East Grand Forks Student Support Staff Memo to Families/Students Regarding Virtual Counseling

The Student Support Services team at East Grand Forks Schools would like to introduce you to our
process and protocols for connecting with students and families online. Using technology to discuss
personal and private matters is not the same as doing so face-to-face. What follows are the limitations
associated with virtual counseling.

First, while we will be doing everything we can on our end to keep our discussions confidential, there is
always the possibility that someone else might overhear the conversation. The most common way that
this can happen is by someone leaving a door open or the area you are in is not soundproof enough to
prevent voices from being heard by others around. For this reason, it is very important that you do
everything possible to ensure that wherever you use your computer or phone is as “safe” as possible.
Given the confidential nature of the conversations that may take place neither the staff member, nor
student/family is permitted to video or audio record the counseling session.

Second, if you are participating in a group discussion of some type, please keep in mind that whatever is
shared in confidence is only confidential as long as everyone respects the privacy of all group members.
The basic rule of “whatever is said in here, stays in here” also applies in virtual group counseling.

Third, all the other basic rules of safety apply online as it does in person. As always, if anyone says
something that leads the staff member to believe that the student is going to hurt her/himself, then that
information must be shared with other responsible adults and administration to ensure that harm does not
occur. This is called mandated reporting and all members of our student support team are mandated
reporters.

Last, at the beginning of any conversation we have online or by phone, we will go over these points and
will ask for your verbal agreement to participate, along with your understanding of these limitations. That
will provide evidence that you understand what is about to occur online or by phone. While all of this may
seem unnecessary, we want to do everything we can to make certain that everyone understands the
limits of our conversation virtually and we are as safe as possible during this time of social distancing.

As we all know, this is an unprecedented situation. We want to address any questions or concerns that
you want to discuss, but these are limitations and exceptions to keep in mind. We are looking forward to
staying connected and offering support.