As a volunteer at Immigrant Settlement Association of
Nova Scotia (ISANS), I may be entrusted with knowledge of the personal and
private affairs of clients. I hereby undertake not to divulge any of this
knowledge nor to discuss it at any time, or any place or with any unauthorized
person, either during the term of my assignment with ISANS or thereafter;
except in the course of my duties as ISANS volunteer. I also acknowledge that a
breach of this undertaking may subject me to disciplinary action or may result
in my ineligibility for future involvement with ISANS.
Please
note the following exceptions:
Section 23 of the Children and Family Services Act
states that “Every person who has information, whether or not it is
confidential or privileged, indicating that a child is in need of protective
services shall forewith report that information to an agency.”
Section 5 of the Adult Protection Services Act provides
that “anyone who has information, confidential or privileged, indicating that
an adult is in need of protection must report that information to the Minister
of Community Services through designated officials. No action lies against the person who gives
this information, unless the giving of information is done maliciously or
without reasonable and probable cause.”
ISANS
developed the following code for your benefit, as well as the benefit of ISANS
clients and managers, in order to clarify expectations around boundaries
between clients and volunteers, in the context of your volunteer role. It also
serves as a set of guiding principles for you in your volunteer work with
ISANS.
·
Do
not engage in any decision-making on behalf of a clients, and will not have
unlimited and/or unsupervised access to a client’s property.
·
You
may learn about clients’ personal and private affairs during the course of your
volunteer work. If you do, you agree to neither divulge any of this information,
nor to discuss it at any time or any place or with an unauthorized person,
during the term of your volunteer work with ISANS, or thereafter. A breach of
this undertaking may result in ineligibility for future involvement with ISANS.
·
You
take the time to clarify boundaries in your volunteer role. This is in order to
avoid any parties perceiving a personal and social interaction between you and
a client as emotional, financial or sexual exploitation. Dealing appropriately
with client/volunteer relationships is important to ISANS due to the power
differential implicit in those relationships.
·
Act
to ensure that you and the client explicitly understand and respect the
difference between professional and social relationships in all interactions,
and your behavior reflects this. It is your responsibility along with the
coordinators to establish, clarify and monitor the nature of your volunteer
relationship with the client. If you have questions or concerns, please direct
them to your volunteer coordinator.
·
Under
no circumstance pursue an intimate relationship with a person who is an ISANS
client in your capacity as an ISANS volunteer.
·
Under
no circumstance lend money to a client or borrow money from a client, in the
context of your role as an ISANS volunteer.
·
Share
your own cultural beliefs and values and encourage new immigrants to do the
same
·
Recognize
accountabilities you have towards clients, ISANS as an organization, ISANS
staff, and toward other volunteers.
ISANS staff provides you with accurate information around your specific
role(s), and tasks for which you are accountable.
·
Act
as an ISANS representative during the time of your official affiliation with
the volunteer program.
·
Follow
through on your commitments.
·
Do
not personally benefit, or appear to benefit, from any personal transactions,
situations or relationships involving ISANS clients. If you have doubts about
whether personal interests/activities may give rise to conflict, we advise you
to discuss your concern with the volunteer coordinator. A conflict of interest
exists when you, a family member or a friend stands to gain personally from an
activity or transaction involving ISANS or its clients.
·
Respect
ISANS scent-free and smoke-free policies, created to provide a safe and healthy
work environment for all.
·
Freely
access and make use of all ISANS resources during your work on site with ISANS
clients. Do not remove these resources from ISANS.
You are
encouraged to fulfill your role(s) in accordance with the ISANS Values and
standards outlined above.
We
encourage you to actively participate in ISANS organized events and activities,
and to openly share your experiences as a volunteer within the organization. You
are also encouraged to offer any feedback you have on the volunteer roles at
ISANS, the volunteer experience in general and any suggestions for specific
volunteer programs including:
·
Volunteer
development issues, needs, and opportunities.
·
Volunteer
recognition opportunities (i.e. ideas for development workshops, recognition
ideas).
·
Feedback
and insights on proposed activities and strategies.
·
Program
improvement ideas and strategies.
By
completing an application to volunteer I confirm that I have read and understand the
ISANS Volunteer Code of Conduct above, and agree to abide by the code in
performing my duties as an ISANS volunteer.