The term “collateral contacts” is rarely mentioned in field or home visit reports. However, it deserves more attention. When visiting clients in the field, there are many actions to take. Field or home visits can provide a wealth of information, but unfortunately, this aspect is frequently neglected.
What are collateral contacts?
Collateral contacts are people, often third parties, who confirm a client’s home address, employment and other details. Probation officers frequently use them to verify the information clients provide about their home and work. These contacts can be family members, extended relatives, employers, current or past landlords, neighbors, school educators, officials, and individuals not living in the client’s home.
Great source of information
Collateral contacts are valuable sources of information for your case file. They help confirm details provided by clients during intake or office visits with the probation officer. Often, they are the most reliable information sources about a client. The insights from collateral contacts can aid in creating effective treatment and intervention plans. It’s not unusual to visit a client’s home and not make contact with them. Therefore, reaching out to a collateral contact during these visits should be a standard procedure to ensure you gather information. Contacting neighbors, for example, can be particularly insightful; you might be surprised by the valuable information they provide.
How to obtain a collateral contact
During probation intakes, probation officers often ask for names and phone numbers as references from clients. These references are considered collateral contacts. Whether through face-to-face interviews, office visits, home visits, or teleconferences, probation officers should continually update these contacts’ information. But their efforts shouldn’t end there. When visiting a client’s home, officers should also speak with neighbors to add more collateral contacts to the case file. The more collateral contacts available, the more prepared officers are, especially if the client absconds. These contacts are crucial starting points for tracking down the client.
Making contact with collateral contacts
When initiating contact with collateral contacts, probation officers should introduce themselves by providing their name, title, and the department they represent. If accompanied by a partner, the lead officer should introduce the partner, allowing them to continue with their specific duties. Officers should ask questions to assess if the contacts know the client well enough to be included in the client’s case file. After the interaction, officers must document all information provided by the collateral contact in the electronic case management system, including the contact’s name, phone number, and relationship to the client.
How to extract information
One effective strategy that always worked for me involved using a clipboard and a field contact sheet. While inquiring with a collateral contact about whether the client still resided at a specific location, I would gather information. To conclude my conversation, I’d ask, “Can I get your name and number for the report?” This approach consistently prompted the collateral contact to provide the information needed. It worked every time.
What do they need to know?
Collateral contacts only need to be aware of the visit’s purpose. When gathering information from a collateral contact, I simply inform them that I’m seeking to verify home residence and/or employment. It’s unnecessary to share details about the client’s case with them.
Safety is always a concern
Probation officers should avoid entering the homes of collateral contacts. All interactions with collateral contacts can occur outside the home or through telephone communication. Officers should also prevent collateral contacts from accompanying them back to their unit. For officer safety, it’s crucial to approach collateral contacts with the same caution as with clients.
Bibliography
- The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center. Interviewing collateral contacts.
- Bass B. https://bizfluent.com/info-8556857-collateral-contact.html.
- State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Collateral Contacts.
Author’s’ note: I would like to thank all of the members of the United States Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offender & Fugitive Offender Task Force, for all of their assistance and guidance in my pursuit of enhancing the training of community corrections officers, parole officers, and probation officers. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Leo Perez; e-mail Leandro.perez1@yahoo.com.
