CPS Professional Development & Ethics 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A CPS specialist is working with a 14-year-old student who discloses suicidal ideation but begs the specialist not to tell anyone. What takes precedence?
- Confidentiality, because the student is the primary client
- The student's right to autonomy and self-determination
- Duty to protect, requiring breach of confidentiality to ensure safety (Correct answer)
- Parental rights, so the specialist should tell the parents only
Correct answer: Duty to protect, requiring breach of confidentiality to ensure safety
Duty to protect overrides confidentiality when there is imminent risk of harm to the student.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes the concept of 'informed consent' in psycho-educational assessment?
- The student verbally agrees to participate in testing
- The parent/guardian receives written information about the purpose, procedures, and rights before consenting (Correct answer)
- The school principal approves the assessment plan
- The IEP team decides to proceed with the evaluation
Correct answer: The parent/guardian receives written information about the purpose, procedures, and rights before consenting
Informed consent requires that the consenting party receive complete, understandable information about the process and retain the right to withdraw.
Question 3: A practitioner is asked by a school administrator to recommend a specific educational program before completing the formal assessment. This request raises primary concerns about which ethical principle?
- Confidentiality
- Objectivity and independence of professional judgment (Correct answer)
- Informed consent
- Cultural competence
Correct answer: Objectivity and independence of professional judgment
Pre-determined outcomes undermine the specialist's independent professional judgment and the validity of the assessment process.
Question 4: When evaluating a student whose primary language is not English, the CPS specialist must first:
- Use the standardized English version of all normed assessments for consistency
- Select or adapt assessments that are valid and appropriate for the student's linguistic background (Correct answer)
- Require the student to complete a language proficiency course before assessment
- Wait until the student is proficient in English before conducting the evaluation
Correct answer: Select or adapt assessments that are valid and appropriate for the student's linguistic background
Ethical and legally sound assessment requires using tools and procedures that are appropriate for the student's linguistic and cultural background.
Question 5: The principle of 'nonmaleficence' in psycho-educational practice is best illustrated by which action?
- Recommending evidence-based interventions to improve student outcomes
- Avoiding the use of stigmatizing labels in written reports (Correct answer)
- Obtaining parental consent before beginning an evaluation
- Attending annual professional development training
Correct answer: Avoiding the use of stigmatizing labels in written reports
Nonmaleficence ('do no harm') includes avoiding practices that could cause psychological, social, or academic harm, such as stigmatizing language.
Question 6: A CPS practitioner who becomes aware of personal emotional difficulties that may impair their professional effectiveness is ethically obligated to:
- Continue working and monitor whether the difficulties worsen
- Immediately resign from their position
- Seek appropriate assistance and limit, suspend, or terminate services as necessary (Correct answer)
- Disclose the difficulties to all clients and let them decide
Correct answer: Seek appropriate assistance and limit, suspend, or terminate services as necessary
Ethical standards require practitioners to seek help and protect clients from impaired services when personal issues affect professional performance.
Question 7: Which of the following statements about record-keeping for CPS practitioners is most accurate?
- Records should be kept indefinitely to ensure availability
- Records should be maintained for the period required by law and destroyed securely thereafter (Correct answer)
- Electronic records need not follow the same security standards as paper records
- Records belong to the practitioner, not the client or institution
Correct answer: Records should be maintained for the period required by law and destroyed securely thereafter
Ethical and legal guidelines require records to be retained for specified minimum periods and then securely destroyed to protect confidentiality.
CPS Professional Development & Ethics 3
A CPS specialist is working with a 14-year-old student who discloses suicidal ideation but begs the specialist not to tell anyone.
What takes precedence?