1. Employees shall not have any interest, financial or otherwise, direct or indirect, or engage in any business, or transaction or professional activity, or incur any obligation of any nature, which is in conflict with the proper discharge of his/her duties in the public interest.
2. Employees are prohibited from using or attempting to use their official position to secure unwarranted privileges or exemptions for themselves or others.
3. Employees will conduct themselves in such a manner that would not foster impressions that any person can improperly influence them in the performance of their official duties. Employees will not be improperly affected by the kinship, rank, position, or influence of any party or person. This shall not prohibit political activity allowed by law.
4. Employees shall not accept gifts of value or loans from any persons with whom they are doing business if intended to or may appear to influence the official relationship between the donor and the recipient.
NEGLECT, ABUSE, MISTREATMENT, EXPLOITATION OF PERSONS SERVED
NorthStar Services strictly prohibits any action deemed as neglect, abuse, corporal punishment, or mistreatment of persons served by NorthStar Services. Actions that are not physical in nature may be considered mistreatment, as well as those that are physical in nature. For example, threats, name-calling, or making demeaning remarks to person(s) served are not tolerated. Additionally, actions that are deemed as exploitations of person(s) served are not acceptable.
As an employee of NorthStar Services, you are required to make a report to or cause a report to be made to the appropriate law enforcement agency or the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services should you have reasonable cause to believe that a person served by NorthStar Services or any person defined as a "vulnerable adult" or child by law has been subjected to conditions or circumstances which would reasonably result in abuse or neglect. NorthStar Services procedures concerning neglect and abuse can supply more information about the definitions of neglect and about NorthStar Service’s internal procedures to be followed once a report has been made. Your supervisor can provide you with more details, as well. If appropriate managerial/administrative staff from NorthStar Services has reason to believe that you have subjected a person served by NorthStar Services to neglect, abuse, corporal punishment, or mistreatment, disciplinary action will result. This disciplinary action may include immediate termination from employment.
Confidentiality is an important issue with regard to services provided and to the agency.
Employee data of a personal nature shall be treated as confidential by agency
personnel. A file
containing all materials relating to the employee shall be kept in the Central
Office and all materials placed in said employee’s file originating with
the agency, shall be available to the employee at his/her request for inspection.
This must be done in the presence of his/her supervisor. Although there may
be a copy of an employee’s personnel file kept in the area office, the
official copy will be filed at the Central Office.
As an employee of the agency, you are not to release information about people served by the agency or about the services provided to them as individuals. You may not discuss information concerning an individual’s services with members of your family or with people not employed with the agency without appropriate release of information forms, or through interagency agreements.
If you have any questions regarding confidentiality of information about persons
served, please contact your supervisor. The Procedure Concerning Confidentiality
offers details about this issue and explains who in the agency’s organization
structure may release information to people not employed by the agency.