In the aftermath of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal, states and universities amended their laws and policies regarding university employee and program interaction with minors. Many of these laws/policies include provisions making employees, or university persons working with minors, mandated reporters of child abuse or neglect. Many universities likewise adopted policies requiring background checks and imposing restrictions on contact between university staff and minor children. As another example of regulatory regimes that may affect our practice, detention and correctional institutions frequently prohibit individuals who acknowledge illicit drug use from entering the facilities, sometimes even when said drug use has been made legal under state law. These regulatory regimes are the “new normal” within our universities and the broader society and have important implications for clinics.
Our short session asks and begins to answer the following questions: How do these laws and policies intersect with our professional responsibility to our clients, including the duty of confidentiality? How can we use these laws/policies, and their implementation as a teaching moment for our students? How can we begin and sustain a dialogue with others on campus about the work that we do and the role that we play? How can we work with others to develop changes or accommodations to these law/policies that recognizes our unique role in both academia and legal services?