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I am a social worker and I run a group therapy program for adults which has approximately 14 individuals. This is in a private practice run by one woman. After the group we are driven by the ambulette which takes them (and me) wherever we want. Months ago a client invited a friend of the group. She didn't have medicaid or a deductable on her insurance, so she came there for free. Last week on Saturday in the van a client told me she wanted to come over to another client's home. She's 22 and the youngest in our group and he's in his 50s. I said no. She's not going to him. She started arguing with me. I tell the driver to take her home and she insists she's not going home she's going to his house. After arguing back and forth I told her she can either willingly go home or we will escort her home. I ask her to give me her mother's number and she doesn't. Other clients did. The van approaches her condo. The girl gets out and runs off and I grab and hold her until her mother comes. I wanted her to go home. She starts scratching and hitting me. She said she will call the police and I told her the police will tell her to stop wasting her time. Her mother came and let her go. The thing is, if anything happens to her I will be held responsible, so if I release her to her mother I won't be held responsible. It is also not a wise decision for a 22 year old girl to go to a 50 year old guy's home alone. Next day she goes to the police and I'm arrested. My husband bailed me out. I am currently not allowed to practice while I'm under investigation. I told my boss what happened and she supports me. If anything happened to my client people will question why I allowed her to go into the home. I might also be fired and sued. If this makes the news people will question why I didn't do anything to stop it. I explained to the police and the board if anything will happen I will be held liable. I am just doing what I need to do as a social worker. I have a family to support. This girl doesn't want to apply for SSI despite never having a job. I told her to apply, made an appointment with the social security office where she ended up refusing to give information and storming off. My license could either be suspended or permanently revoked.
It is also not a wise decision for a 22 year old girl to go to a 50 year old guy's home alone.
This is from someone without social work knowledge but
why not? she is an adult... you can't "release" her to her mother... at 22, she is not a minor and the mother isn't her guardian
at first, I thought she was 14/teenager from how you described her but she isn't
you should have stopped her from getting in the van from the start, you can't change your mind half way and regret it
I don't know why you thought you could restrain her either, like you said, she is not your client, you had no legal right to detain her <--- you might be sued for this by her? if she is going as far as pressing charges against you
This is from someone without social work knowledge but
why not? she is an adult... you can't "release" her to her mother... at 22, she is not a minor and the mother isn't her guardian
at first, I thought she was 14/teenager from how you described her but she isn't
you should have stopped her from getting in the van from the start, you can't change your mind half way and regret it
I don't know why you thought you could restrain her either, like you said, she is not your client, you had no legal right to detain her <--- you might be sued for this by her? if she is going as far as pressing charges against you
Agree. She is an adult, not a child. Using violence on an adult is also not a good idea for the situation that you have described. I am not a social worker but that is the way I see it.
Also, if she willingly went home but then later grabbed a ride to the 50 year old client's home, would you be held accountable?
I think there are missing parts to this story. Why would you have to release her to her mother? Is she her mother's legal ward at 22? Are your clients developmentally disabled?
I can understand refusing to allow an unscheduled stop, but you really overstepped when you attempted to physically restrain her. That's considered assault by most people's standards, and if your employer would have fired you for not doing it, there's something wrong with your employer.
Among other things, it sounds like there are some communication issues here. If she is indeed in her mother's custody for some reason, and her mom allows her to visit this friend, why did you and your employer not know about it?
The whole situation sounds like a hot mess, but no, you probably should not have stopped and held her. The best thing probably would have been to contact her mother and let her know what the girl was planning to do.
One of my areas of law practice is professional licensing. The hard fact is that you need a license from the state to be a social worker, so protecting that license ought to be Job One. There probably aren’t many lawyers in your state that are knowlwdgable in this area, but there are some, and you need to find one now. Try avvo, martindale, or your state bar’s lawyer referral service. Also ask colleagues for recommendations, Lay out your problem to this knowledgeable lawyer, ask what may and what is likely to happen. If money is tight, ask if the lawyer is willing to work with you on a limited scope basis (google “limited scope representation”). But ask yourself what the financial loss to you and your family will be if you lose your license and presumably your livelihood.
Here’s more hard facts. Fairness isn’t the most important goal of the license discipline process; the most important overt goal is protecting the public. There’s also a political aspect to most licensing boards; that’s just a fact. So expecting fairness (or even less likely, support) from your board is Pollyanna-ish.
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