Supervising Persons with AIDS: A New Liability for Probation and Parole Officers

Abstract

Probation and parole officers are obligated in their duty to warn specific third parties of a probationer who is a prospective source of harm, or physical or financial risk to them or to the community. However, with the arrival of the deadly AIDS disease, probation and parole officers are faced with a new issue of third party risk and the protection of the public. Various key issues are raised within this article pertaining to the legal authority to disclose information on the AIDS carrier, the enforcement of disclosure of information, and to whom the information should be disclosed. Various states have adopted laws on disclosure of medical information while legislators are continuously attempting to control and set policies that would protect both the public from AIDS infection and the AIDS carriers themselves from discrimination. Until firm policies and conditions are established, seven general rules have been offered for probation and parole officers to follow in order to avoid lawsuits.