IARP UPDATES STANDARDS OF PRACTICES AND CODE OF ETHICS

The Ethics Committee of IARP has recently finished a complete update of the IARP Code of Ethics. The original Code of Ethics was drafted in the late 1970’s and was only updated once since then, with the 1983 update far from a comprehensive review. New to the latest updated version is a Code of Ethics specific to forensic rehabilitation professionals, as well as specific language for electronic communications and other practices affected by modern technology.

The update took an exhaustive 18 months and included a survey of the full membership. Working drafts of the document were circulated at last fall’s forensic conference and at the annual conference in Scottsdale in 2004. The final draft of the document was presented at the recent annual conference in Orlando and is now also available for review on the IARP website: http://www.rehabpro.org.

Public comment on the document will be accepted until August 31st and the Ethics Committee welcomes any and all suggestions and comments until that time. The committee will meet again after the public comment period closes for final revisions if necessary before bringing the final document to the IARP Board and membership for final approval.

If you were not able to attend the annual conference in Orlando, be sure to visit the website and forward any comments to committee member Janine Holloman as per the directions on the website.