2021 Law & Ethics Workshop
Friday, October 22, 2021
9:00 am - 4:30 pm
with
Bradley J. Muldrow, Esq., Alain Lance Montgomery, Esq.,
Sara Jasper, Esq. and Michael Griffin, Esq.
Four Hot Topics — 6 CEUs*
Join us even if you've completed your L&E requirements and get 6 CEUs!
- Avoiding Sour Notes and Broken Records: Guidance for Creating and Maintaining Effective Patient Records
- Guidelines for Writing Letters and Offering Professional Opinions
- Updates and Resources for Providers Navigating Managed Care in California
- Tarasoff and Dangerous Patients
Live Zoom Presentation
Topic 1
Avoiding Sour Notes and Broken Records:
Guidance for Creating and Maintaining Effective Patient Records
9:00 am – 10:30 am
1.5 CEs
General Information/Description
You've heard the expression "if it wasn't documented, it didn't happen" over and over since your first day of grad school, but what exactly are you supposed to document each session? Some of your colleagues record as few notes as possible to reduce their risk of liability. Other therapists you know record as many notes as possible to reduce their risk of liability. Do you have to use the SOAP notes format or is that only for therapists with insurance contracts? What does the law require?
During this 90-minute webinar, CAMFT staff attorney Brad Muldrow will bring clarity to your records-related confusion by providing a helpful overview of your legal duty to create and maintain patient records. He will address key topics, such as: BBS requirements and ethical rules pertaining to patient records; purposes and approaches for note-taking; supervisors' responsibilities to oversee their supervisees' recordkeeping; record retention; state and federal laws governing record storage; and important distinctions between the legal requirements for storing physical records vs. electronic records
Presenter Information
As a CAMFT staff attorney, Bradley J. Muldrow, Esq., takes member phone calls regarding law and ethics issues and contributes articles on those subjects to CAMFT's publication, the Therapist. Prior to joining CAMFT’s legal team, Brad worked on litigation and regulatory matters as an attorney for San Diego Gas & Electric Company.
Since becoming an attorney, Brad has given law and ethics presentations to attorneys and judges as a member of the J. Clifford Wallace Inn of Court. He has also served as a board member for the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Foundation, a San Diego-based nonprofit.
Topic 2
Guidelines for Writing Letters and Offering Professional Opinions
10:45 am – 12:15 pm
1.5 CEs
General Information/Description
Therapists are asked to write letters and/or offer professional opinions on behalf of a client. During this 90-minute presentation, CAMFT Staff Attorney Alain Montgomery will review the key legal and ethical standards for a therapist to consider before either providing a letter to a client or offering a professional opinion.
Presenter Information
Alain Lance Montgomery, Esq., is a member of the State Bar of California. Alain received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley and a Juris Doctor degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Prior to joining the CAMFT legal department, Alain worked in public interest law as a legal advisor for the Superior Court of California where he helped self-represented parties navigate the complexities of small claims litigation. As a member of the CAMFT legal department, Alain has served as part of the support staff for the CAMFT Ethics Committee and has represented the Association at various state regulatory board meetings. After graduating from college and before attending law school, Alain worked as a ski instructor at Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort.
Topic 3
Updates and Resources for Providers
Navigating Managed Care in California
1:15 pm – 2:45 pm
1.5 CEs
General Information/Description
California ’s managed care systems are complex and often difficult for even the most seasoned providers to navigate. During her 90-minute presentation, CAMFT Staff Attorney Sara Jasper will provide a brief overview of managed care, review new laws intended to improve patients ’ access to care and offer resources designed to support providers and patients. Ms. Jasper will also discuss the types of audits managed care providers may be subject to and the laws that govern providers ’ responses.
Presenter Information
A member of the State Bar of California since 2008, Sara Jasper, Esq., joined CAMFT as a Staff Attorney in 2011. Before coming to CAMFT, she worked as the Legal Liaison and Administrative Officer for the Sacramento Police Department and as an Associate at Middleton, Young & Minney, LLP where she practiced education and employment law. During law school, Sara clerked for the California Judicial Council, Center for Children, Families and the Courts and for the National Center for Youth Law. Since joining CAMFT, Sara has become a Certified Association Executive and earned her certificate in Nonprofit Organization Management.
Topic 4
Tarasoff and Dangerous Patients
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
1.5 CEs
General Information/Description
This 1.5-hour workshop will discuss key issues involved when working with dangerous clients, including, relevant standards of care, the “duty to protect” (based upon Tarasoff v. Regents of Univ. of California, and Civil Code §43,92), “patient communication” (based upon Ewing v. Goldstein and Ewing v. Northridge Hospital Center), the “duty to report” (based upon Welfare & Institutions Code, sections 8100).
Presenter Information
Michael Griffin, Esq., LCSW, has been a member of the CAMFT legal team since 2007. A graduate of the USC School of Social Work and Chapman University School of Law, Mr. Griffin earned his LCSW in 1982 and his California license as an Attorney in 2002. He has a broad professional background in various mental health settings (including Western Youth Services in Orange County, California, and Rady Children’s Psychiatry Dep’t in San Diego) as a clinician, administrator, supervisor, clinical case manager, school program coordinator, and outpatient clinic director, and has served as an oral examiner for LCSW candidates. In addition to his work for CAMFT, Mr. Griffin is a practicing psychotherapist with adults, adolescents and children in Laguna Niguel, California.
Schedule:
8:30-9:00 am: Registration*
9:00 am-12:00 pm: Speaker Presentations
12:15 pm-1:15 pm: Lunch Break*
1:15 pm-4:30 pm: Speaker Presentations
* non-CEU portion of course
Location:
Online Via Zoom
Cost:
This event is for Licensed or Pre-licensed Marriage and Family Therapists.
Board Members/Event Volunteers: $0
SC-CAMFT Chapter Members: $75
Non-Member: $125
Prelicensed and Students: $60
Registration closes Thursday, October 21, at 10:00 pm.
Continuing Education:
The Santa Cruz Chapter of CAMFT is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs. The Santa Cruz Chapter of CAMFT maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. (Provider #62284)
Special Accommodations:
The Santa Cruz Chapter of CAMFT is committed to providing a presentation that is accessible to all who wish to attend. If you have a special need and plan to attend, please notify us at info@santacruztherapist.org. Requests must be made one week in advance.
Grievances:
May be filed with the SC-CAMFT at president@santacruztherapist.org.
* Certificates:
Course Completion certificates will be awarded electronically in exchange for a completed evaluation form. Please make sure the Program Administrator has your correct email.
Course meets the qualifications for up to 6 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Partial credit will not be awarded.
Live event participants must be present for the entire length of the workshop to be awarded credit. Participants will not be given CEU credit if they are more than 15 minutes late and/or do not stay for the entire length of the workshop.
For any questions please contact the president@santacruztherapist.org.