Confidentiality Institute helps solve confidentiality challenges through in-person training (pictured here) as well as on-call technical assistance, policy research, webinars, and protocol developments. Photo by Mariah Karson.
Implementing confidentiality can be challenging, especially in the modern world of routine over-sharing. Confidentiality Institute helps non-profit organizations, government agencies, and educational institutions to solve confidentiality challenges. We can help with
on-call technical assistance,
policy research,
in-person training,
webinars, and
protocol developments.
Whether you recognize the confidentiality challenges below or you’ve got a new twist, contact us to find out how our services can fit within your organization’s budget for training and best practice implementation.
INTER-DISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIONS
MDT’s, SART’s, CoC’s, CCR’s, LAP’s & FJC’s, oh my! Coordinated responses to violence are a very good idea. But collaborations only work when professionals bring their best practices and respect for each other. Confidentiality Institute assists collaborative groups to establish their ground rules for working together and maximize their potential without violating confidentiality laws.
COMMUNICATING ABOUT PRIVACY
Survivors need support to make informed choices about information sharing. Professionals need training so they can communicate clearly, in a trauma-informed & honest fashion about the pro & cons of various choices. Through training and toolkit development, Confidentiality Institute helps professionals move beyond mere compliance with written release requirements so they can facilitate ethical, survivor-led decision-making.
MULTI-DISCIPLINARY ORGANIZATIONS
In the twenty-first century, victim service providers tend to either get bigger, offering more diverse services, or they become part of someone else’s diverse organization. One-stop shopping is great for survivors, so long as the program establishes clear guidelines for how information gets shared within an agency when different professionals have varying legal duties and distinct approaches to individual control over information.
NEGOTIATING WITH ALLIES
Sometimes, the hardest people to negotiate with are your friends. An advocate may be working closely with law enforcement one day, and then the next day, the advocate may need to say, “I can’t share that information with you.” Hurt feelings, mistrust, even aggressive attempts to force a disclosure can be toxic to the working relationship. We teach professionals how to say "no" when they need to and still protect the working relationship.
Funder data demands
Data, data everywhere! Modern funders are deeply interested in all of the detail about how, when & why their money was spent. And they reasonably want to conduct audits to ensure that grant funds are not misappropriated. Confidentiality Institute helps grantees assess demands for data, evaluate database products for storing survivor information, and establish protocols for reporting & audits that don’t violate privacy.
HELPING STUDENTS & YOUTH
The law on confidentiality and mandatory disclosures gets more complicated if a survivor is under 18 or a college student. Young survivors need confidentiality just as much as adults (and, often times, they need it even more.) Confidentiality Institute helps programs untangle the knot of requirements under Title IX, FERPA & Clery, and align their practices when serving students and youth with the actual rules for working with them.