A Father's Demand, a Minor's Disclosure

Three questions decide this, and none of them is "the father is angry." First, what does the decree actually say? Joint legal custody usually preserves a parent's access to a minor's records, but this decree assigns mental health decision-making to the mother. I obtain and read the decree before releasing anything, and I document that I did. Second, does state law give Dana confidentiality rights at 15? The minor-consent statute may mean that records of sessions Dana validly consented to are hers to control, which would put the statute in tension with the custody order. I check the statute and call my malpractice insurer or an attorney if the two conflict. Third, what is the minimum necessary? Until the custody question is settled I release nothing; I offer the father a phone conversation about treatment in general terms and an invitation to a family session, and I send a written summary only if the decree and statute both permit it. Refusing outright and FedExing the chart are both wrong. The defensible path is verify, consult, document, release narrowly.

The report comes first and it is mine alone to make. Mandatory reporting statutes require an immediate report when I have reasonable suspicion of child sexual abuse; the duty is not conditioned on the client's permission or on my certainty about what happened. Dana's threat to leave changes how I do it, not whether. I tell her in the same session, before I pick up the phone: "I can't keep this one, and I want to be honest with you about what happens next." Then I explain who I am calling, what I will say, what she will be asked, and that I will stay with her through it. I do not ask her to repeat the disclosure to police or promise confidentiality I cannot deliver. The 6-year-old cousin raises immediate risk, so the call goes out today, not tomorrow. I notify the mother as the treatment decision-maker, document Dana's words verbatim, the time of the call, the hotline worker's name and the report number, and I schedule a follow-up within 48 hours so she is not left alone with the aftermath.

A subpoena is a request, not an order, and it does not override privilege by itself. I would not mail the chart. My sequence: verify that the subpoena is valid and properly served; contact the client's legal guardian or the court-appointed representative, since Dana is a minor; assert privilege on Dana's behalf unless a court order or a signed authorization compels release; and notify the issuing attorney in writing that I am objecting and awaiting a court order or a release. Because this is a custody dispute, I would also seek consultation with an attorney or my liability carrier before responding at all, and I would raise with the court, through counsel, that the record contains a report of abuse and third-party information. If a judge orders release, I release only what is ordered and keep a copy of the order. Throughout, I document every contact, date, and decision, because the paper trail is what protects Dana and my license.