A social worker is seeing a family for therapy. During a session, the 17-year-old daughter states that her father molested her when she was 6 years old She says that it happened twice and has not occurred since that time. The father confirms the daughter’s account and says that he is remorseful about his actions. He assures the social worker and his family that it will never happen again. In this situation, the social worker should:

Social workers are mandated reporters. In this instance, the social worker should not be making an assessment about these being isolated incidents or the likelihood that they would happen again. The NASW Code of Ethics states that clients should be informed whenever possible of such reports. Not telling the family would not be warranted as they are likely to find out that the social worker contacted the child protection agency and will feel betrayed without being told that such a report was being made. The social worker should have reviewed the limits of confidentiality with this family upon intake.