CRP Professional Ethics & Governance 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A recreation professional discovers that a colleague is falsifying participant attendance records to meet grant requirements. What is the MOST appropriate first action?
- Ignore it to avoid workplace conflict
- Confront the colleague privately and document the conversation (Correct answer)
- Immediately report it to law enforcement
- Alter your own records to match the colleague's
Correct answer: Confront the colleague privately and document the conversation
Addressing misconduct directly and privately first — while documenting the exchange — is the ethical step before escalating through formal channels.
Question 2: Which of the following BEST describes the concept of fiduciary duty in recreation governance?
- The obligation to generate maximum revenue for the agency
- The obligation to act in the best interest of those served rather than personal gain (Correct answer)
- The obligation to follow all federal regulations exclusively
- The obligation to prioritize staff welfare over participant welfare
Correct answer: The obligation to act in the best interest of those served rather than personal gain
Fiduciary duty requires board members and professionals to place the interests of the organization and those it serves above personal interests.
Question 3: A parks and recreation board is considering a contract with a vendor whose owner is the board chair's sibling. This situation BEST exemplifies:
- A conflict of interest requiring disclosure and recusal (Correct answer)
- Standard procurement practice requiring no special action
- An illegal kickback arrangement
- A competitive bidding violation only
Correct answer: A conflict of interest requiring disclosure and recusal
A familial relationship between a board member and a vendor constitutes a conflict of interest that must be disclosed and recused from the vote.
Question 4: Under NRPA's Code of Ethics, recreation professionals are expected to:
- Prioritize organizational revenue above community well-being
- Serve the public interest while maintaining competence and integrity (Correct answer)
- Follow only those laws that align with agency goals
- Avoid advocacy on any public policy issue
Correct answer: Serve the public interest while maintaining competence and integrity
NRPA's Code of Ethics centers on serving the public interest, maintaining professional competence, and acting with integrity.
Question 5: What is the PRIMARY purpose of a whistleblower protection policy in a recreation agency?
- To punish employees who report minor policy infractions
- To encourage reporting of wrongdoing by protecting reporters from retaliation (Correct answer)
- To allow management to monitor employee communications
- To comply with marketing disclosure requirements
Correct answer: To encourage reporting of wrongdoing by protecting reporters from retaliation
Whistleblower protections remove the fear of retaliation so that ethical violations can be reported without personal risk to the reporter.
Question 6: A recreation director applies for a personal grant using data collected on agency time and with agency resources. This action MOST likely violates:
- Only the agency's social media policy
- Conflict of interest and misuse of public resources policies (Correct answer)
- Federal FMLA regulations
- OSHA safety standards
Correct answer: Conflict of interest and misuse of public resources policies
Using public agency resources for personal financial gain violates conflict-of-interest policies and misuse-of-public-resources statutes.
Question 7: A recreation board member who votes on all budget items but never discloses a financial stake in a contracted supplier is MOST clearly violating which principle?
- Separation of powers
- Transparency and disclosure obligations (Correct answer)
- Open meeting laws only
- Procurement diversity requirements
Correct answer: Transparency and disclosure obligations
Failure to disclose a financial interest in a supplier when voting on contracts violates transparency and conflict-of-interest disclosure obligations.
CRP Professional Ethics & Governance 2
A recreation professional discovers that a colleague is falsifying participant attendance records to meet grant requirements.
What is the MOST appropriate first action?