Foster Care of Students

¶ … Domestic Issues With Student Affairs There are numerous ethical issues to consider when a resident hall director speculates about taking home over semester break a foster care student who has nowhere else to go. The vast majority of these ethical issues pertain to concepts of propriety and the fair, equitable treatment of that student. Additionally, these ethical issues also pertain to the resident hall director and his or her ability to maintain his or her job.

One of the more eminent ethical issues that the aforementioned resident hall director would have to consider in such a scenario pertains to the welfare of the student. In fact, the welfare of such students should always take priority for any resident hall director. Caring for students is designed so that caretakers "provide safe, healthy, and discrimination free environments for teaching, learning, and scholarship for students, employees, and visitors" (University of Hawaii, 2015).

The ethical issue that emerges in this particular instance pertains to the fact that typically those welfare concerns exist within the confines of the resident hall in which the foster care student is living. Thus, the resident hall director has to consider exactly how the welfare of that student will be impacted if he or she has nowhere to go between semesters.

Is it better for that student to live on the streets during the break, or to instead live with the resident hall director in his or her personal quarters? If the true welfare of the student takes priority, it seems as though the latter choice would substantiate his or her welfare better than the former. Still, there are issues of proprietary to consider pertaining the ethics of the student staying in the personal confines of the resident hall director as well.

One of the ethical issues to give due diligence were the student to stay with the resident hall director over the break pertains to the relationship between these two. The director must consider the fact that previously, his relationship with the student was as that of the hall director and the latter as his student. That dynamic could change were the student to temporarily live with the resident hall director.

Moreover, the student's experience living with the resident hall director could make it more difficult for him or her to go back to the normative relationships back in the dorms after the break.

Thus, the ethical question in this regard is how will the relationship between the hall director and the student change during their tenure on break? Will that change be positive or negative, particularly when the student must return to the normative relationship for the dorms? The student might become lackadaisical with the resident hall director after living with him or her.

Resident hall directors should maintain air of some gravity with students -- this part of the relationship might become irrevocably altered with the student and the resident hall director to develop a personal relationship outside of what for the resident hall director is a professional relationship. Additional ethical questions.