Jewish Family Service of the Lehigh Valley

About/ /Privacy and Non-Discrimination Policies

JFS-LV maintains confidentiality and respect for the client's right for complete privacy at all times.

JFS-LV provides service without regard to race, gender, national origin, religion, disability or age.

It’s Between Us - JFS-LV and Privacy

Nineteen-year-old college student, Miss W, just hadn’t been herself. Her grades had fallen and she had dropped her friends. Concerned, her parents, Mr. and Mrs. W., persuaded Miss W. to seek counseling from JFS-LV. Several weeks into counseling, Miss W. seems happier. Still, the W's have the feeling that there is something important she is not telling them. Mr. and Mrs. W. love their daughter. They want what’s best for her. And they are paying for her counseling. Surely they can expect some answers from their daughter’s JFS-LV counselor, can’t they?

Seventy-year-old Mrs. J. lives far away from her older brother, Mr. B. The two have always had a volatile relationship. Nevertheless, Mrs. J. cares about her brother; it was she, in fact, who recommended he seek JFS-LV’s help after an illness made daily life too difficult to handle on his own. Mr. B. called our agency and is now getting the assistance he needs. He was grateful to Mrs. J. for her suggestion, and brother and sister seemed to get along better for a time. Then why, Mrs. J. wonders, has her brother refused to speak to her over the last two weeks? Highly upset, Mrs. J. calls JFS-LV’s geriatric care manager: what is going on?

Though fictitious, these scenarios raise some very real questions. What are a client’s rights to confidentiality? Is it ever permissible to disclose information about a client to a relative, friend or other person?
JFS-LV understands the very natural and genuine concern of family members and friends. Even so, our agency has a steadfast commitment to protecting our clients‚ confidentiality. The right to privacy is upheld not only through JFS-LV’s fidelity to professional standards but to federal law (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), as well.

Confidentiality is so important to JFS-LV, that, on their very first visit, each client receives a copy of the Pennsylvania Notice Form (PNF). The PNF is a contract between counselor and client. Signed by both parties, it informs clients of their health information privacy rights: outside of treatment or payment purposes, personal information can be released to a third party only with a client’s or legal representative’s authorization.

What happens, however, if a professional staff member has reasonable cause to suspect child, adult or domestic abuse? What if a client has expressed a serious threat to harm himself or others, and the counselor believes that the threat is likely to be carried out? In instances such as these, the counselor has the legal right and ethical obligation to protect the client and others. (Reporting of suspected child abuse is mandated by state law.) Other exceptions to privacy rules may arise out of judicial procedures and Worker’s Compensation claims.

The right of privacy is a fundamental value at JFS-LV. It is faithfully upheld so that all who come through our doors can be confident that “it’s between us.”