Teaching Note—Beyond #Freebritney: Teaching Social Workers About Surrogate Decision Making Through the Spears Case

ABSTRACT

Britney Spears’s 2020 testimony about her 13-year conservatorship highlighted ethical concerns surrounding surrogate decision making. Social workers engage with families and clients in conservatorship/guardianship arrangements. However, social work educational programs spend little time preparing students for surrogate decision making and advocacy. Guided by the pedagogical technique of scaffolding and the Spears family case, this teaching note presents a foundational understanding of surrogate decision-making arrangements: conservatorship of the estate, conservatorship of a person, temporary conservatorship, permanent conservatorship, medical justification for conservatorship, controlling fertility, legal counsel, labor in conservatorship cases, and alternatives for guardianship. Content in this area will benefit social work students who intend to work with older adults, adults with mental health conditions, and adults with disabilities.

Author contributions

All authors contributed to this teaching note’s conception, design, and preparation. All authors read and approved the final version.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lesley M. Harris

Dr. Lesley M. Harris is an Associate Professor at the University of Louisville, Kent School of Social Work & Family Science. Dr. Sara M. Williams is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Louisville, Kent School of Social Work & Family Science, Center for Family and Community Wellbeing. Eva X. Nyerges is a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Louisville, Kent School of Social Work & Family Science. Dr. Rebecka Bloomer is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the School of Public Health & Information Sciences, Center for Social Justice Youth Development Research.