Sample SAP103 Welfare Law Case Study 1

SAP103 Welfare Law Case Study 1 Sample

There are three case studies to complete for this assessment:

Case Study A

Case Study B

Case Study C

Tabitha has been re-admitted to the local public hospital for psychiatric treatment. She has a Mental Health Tribunal hearing coming up to decide whether she can leave the psychiatric ward and receive her treatment in the community. Tabitha wants to leave the hospital and go home. Tabitha is a long-term client of a community mental health support service. She has been receiving support from Peter (a community service worker) at the support service for five years. She trusts Peter and has asked him to attend the Mental Health Tribunal hearing with her.

Before the Tribunal hearing the medical treatment teams must write a report on Tabitha’s medical treatment and her progress in recovering from her mental illness. In the report, the treatment team have requested that Tabitha remain in the hospital for treatment for a further three months.

The treatment team must also advise Tabitha of the time and date of the Tribunal hearing and provide her with a copy of the report that they have prepared as evidence for the tribunal. The hospital has complied with this protocol. Peter attends the Tribunal hearing with Tabitha. With Tabitha’s consent Peter presents a written report that he has prepared with provides detail of Tabitha’s past attendances at the support service. The report includes dates and times of attendance and records the successful completion by Tabitha of activities organized by the support service. During the hearing, the Chair of the Tribunal asks Peter to talk to the tribunal members about Tabitha’s family support and her personal relationships, including where Tabitha will go to live if she is discharged from hospital. Upon hearing this request from the Chair, Tabitha tells Peter that she would like legal advice before she says anything further to the Tribunal.

Question 1:

Identify the principle of administrative law that was applied by the hospital when they advised Tabitha of the Tribunal hearing and give her a copy of their report? (2 marks)

Question 2:

Is Peter able to advise Tabitha on mental health law and how the law will apply in Tabitha’s circumstances? Give a reason for your answer. (2 marks)

Case study B

Susan is a community services worker with expertise in family violence. She is part of a team of professionals that visits the local aged facility service fortnightly. Bert has recently moved to the aged care facility and staff have been concerned about injuries that are evident when they help him to shower and dress in the morning. During discussions with Bert, he disclosed that a family member who has been taking care of him has been violent towards him and takes his pension money. With Bert’s consent the staff refer him to Susan and her colleague Jed who is a lawyer.

The staff have arranged for Bert to speak with Jed and Susan immediately about applying for a court order to protect Bert from further violence, and to discuss safety planning with them.

In your answer to questions below refer to the readings.

Question 5:

Identify three benefits to Susan of working in an integrated team with Jed? (3 marks)

Refer to Forell and Nagy (2021) Health justice insights: health justice partnership as a response to domestic and family violence. Sydney, Health Justice Australia Inc, for the common features of a family violence partnership. (Week 2 in Moodle)

Question 6:

What are the benefits to Bert of being able to speak with an integrated support team at his aged care facility? (2 marks)

Question 7:

What are the inter-professional tensions that Susan might experience working together with Jed to support Bert? (3 marks)

Case study C

Beatrice is 12 years old, and she has been having trouble at school. On the weekend Beatrice attends a netball match organised by Matthew who is a youth worker employed by a local government run agency. After the game, Beatrice tells Matthew that she is having trouble at school, and she wants to change schools because she is frightened of her teacher. Beatrice also tells Matthew that she has been hiding at the local shopping mall during the day to avoid going to class. Beatrice gives Matthew a piece of paper with her personal information written down including her address, her phone number, and the name of the teacher she is frightened of.

Question 8:

Discuss whether Matthew is mandated to report his concerns about Beatrice’s safety under local legislation in your jurisdiction, in which you are presently living. (2 marks)

Question 9:

Can Matthew ask Beatrice further questions about her experience with the teacher? Refer to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner for the text of the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), a Schedule to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (PA), to identify and discuss limits that apply for the collection and retention of private information by organisations and APP entities. (3 marks)

Question 10:

What is Matthew’s ethical obligation in relation to keeping Beatrice’s personal information private?

Solution

A

Question 1:

When the hospital was either informing Tabitha about the Tribunal hearing or providing her with a copy of its report for the Assignment Help and the hospital was operating under a principle of administrative law known as the right to be heard, and in line with the principle of natural justice. This principle enables persons who are on the receiving end of administrative decisions to air their issues and be told the basis on which the decision was made. The hospital has respected Tabitha’s right to be informed of the hearing so she can prepare to oppose the report. This practice has been done in compliance with the “Mental Health Act 2016 (QLD)”, which recognizes the rights of the patient and procedural fairness, especially in dealing with mental health tribunals.

Question 2:

Peter cannot help Tabitha with information on mental health law or how the law is going to affect her case. This is so because Peter is a “community service worker” and not a “legally trained person”. In Queensland the “Legal Profession Act 2007” regulates who can give legal advice, only legally qualified persons are permitted to do so. Consulting without legal education and training may essentially constitute the unauthorized practice of law. Tabitha is a client, and Peter works for her cause and helps her to get information about community services in her situation but he should advise her to consult a legal attorney who specializes in mental health law to address this matter.

Question 3:

Regarding Peter, who wants to assist Tabitha and grant her request for legal assistance, some procedures can be suggested.

- Report to the Tribunal Chair that Tabitha wants an attorney to represent her, and request the brief recess.

- Call Legal Aid Queensland or a community legal advice centre of mental health law to seek emergency help.

- Support Tabitha to find that the Mental Health Review Tribunal of Queensland has provided free legal aid services for all mentally ill patients under the Mental Health Act 2016.

- Give Tabitha the phone and address of the Queensland Law Society to help her find a private solicitor of mental health law.

- Propose to assist Tabitha to speak to the selected legal lawyer to explain the advice, given to her.
Peter should write down these actions and refrain from interfering with Tabitha’s right to consult a legal attorney.

Question 4:

The following procedures would have to be followed by Peter to be able to receive Tabitha’s informed consent for him to talk to the Tribunal members concerning her relationship status.

- It is clear and simple to tell Tabitha face-to-face what the Tribunal wants to know about relationships and where she has been living.

- Elaborate on the consequences of submitting the information which would be likely occur due to this action and how it is going influence the Tribunal’s decision.

- Make sure that Tabitha knows she has the right to say no.

- Mention other solutions, for example, giving only basic facts about Tabitha or letting her defend herself.

- Give her enough time to think through without making her feel that she is under immense pressure to decide.

- If Tabitha agrees then get written consent from her and keep it in writing.

- Discuss and agree on the particulars about which she is okay to share.

- Provide comfort to Tabitha informing her that she can withdraw consent at any one time throughout the hearing.

This process accords with Queensland’s guardianship principles and mental health act that champions patient, voluntary and informed participation.

B

Question 5:

Three advantages for Susan to be the integrated work team with Jed:

- Enhanced capability to address complex needs: No doubt, Susan, who specialises in family violence, would be able to offer a full range of support together with legal advice from Jed if needed because she comprehends all the potential safety issues connected with the situation around Bert.

- Improved service coordination: This enables general communication and passing around of Bert’s details between Susan and Jed, there is no disjointed care.

- Increased professional knowledge and skills: By working together with other professionals, Susan can learn more about the legal procedures dealing with care for the elderly and thus help other clients like Bert in the future.

These and other benefits are also in line with what Forell and Nagy (2021) found regarding health justice partnerships where there is enhanced service capability, simplified access to legal assistance, and enhanced capacity to recognize and prevent domestic violence (FORELL and NAGY, 2021).

Question 6:

Advantages of Bert to be able to address an integrated support team at his aged care facility:

- Accessibility and convenience: Bert can get social support and legal aid in a familiar and comfortable environment instead of moving between locations and services.

- Holistic and coordinated care: This allows the members of the integrated team to approach Bert’s needs holistically and, therefore, tackle his safety, legal, and welfare issues concurrently.

These benefits correspond with Kennedy et al.’s (2016) discussion of the pros of integrated services, as these enhance outcomes for clients by fostering coordination and also update ‘the four-dimensional model’, which entails client concerns on social, psychological, and legal levels.

Question 7:

Potential interprofessional conflicts which Susan may face while working with Jed in supporting Bert:

- Differing professional values: Susan’s perception of work as involving mediation and solving conflict may pose a conflict with Jed’s more aggressive approach to seeking legal redress.

- Confidentiality constraints: It is argued that while Susan has some mandatory reporting responsibilities, these will clash with Jed and his duty to keep his client confidentiality as well as privileged information.

- Role boundaries: The relationships could be characterised by a lack of clarity or ambiguity as to who does what, which may confuse as to who is doing what or when, and hence a lack of clear provision and delivery.

Kennedy et al. (2016) outline these endeavours in integrated services identifying that there exists tensions between legal and human service professionals in areas such as knowledge, method and ethical practices. These tensions may cause misunderstandings in the process, therefore, it is a premise that should be managed for interdisciplinary teams to collaborate in the best way possible in developing and implementing interventions for clients like Bert.

C

Question 8:

In Queensland, Matthew is required by the “Child Protection Act 1999” to report his suspicions of Beatrice’s safety. Matthew is surely a ‘relevant person’ under the Act, given that he is a youth worker working for a local government organization. The Act set down a principle that a person must report any suspicion of a child who has been abused, is being abused, or is likely to be abused; and may not have a parent capable of preventing the abuse. It was relatively easy to see that Elements such as Beatrice’s statement about being scared of her teacher and skipping school only to hide at the mall could cause Matthew to suspect harm toward the child, thus demanding he report to the Department of Child Safety.

Question 9:

Matthew can further interrogate Beatrice with some more questions regarding her experience with the teacher, but he needs to observe some elements of the “Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)” of Australia referred to as the APPs. From APP 3, we learn that Matthew must not collect personal data he does not reasonably require to perform his tasks or undertake the activities for which he was established. He should capture information from Beatrice (APP 3.6) and explain to her the reason for collecting the information, and how the information will be used (APP 5). Matthew must confirm that the information is timely, accurate and comprehensive (APP 10). He should ensure that the information is certainly protected (APP 11) and can only be used or disclosed for the sole purpose for which it was collected unless the following exceptions apply where the use of “disclosure is necessary to prevent harm (APP 6)”.

Question 10:

Given the Australian Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics 2020, Matthew has two responsibilities concerning the “privacy of Beatrice’s personal information”. “According to Section 5.4.1”, Social workers should respect the rights of clients to “privacy and confidentiality”, and provide information only where consent has been freely given or where mandated by law. However, Section 5.4.2 stipulates that the client has a right to be informed of the restrictions of confidentiality and where, and when the social worker is legally required to disclose information with or without the client’s consent. In Beatrice’s case, Matthew should discuss with her that while her information will be kept confidential, there may be a need to disclose information to other authorities in the interest of safety should he find out that she poses a danger to herself or others due to the nature of her disorder.

Readings

Australian Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics 2020, Sections 5.4.1 and 5.4.2.

Kennedy et al., (2016). Relationship between Human Service Practice, Law and Ethics

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner for the text of the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), a Schedule to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (PA)
S FORELL & MT NAGY, 2021. Health justice partnership as a response to domestic and family violence