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Due Process Guidelines
I.) DEFINITION OF INADEQUATE PERFORMANCE For purpose of this document, inadequate performance is defined broadly as any behavior interfering with professional functioning, reflected in one or more of the following ways:
- an inability and/or unwillingness to acquire and integrate essential professional standards into one's repertoire of behavior, as reflected by a rating of 1 (Inadequate for trainee/needs remediation) on any item under Ethical/Professional Conduct on the formal, written evaluation form;
- an inability to acquire professional skills, as reflected by a rating of 1 (Inadequate for trainee/needs remediation) under Clinical Skill/Delivery of Services on formal written evaluations; and/or
- an inability to adequately manage personal stress, psychological difficulties, interpersonal professional relations, and/or emotional reactions which negatively impact the required training and/or service roles of the program, as reflected by a rating of 1 (Inadequate for trainee/needs remediation) on any related item under Interpersonal Skill/Personal Functioning on the formal, written evaluation form.
When inadequate performance is noted, evaluative criteria should link it to particular objective behaviors, in clear feedback by supervisors at regular intervals during training. A distressed condition may not necessarily affect directly one's clinical and training roles and so it would not in itself constitute inadequate performance. However, when it does adversely and significantly hinder or distort professional activities and relationships, the trainee’s performance may be considered to be inadequate.
In general, it is a matter of supervisory judgment with the concurrence of the Associate Director for Training as to when difficulties in a trainee's behavior reach the threshold of inadequate rather than representing less serious but problematic issues. More specifically, for purposes of this document, a problem distinct from being inadequate refers to aspects of a trainee's behaviors, attitudes, or character which, while of concern and requiring more intensive attention, are perceived to be not unexpected or extreme for professionals in training. Problems typically lead to inadequate performance when they include one or more of the following characteristics:
- the trainee does not acknowledge, understand, or address the problem when it is identified;
- the problem is not merely a reflection of a skill deficit which can be rectified by didactic training or practice;
- the quality of services and/or professional relationships of the trainee is seriously and adversely affected;
- the problem is not restricted to one or more minor areas of professional functioning;
- a disproportionate amount of attention by training personnel is required to attempt to ameliorate the consequences; and/or
- the trainee's behavior does not change as a function of feedback, remediation efforts or other corrective experiences over time.
Due process ensures that decisions made by the Training Program regarding trainees are not arbitrary, subjectively biased, or otherwise unfair. It requires that the program establish evaluative procedures which are applied equally to all trainees. Feedback should be constructive and timely, with appropriate notification, opportunities and recommendations for improvement, and clear review procedures to appeal the program's actions.
In order to provide for due process, the program under the aegis of the Associate Director for Training will:
- present in writing at the outset of the training year general rights, responsibilities and performance requirements for Interns and Externs as outlined in the Policy and Procedures manuals for the Counseling Services and the Training Program;
- delineate herein the procedures and guidelines involved in making decisions regarding problematic or inadequate performance;
- implement formal written means of evaluation at standard interim and final points in the training sequence, with provisions for trainee response;
- use input from multiple training resources, including supervisors, seminar leaders and other members of the Training Committee when making formal evaluations and recommendations;
- coordinate all actions taken in response to major identified deficits through the Associate Director for Training with review by the Director of the Center;
- communicate with Academic Programs about major concerns to coordinate with them about how to address such issues;
- institute, in conjunction with the Academic Program when needed, a plan for remediation of identified deficits, including time estimates for required changes and consequences if the difficulty is not rectified;
- ensure that the trainee has sufficient time to respond to any action taken by the program; and
- document in writing to all relevant parties actions taken by the program and their rationales, with review by the Clinical Director and the Director of the Center.
II.) GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM
A major focus of the Internship and Externship program is to assist trainees in integrating their personal values, attitudes and strengths with their collegial relations and their professional roles. The training program is committed to promoting a learning environment in which each trainee can meaningfully explore personal issues which relate to his/her clinical functioning and professional development.
Corresponding to the expectations of trainees by the program, the following obligations are assumed by the program in its commitment to trainees:
- the program will provide reasonably sufficient and measured opportunities for learning in supervised practice and related seminars to enable Interns and Externs to develop and refine basic clinical competencies, appropriate to their level of training and
III.) TRAINEE EVALUATION and REVIEW PROCEDURES A. The Evaluation Process Each clinical supervisor provides the trainee and the Associate Director for Training with evaluations at the midpoint and conclusion of the year for Externs and Interns. The evaluations cover three major areas: 1) the awareness and incorporation of relevant professional standards; 2) the acquisition and demonstration of appropriate values and professional skills in supervision, seminars; clinical activities and other roles in the program, as delineated in the Policy & Procedures manual; and 3) the appropriate management of personal concerns and interpersonal conduct as they relate to training performance and professional functioning in the Counseling Center.
At the progress review meetings of the Training Committee, information is gathered from clinical supervisors, seminar leaders, and other training staff who have had significant contact with the trainee. After the review, the Primary Supervisor integrates the evaluations in written form and meets with the trainee to provide him/her with a summary evaluation and comprehensive feedback from the Committee. Both trainee and supervisor discuss how the training experience is proceeding, and the trainee has the opportunity to give his/her reactions to the feedback and offer critiques of the training, either informally in the discussion or more formally in written response as part of the evaluation record. It is intended that most if not all of the formal evaluation by the Training Committee will entail feedback which was already provided in an ongoing and timely manner as the issues in question arose.
The Primary Supervisor and the trainee may arrange for a modification of the training program to address particular needs and recommendations for development, and when recommended by the supervisor or requested by the trainee, the Associate Director for Training may re-assign supervisory responsibilities during the year. Discrepancies between the training staff's evaluation and that of the trainee should be addressed and where possible, resolved. Procedures for addressing unresolved differences are described below. When there is no aspect of the trainee's performance rated "inadequate," both the supervisor and trainee sign the evaluation indicating that it has been reviewed, and the trainee appends any comments he or she may wish to note. Copies of the evaluation are then provided to the Associate Director for Training for the trainee's file and to the trainee’s academic program.
B. Initial Procedures Subsequent to "Inadequate" Rating If a trainee receives a rating of "inadequate" in any of the three major categories of evaluation (professional competence, professional standards, personal and interpersonal functioning), the Primary Supervisor will notify the Associate Director for Training and with his/her approval will then notify in writing the trainee of the basis and rationale for the rating and provide the trainee the opportunity to respond formally to the rating. (If the Associate Director for Training does not approve of the evaluation by the Primary Supervisor, it may be modified or referred to the Director of the Center, or a change in supervision may be implemented.) If the evaluation is approved by the Associate Director for Training or the Director of the Center, the Training Committee will then review the rating, its rationale and any response to it from the trainee, to determine
what action needs to be taken to address the concern.
The Committee may choose to issue an "Acknowledgment Notice." The notice will formally recognize that the Committee is aware of and concerned with the rating, that the trainee has been formally notified of it, that the relevant training staff will work with the trainee to rectify the problem, and that the behaviors associated with the rating are not considered significant enough at that point to warrant more serious action.
Alternatively, in more serious instances, the Committee may issue a "Probation Notice." With it, the Committee then establishes a process for a set period of time in which the Committee will systematically monitor through the trainee's supervisors the trainee's efforts to address and improve the identified concern. The probation statement should include the specific behaviors associated with the inadequate rating, the Committee's recommendations for rectifying the problem, the time frame for the probation during which the problem is expected to be ameliorated, and the procedures designed to ascertain whether the problem has been appropriately rectified. The Associate Director for Training or his or her designee will meet with the trainee to review the probationary conditions and the trainee may then accept the conditions or appeal the action.
The trainee's Academic Program may be informed if an Acknowledgment Notice is issued, and it will be informed when a Probation Notice is issued. Notification will indicate the nature of the inadequate rating, its rationale and the action taken by the Training Committee, and it will be issued to the Academic Director of Training. The trainee shall receive a copy of communications with the Academic Program. Once an Acknowledgment or Probation Notice is issued, it is expected that the status of the rating will be reviewed no later than the next formal evaluation period or, in the case of probation, no later than the time limits identified in the probation statement. If the concerns have been rectified to the satisfaction of the Committee, the trainee and the Academic Program and other individuals as appropriate will be informed, and no further action will be taken.
C. Situations in Which Review Panels are Initiated Review Panels can be initiated by an appeal for the grievance process by the trainee of the action taken by the Training Committee, by a decision of the Committee when it is not satisfied with the trainee's response to its action, or by the complaint of a member of the Counseling Center staff about a trainee.
1) Trainee Appeal. If the trainee appeals the action taken by the Committee as described in Section V. A, he or she must inform the Associate Director for Training in writing within one week of the receipt of notification of the action. A Review Panel will then be convened, consisting of the Associate Director for Training as chair, two members of the Training Committee selected by the Associate Director for Training, and two members selected by the trainee if so decided. A review hearing will be conducted in which the appeal is heard and the evidence presented. The trainee retains the right to be present and hear all facts with the opportunity to dispute or explain his or her behavior, prior to discussion
inform the trainee and the staff member, who may be allowed to renew the complaint if additional information is provided. When a decision has been made by the subcommittee that there is probable cause for deliberation by a Review Panel, the procedures outlined in Section 1 above will be implemented.
IV.) REMEDIATION CONSIDERATIONS It is important to establish appropriate means to address a condition of inadequate performance once it has been identified. Major courses of potential action include but are not limited to:
- increasing supervision either with the same supervisor or with other supervisory arrangements;
- changing the format, emphasis, and/or focus of supervision;
- recommending personal therapy with consent by the trainee;
- modifying the trainee's clinical or other workload;
- requiring specific academic course work or other formal training; and/or
- recommending, when appropriate, a leave of absence, a second Externship or Internship, and/or termination without fault from the training program.
Each of the foregoing steps should be documented in detail according to the specific requirements of a given situation, with copies provided to the trainee, the Academic Program when appropriate, and the Associate Director for Training and the Director of the Center. Consultation with the Office of the University Counsel at any point in the review process may also be sought by the Associate Director for Training with the concurrence of the Director of the Center.
When the above interventions do not, after a reasonable time period, rectify the inadequate performance, or when the trainee seems unable or unwilling to alter his/her behavior, the training program may need to take more formal action. The trainee may be given a limited endorsement, including the specification of those settings or roles in which he/she could function adequately. The trainee and the Academic Program may be notified that he or she has been dropped with fault from the training program after failing to successfully complete it. A career shift may be recommended and facilitated if possible for the trainee. In all actions taken, it is important that the steps are appropriately implemented, documented and communicated according to the preceding due process procedures.
