COA - Council On Accreditation

One of COA’s Guiding Principles for Effective Practice is to respect the rights of individuals, which requires that practices reflect a profound respect for personal dignity, confidentiality, and privacy. This principle is evident throughout all service standards, and it plays a particularly important role in the development of this section, devoted to the rights and dignity of all service recipients. In addition to addressing legally protected client rights, the standards in this section also center on the professional ethics of service delivery. This section promotes privacy, transparency, and mutual respect.

Interpretation: COA recognizes that mandated clients and individuals receiving Adult Guardianship (AG) services may have a reduced level of rights; and the standards in this section highlight instances in which this may be the case. However, the standards are not necessarily comprehensive, and organizations should become familiar with, and follow, applicable laws and regulations governing the rights of mandated or incapacitated clients. Individual rights may not be abridged unless superseded by legal mandate or court order.

Note: Please see Self-Paced_Training: Client Rights (CR), HIPAA Fact Sheet and HIPAA Business Addendum in the Tools Index for additional assistance with this standard.

Research Note: Ethics documents published by the National Association of Social Workers and the American Psychological Association both state that individuals have a right to privacy, confidentiality, and self-determination. Practitioners, while not always required by law, are ethically obligated to protect these rights for all individuals.


	PURPOSE: The rights and dignity of clients are respected throughout the organization.

RELATED FILES

NA Request.doc
CR Reference List.pdf
CR Private Template.doc


	Effective Practice Applies to practices supported by consistent findings of benefit in a large number of studies, conducted over time, in multiple applied settings using the most rigorous designs feasible given the phenomenon of interest, and with conclusions that are clearly compatible with the study methodology and findings. Outcomes are both identified and explained. A wide range of evidentiary support has been found for most practices labeled effective.


	PRACTICE Established actions or ways of proceeding in the regular performance of organizational duties. Policies and procedures often guide practice.


	CONFIDENTIALITY An ethical and practice principle that requires the protection of information shared within a professional-client relationship. An organization that upholds confidentiality prohibits personnel from disclosing information about persons served without their written consent.


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	SERVICE RECIPIENT The individuals, groups, organizations, or communities that use, receive, or benefit from programs and services. Service recipients can include consumers, patients, family members, legal guardians, advocates, public/private organizations, employers, and purchasers. All are regarded as significant stakeholders served in a variety of agencies and practice settings.


	ETHICS Formal principles or values used to determine whether practices are right or wrong, good or bad. Most professional organizations have ethical codes that define general standards of appropriate professional conduct.


	CASE A general term used to designate clients (including individuals, families, and groups) served by an organization for purposes of monitoring the provision of services. A foster care case is generally based on the placement of an individual child, although casework for the child may include services to the child's family. A child protective services case is based on an entire family household if a family assessment model is used; otherwise a case is defined as a child.


	CLIENT See service recipient.


	MANDATED CLIENT See INVOLUNTARY CONSUMER