Handout 1:
Clarifying Professional Terms

Overview
Professionalism refers to practicing the knowledge, standards, and skills of a particular discipline. Staff exercise professionalism by safeguarding the confidentiality of families, fulfilling professional roles, establishing boundaries with co-workers and families, following the mandated reporting policy, maintaining accurate record-keeping systems, and accurately documenting their work with families.

• Confidentiality. Confidentiality means safeguarding the information received in confidence from a family member and disclosing that information only to professionals for the benefit of the family. When information is shared with other professional people within the agency and in other agencies, the obligation of confidentiality then binds all involved.
  
  
• Roles and Boundaries. The essence of professional boundaries is the ability to clarify and maintain reasonable boundaries for the position. Head Start staff must assume many roles and show empathy for family members, but not become overly or inappropriately involved with them. Professional boundaries also apply to the relationships between Head Start staff and staff from other agencies.
  
  
• Mandated Reporting. Mandated reporters are those who, in their professional capacity, are required by law to report suspected cases of child maltreatment to the designated child protection agency. Even staff not mandated to report have a professional responsibility to protect children by alerting their supervisors about any suspicions of child maltreatment. All Head Start programs must have written procedures for identifying and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect.
  
  
• Record-Keeping. Efficient and effective record-keeping systems provide a chronicle of a family's time in Head Start. Ideally, when a family leaves Head Start, the family's records should tell a story about the family from the time of enrollment to the last staff-family interaction. It is important to remember that each family has the right to review all records.
  
  
  
  
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