Rules & Regulations of the State of Tennessee
Title 0490 - Domestic Violence Coordination Council
Chapter 0490-01 - Rules for Batterer's Intervention Programs
Section 0490-01-.03 - ETHICAL STANDARDS
Universal Citation: TN Comp Rules and Regs 0490-01-.03
Current through April 3, 2024
(1) The following ethical standards are recommended for all batterers intervention programs; they shall be mandatory standards for Certified Programs.
(a) Before a batterers intervention program
is established, local services should be available to victims of domestic
violence.
(b) Before a batterers
intervention program can be certified, it must consult with battered women's
programs serving the county or judicial district in which the program is
located for the purpose of establishing procedures for ensuring victim safety
and batterer accountability, as well as establishing a cooperative working
relationship to invite monitoring, networking, information sharing, and mutual
support between programs.
(c)
Batterers intervention programs shall have in place the following procedures:
1. A procedure that ensures that any contact
of victims by the batterers intervention program is done in a safe
manner.
2. A procedure to take
reasonable steps to inform a victim about imminent danger to the victim or to
anyone associated with the victim.
3. A procedure for consulting with a local
battered women's program or a Victim Advocate if there is a question as to
whether to inform a victim about imminent danger to that victim or to anyone
associated with that victim.
4. A
procedure for reporting threats or repeat acts of violence to appropriate
authorities in the criminal justice system and, when necessary for victim
safety, appropriate Victim Advocates.
5. A procedure for reporting suspected child
abuse and suspected elder abuse.
6.
A procedure for reporting any attempted self harm by the batterer.
7. A procedure for handling batterers who are
alcohol or drug impaired when they come to an intervention session.
8. Written personnel policies that address
sexual harassment within the organizational structure of which the batterers
intervention program is a part.
9.
A procedure for sharing relevant information with law enforcement and judicial
personnel responsible for monitoring batterers or responsible for victim
safety, including probation and parole departments, the Department of
Children's Services, and other governmental service providers involved with
victims or batterers.
(d) Victim confidentiality. Unless otherwise
required by law or court order, the following procedures shall apply to protect
victim confidentiality:
1. Batterers
intervention program staff shall not reveal information received from a victim
or the current partner of a batterer without consent of that victim or current
partner.
2. Even with the consent
of the victim or current partner of the batterer, the staff shall not use
information that may jeopardize the victim's safety.
3. Any files or other materials kept by the
batterers intervention program that relate to a batterer, but that also relate
to, or contain information on, a victim of a batterer shall be kept separate
from batterer records, in locked files, in order to ensure the safety and
confidentiality of the victim.
(e) Research by batterers intervention
programs should be carried out in a manner that insures victim
safety.
(2) Reporting obligations.
(a) A batterers intervention
program should have access to legal counsel for advice on its obligations and
responsibilities concerning disclosure of information obtained during
interventions. A batterers intervention program should undertake staff
education concerning the following:
1. The
identification of domestic abuse, child abuse, elder abuse, or other abuse
mandated by law to be reported to the proper authorities;
2. Its obligation to report domestic abuse,
child abuse, elder abuse, or other abuse mandated by law to be reported to the
proper authorities;
3. The nature
of its legal obligations to ensure victim safety; and
4. The nature of any confidentiality
requirements that may apply to victims or batterers under federal or state
law.
5. The limitations on a
batterer's expectation of confidentiality in information made available to the
batterers intervention program, including those limitations in Rule
0490-1-.05(1)(b).
(b)
Nothing in these rules shall be construed to limit any statutory obligation to
report abuse of any nature.
(c)
Nothing in these rules shall be construed to limit or to expand any
confidentiality rights of victims or batterers under applicable federal or
state statute or regulation.
(3) Recommendations regarding sentences. Batterers intervention programs shall not present themselves as being qualified to make sentencing recommendations.
Authority: T.C.A. § 38-12-110.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Tennessee may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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