photographing special needs children

[pixmedic]

the title is deceptive, because the issue itself isn't about the actual taking of the pictures, but whether or not we should take pictures at all.
let me set up the situation. I do a lot of transports for children in homes set up with nurses taking care of several special needs kids. these homes are for very special needs kids that require full time nursing care. many are on ventilators, fed through a tube, and generally have a poor long term prognosis.
Because I am a vent certified medic, I get called to transport these kids to the hospital, or to doctor appointments. Parents who have to put their kids in one of these homes are required to sign over healthcare power of attorney to the facility.

now, i was talking to one of the nurses i see pretty regularly, and she was telling me she wished she could get some decent pictures taken of the children.
pictures cannot be taken of any of the children without parental consent because it becomes a HIPPA violation. My wife has experience photographing special needs children, aside from our own, and I said she would be happy to help out any family that wanted pictures. The nurse cited two immediate problems. first, she says none of the parents could afford a professional photographer to come in and take pictures. second, most of the parents dont care enough to even want pictures taken, they basically gave their kids up to the state and never saw them again. which is just sad.

the first problem was easy enough. my wife volunteered to do free portraits for the families of any of the special need children in the homes I work with. some of these kids i have watched grow up over the last few years. I cant mention names of course, but these kids deserve more than the hand they were dealt.
the second problem...is more of a hassle. I have been in contact with the facilities, and they are fine with us taking pictures there, as long as we do not include anything in the photos that might identify any of the other children. easy enough i think. The problem is the parents. The nurses there are fine with talking to the very few parents they actually see, but do not want to get involved with contacting any of the others, even though the nurses themselves would love to have some family pictures to put by the kids beds.

so....my question is this. are the nurses right not to want to get involved any further? is it just too much of a hassle? I cant get any information myself, due to state regulations, but i had thought about asking the nurses if they would be ok with mailing a letter to the parents if they don't want to make a phone call. just a quick message, free pictures of/with your kid if you want it. Ive met a few of the kids parents since some actually go to their kids appointments, and the ones that are actually involved with their kids lives will probably be very amiable to the idea. my gut instinct is to leave it there and just deal with the parents I see and can talk to in person, and forget about the others. its pretty unfair to the children, but i am afraid of stirring up a hornets nest trying to help out people that don't really care.

thoughts?

 

[Mike_E]

Have you given any thought to a sign or flier for each kid that their parents would see describing who you are and what you would like to do?

 

[JacaRanda]

Have you given any thought to a sign or flier for each kid that their parents would see describing who you are and what you would like to do?

I agree. A little Bio of your own family maybe? The joy that it could bring to a few will outweigh any negative responses.

 

[pixmedic]

Have you given any thought to a sign or flier for each kid that their parents would see describing who you are and what you would like to do?

I agree. A little Bio of your own family maybe? The joy that it could bring to a few will outweigh any negative responses.

it isnt putting together some information that's the problem. it was the issue of getting a hold of parents that never go to the group home to see their child.
I don't know if its worth using alternate methods to contact parents about pictures when they don't care enough to visit their kid. If they dont visit, they wont see anything we put together.

 

[tirediron]

.... Parents who have to put their kids in one of these homes are required to sign over healthcare power of attorney to the facility.

Seems simple enough; talk to the nurse/doctor and have them state that would be medically beneficial. It's amazing how happy a nice photograph can make someone.

 

[kathyt]

This sounds more like something that a social worker could do alot easier for you then the nurse. Do they have a couple on staff? I would check that option out. The social worker would have all the contacts as well.

 

[The_Traveler]

.... Parents who have to put their kids in one of these homes are required to sign over healthcare power of attorney to the facility.

Seems simple enough; talk to the nurse/doctor and have them state that would be medically beneficial. It's amazing how happy a nice photograph can make someone.

That may unintended consequences.
What HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is intended to do is protect the patient (and patient's family) against unwanted releases of information that could identify a person and associate them with their specific medical information.
PixMedic is right to be cautious about his involvement because, as a transfer medic, he is part of the chain that is supposed to keep information private. If a doctor or nurse deems it medically necessary then the picture possibly becomes 'medical information' and everything about it becomes subject to the law.

It isn't that the government would do anything for this kind of no-harm breach but an absentee parent could get angry and sue the institution and PixMedic for breach of privacy and cite the breach of HIPAA ruels as evidence. They might not win but who wants to get into that hassle.

If the organization chooses, and adds in writing to their SOP, to add a picture of each client to every record for administrative purposes and provide a copy of that picture to the parent and that picture was done pro bono by an outside contractor I think that would be a different issue.

 

[pixmedic]

This sounds more like something that a social worker could do alot easier for you then the nurse. Do they have a couple on staff? I would check that option out. The social worker would have all the contacts as well.

again, the issue isnt the contacts. the nurses have all the children's contact information already. the problem is, a lot of these childrens parents never go to the group home. they never visit their kid. what ive been debating is....whether or not it is worth the potential hassle, and possible angering, of the never-visiting parents to try and do photos they aren't likely to even care about.

and while I normally wouldn't particularly care about upsetting someone just for asking if they want free pictures....these group homes contract the company I work for to do these transports. so anything "I" do that may incur a complaining phone call to the group home over it, might not be a good career move for me, no matter how good natured my motives were.

 

[pixmedic]

.... Parents who have to put their kids in one of these homes are required to sign over healthcare power of attorney to the facility.

Seems simple enough; talk to the nurse/doctor and have them state that would be medically beneficial. It's amazing how happy a nice photograph can make someone.

That may unintended consequences.
What HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is intended to do is protect the patient (and patient's family) against unwanted releases of information that could identify a person and associate them with their specific medical information.
PixMedic is right to be cautious about his involvement because, as a transfer medic, he is part of the chain that is supposed to keep information private. If a doctor or nurse deems it medically necessary then the picture possibly becomes 'medical information' and everything about it becomes subject to the law.

It isn't that the government would do anything for this kind of no-harm breach but an absentee parent could get angry and sue the institution and PixMedic for breach of privacy and cite the breach of HIPAA ruels as evidence. They might not win but who wants to get into that hassle.

If the organization chooses, and adds in writing to their SOP, to add a picture of each client to every record for administrative purposes and provide a copy of that picture to the parent and that picture was done pro bono by an outside contractor I think that would be a different issue.

exactamundo

 

[kathyt]

This sounds more like something that a social worker could do alot easier for you then the nurse. Do they have a couple on staff? I would check that option out. The social worker would have all the contacts as well.

again, the issue isnt the contacts. the nurses have all the children's contact information already. the problem is, a lot of these childrens parents never go to the group home. they never visit their kid. what ive been debating is....whether or not it is worth the potential hassle, and possible angering, of the never-visiting parents to try and do photos they aren't likely to even care about.

and while I normally wouldn't particularly care about upsetting someone just for asking if they want free pictures....these group homes contract the company I work for to do these transports. so anything "I" do that may incur a complaining phone call to the group home over it, might not be a good career move for me, no matter how good natured my motives were.

I might just leave this one alone then. I would not put your career in harms way. Even if you have their best interest at heart.

 

[JacaRanda]

This sounds more like something that a social worker could do alot easier for you then the nurse. Do they have a couple on staff? I would check that option out. The social worker would have all the contacts as well.

again, the issue isnt the contacts. the nurses have all the children's contact information already. the problem is, a lot of these childrens parents never go to the group home. they never visit their kid. what ive been debating is....whether or not it is worth the potential hassle, and possible angering, of the never-visiting parents to try and do photos they aren't likely to even care about.

and while I normally wouldn't particularly care about upsetting someone just for asking if they want free pictures....these group homes contract the company I work for to do these transports. so anything "I" do that may incur a complaining phone call to the group home over it, might not be a good career move for me, no matter how good natured my motives were.

Oh in that case, I would steer clear.

 

[pixmedic]

yea..unfortunately, as much as this seemed like a good idea at the time, it might just be more potential trouble than its worth.
a shame really.

 

[The_Traveler]

No good deed goes unpunished

 

[pixmedic]

No good deed goes unpunished

i would say its the thought that counts...but it really doesn't feel that way.

 

[vintagesnaps]

I've worked in programs for kids/adults with special needs since I started doing volunteer work when I was in jr. high. More recently I've worked in early childhood so I'm not up on the latest spec. ed. rules & regs and some of those vary state to state anyway. But from my experience procedures established by the facility would need to be followed. If you have one photo in one person's room whose family member shows up and hadn't given permission you're probably risking your job as well as those of anyone at the facility who was involved.

However, maybe there are other options in your area. In the program I taught in a few years ago being a public agency we couldn't promote/send out certain information but it could go thru the PTA (like offering a service like having school photos/portraits done). Are there any programs/agencies that have some connection to the facility that may be able to offer complimentary portraits for children/clients? Possibly they could send info. to the families and schedule times and a place for the portraits to be done for any families who are interested. Try contacting something like United Way for names and contact info. for organizations that might be interested in supporting such a project (ARC, United Cerebral Palsy (UCP), Mothers of Special Children, etc.) Or what about a scout troop or youth group who might be looking for a service project? The challenge might be figuring out a way to offer this in an appropriate and legal way.