be reporting past abuse which was already investigated).  In actual practice, we report to the p.o., positive responses to questions about sexua!
l abuse.  We indicate the possibility of reporting other types of abuse in the consent in case we inadvertently become aware of a current abuse situation (child verbalizes current physical abuse even though not specifically detailed in our survey).

We have conducted approximately 40 surveys thus far - we have reported possible sexual abuse to the p.o.'s on about 10, I don't think the p.o.'s have reported to CPS on any of these.  I am sure that the requirement to report is biasing the results some - for example, one girl clearly erased her answers to the sexual abuse items and changed them to no.

The procedure we are using has been approved by our IRB, the university attorney, and OJJDP for our privacy certificate.  Hope this helps.

Catalina M. Arata, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
University of South Alabama
Mobile, AL   36688

Phone: (251) 460-6327
Fax: (251) 460-6320