CRP Professional Ethics & Governance 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which governance structure element is MOST important for ensuring board accountability in a public parks and recreation agency?
- Unlimited board tenure with no term limits
- Regular financial audits and public reporting of results (Correct answer)
- Delegating all decisions to the executive director
- Restricting public attendance at board meetings
Correct answer: Regular financial audits and public reporting of results
Independent financial audits and transparent public reporting are foundational mechanisms for board accountability.
Question 2: When a recreation professional encounters an ethical dilemma, the FIRST recommended step is to:
- Consult a personal attorney immediately
- Identify the relevant ethical principles and stakeholders involved (Correct answer)
- Act on personal intuition without documentation
- Defer entirely to the supervisor's judgment without analysis
Correct answer: Identify the relevant ethical principles and stakeholders involved
Ethical decision-making frameworks begin with identifying which principles apply and who is affected before determining a course of action.
Question 3: A recreation supervisor allows a personal friend to use a park facility for free, bypassing the fee schedule. This MOST directly violates which ethical principle?
- Environmental stewardship
- Equity and fairness in resource distribution (Correct answer)
- Community needs assessment standards
- Risk management protocols
Correct answer: Equity and fairness in resource distribution
Waiving fees for friends while charging others violates the principle of equitable and impartial treatment in accessing public resources.
Question 4: Dual relationships — where a professional has both a therapeutic and a social relationship with a participant — are PRIMARILY problematic because they:
- Increase programming efficiency
- Create potential for exploitation and boundary violations (Correct answer)
- Violate open-records laws
- Are prohibited only in private sector recreation
Correct answer: Create potential for exploitation and boundary violations
Dual relationships blur professional boundaries and create power imbalances that can lead to exploitation of vulnerable participants.
Question 5: Under Roberts Rules of Order, a motion to approve a contract fails a second time. What is the MOST appropriate governance response?
- The director approves the contract anyway to avoid delay
- The contract is tabled and the matter may be reintroduced per procedural rules (Correct answer)
- The board chair casts a deciding tie-breaking vote regardless of the count
- The motion is declared passed by abstention
Correct answer: The contract is tabled and the matter may be reintroduced per procedural rules
When a motion fails, proper parliamentary procedure requires tabling the matter; it cannot be bypassed by unilateral staff action.
Question 6: An employee handbook provision requiring staff to report suspected child abuse to supervisors instead of directly to child protective services is:
- Best practice for internal documentation
- Potentially unlawful, as mandatory reporting laws require direct reporting (Correct answer)
- Standard and compliant in all 50 states
- Required by NRPA credentialing standards
Correct answer: Potentially unlawful, as mandatory reporting laws require direct reporting
Mandatory reporter laws in most states require direct reporting to child protective services; routing through supervisors may delay or obstruct required disclosures.
Question 7: The concept of 'due process' in employee discipline within a public recreation agency PRIMARILY means:
- Employees may negotiate their own termination packages
- Employees are entitled to notice of charges and an opportunity to respond before adverse action (Correct answer)
- Managers may terminate employees without cause at any time
- Annual performance reviews replace all disciplinary procedures
Correct answer: Employees are entitled to notice of charges and an opportunity to respond before adverse action
Due process in public employment requires that employees receive notice of charges and a meaningful opportunity to be heard before discipline is imposed.
CRP Professional Ethics & Governance 3
Which governance structure element is MOST important for ensuring board accountability in a public parks and recreation agency?