Professional boundaries

Where your role ends — a question the field will put to you more often than you expect.

Never be alone with a child or a person at risk in a closed space or out of sight
Never give out your personal number or contact someone we serve through your own accounts
Never visit a household alone or outside a declared activity
Never give money or gifts from your own pocket to a particular person
Never give medical, psychological or legal advice — refer to someone qualified
Never promise something the decision on which is not yours
Never use your position to obtain any benefit, however small

Personal giving is not neutral kindness

Paying out of your own pocket for one family feels like the best possible thing to do in the moment. But it creates a dependency between you and that particular household, leaves others feeling wronged, and puts whoever comes after you in the position of being compared. If you see an urgent need, raise it with the association — that is the route that can continue.

A difficult scenario

What do you do?

A ten-year-old has grown attached to you during an activity. She waits for you every time, and has asked for your number "so she can talk to you when she is sad".