Social Work Ethics Case Study

A social worker has a multitude of responsibilities to ensure the best care is provided for their clients. Due to conflicting interpretations of ethical guidelines and rules, and a variety of personal views, social workers can sometimes find themselves in a tough situation when there are conflicts of interest. This can cause difficult or awkward sessions between the social worker and client, and can ultimately lead to the termination of services. In the case between Allison and Carmen, conflicting views caused Carmen to discontinue her sessions with Allison.

There are many ethical considerations that should be taken into consideration when working as a social worker. In my agency I face challenges in commitment to clients, informed consent, confidentiality, termination of services, and interdisciplinary collaboration. HRT’s reunification services are contracted through DCS. In HRT contracts they have included that the reunification team will provide weekly reports based on clients progress or lack thereof. This can cause counselors to feel closed off or untrustworthy to the clients. Having a lack of trust from your client can affect the counseling and other services provided by the team. This can challenge the commitment to client ethics with states that social workers primary responsibility to promote the well- being of the client. I personally struggle with this in my position because I could

As a social worker many problems may arise because of the constant grey area of either letting your personal values interfere with your professional opinion. It is essential to provide your client with information and tools to help them succeed and overcome their problems. Following the core values is essential to being a resourceful, competent social worker. In some cases, core values are in conflict. In a situation where more than one core value is in conflict it is considered an ethical dilemma (Hick, 2009). It’s not guaranteed that a perfect solution will arise, therefore one of the core values is subsided because the other has more of an impact on the client.

Social work is a very unique profession. The other professions that are in the same realm as social work are very specialized, however, social workers must have a broad range of knowledge in order to help their clients. This is where multiple agencies come together to make sure professionals are properly trained and knowledgeable. In the field of social work, ethics and values are the key principles that provide the basis for the mission. It is these principles that guide the decisions and actions of everyone in the profession. Without a clear set of guiding principles, social work professionals could do more harm than good. This profession sees people during highly emotional times in their lives, and that can be extremely challenging. The National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics not only sets the standards, but also guides a social worker through dealing with ethical dilemmas. As we evolve as a society, so have the guiding principles and values for the social work profession.

In all professions there are specific guidelines laid out that professionals are expected to follow in order to keep up with the standards and respect of their practice. Specifically in regards to social work there is the Code of Ethics which social workers are required to follow to practice legally and ethically. The social work code of ethics written by the National Association of Social workers (NASW) in 1999 covers a wide range of topics, characteristics, and values that a social worker must follow. Furthermore, it is spilt up into four different division each covering a varieties of practice skills that social workers must be aware of.

There are many ways in which social workers can avoid ethical dilemmas. In regards to the Jones case I will explain five ethical dilemmas. I will explain what 3 core values could have benefitted the Jones family and I will give three strategies I will use to practice ethical behavior in my field of social work in the future.

Chapter 39 is designed to keep children safe at all times. In the event a child is deemed unsafe or at imminent risk of harm, the result is a removal from their caregivers. When a child is removed from their caregiver, often times they are offered a case plan in order for reunification to take place. Many times, parents/caregivers are not in agreement with services that are being required, which in my opinion violates their rights to self-determination. According to the NASW social work code of ethics, Self-determination is defined as recognizing the rights and needs of clients to be free to make their own choices and decisions. Often times, the parents are not asked what services would be beneficial but rather what services are needed for

The National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics is helpful in guiding decision making and clarifying ethical considerations for social work practice (NASW Press, 2015). The standards below may provide the guidance a social worker is looking for when facing an ethical dilemma such as the one described in this paper. Standard 1.01, Commitment to Clients, addresses the social work role and responsibility in promoting the client’s well-being (NASW Press, 2015). Legal obligations and/ or obligations to the greater social good may sometimes impact the social worker’s primary interest in the client’s well-being (NASW Press, 2015). Standard 1.03, Informed Consent, addresses the social work role in explaining the purpose of a service

I also think that spiritual matters should be addressed with clients. Service members can use their faith as support in times of trouble. The social worker may help facilitate this support as a part of treatment, specifically to help service members struggling with posttraumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma, or substance abuse. According to Shaler (2016), “there is no consistent definition of religious or spiritual accommodation” (p. 53). Although this does not make it easy for social workers to integrate spiritual matters in the client relationship, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, Standard 1.05c states, social workers are obligated to pursue “the nature of social diversity and oppression with respect

To begin with, the client whose name is Mr. Sam Pilsudski has an obstructed airway secondary to cancer of the larynx. He is a 67-year-old widower, and a father of one son and two daughters, who is unconscious and terminally ill, if not for a much-needed operation to remove both his cancer and larynx to save his life. However, one of Mr. Pilsudski’s daughters has adamantly refused to consent to the surgical procedure despite the physician explaining that although the operation would unfortunately render his patient disabled without a voice consequentially, but ultimately surviving the procedure to live and recover. Moreover, the physician attempted with rational and clear communication to express the gravity of the rather poor prognosis of his illness to his daughter that in the event of foregoing the surgery, his patient would surely die (Ralph Dolgoff, Donna Harrington, and Frank M. Loewenberg (2012), Ethical Decisions for Social Work Practice. 9th Ed; p. 279).

Hello, Professor and Classmates! Competence in the field of human services is knowing how to evaluate the research of others and know how to conduct your ethical and relevant research. The Ethical Principles describe the value of competence as social workers practice within areas of competence and develop and enhance their professional expertise (NOHS,2017). Competence of boundaries is defined by the code of ethics by educations, training, supervised experience, state and national professional credentials, and appropriate professional experiences. Competence can also be related to treatment outcomes.

John is in an ethical dilemma. Either he can say something about the information that he was told, or he could ignore it. I believe that Melissa went to the John because she wanted him to expose what was going on within the company. However what I am curious about is why didn't she provide proof of the misuse of funds to John when she told him, it would have made much more of an impact on John. The NASW code of ethics that relates to this particular vignette is the 1.06 conflict of interest. This is a conflict of interest because John is below his executive director and he does know if what he is told is even true. If it is true, then it's Melissa’s job is to report it not John's, because he didn’t directly witness it. For all John knows,

When faced with a situation like this, there is a lot to consider. When you consider your options, there are only really three choices you have in dealing with this situation. When you are in the courtroom under oath it is important to think about what is right and true along with the promises you made when you became a detective. The first choice that would be the most obvious is to tell the truth. By telling the truth, you are doing what is ethically right. However, this will probably get my partner fired and cause friction between my coworkers and I for breaking the blue wall of silence. This in turn may put my own job at risk consequently. The other obvious option that I have is to lie. This could prevent our department from being sued while helping my partner keep his job. By doing so, my job would not be affected, or my image put into jeopardy. The problem with this choice though is the moral and ethical complications.

“Values are the principles and standards of conduct that you deem good, right, or desirable” (Thomlison, 2016, p. 10). In providing the best services possible, I agree that social workers should be able to put their personal values aside. In the book, Thomlison states that our ideals are embedded into our communication, behavior, and interaction with our clients (Thomlison, 2016). In working with our clients, we have to keep in mind of the client’s rights to their own ethical decision making and what the client deems is suitable for their well-being. The services social workers provide must be centered toward the client’s personal values and what is best suited for their recovery.

The CSWE ensures that social workers are educated and competent in the field of social work. It serves as a guideline for social work educators. The (CSWE) uses the Educational Policy Act Standards (EPAS) to accredit baccalaureate and master’s level social work programs. EPAS supports academic excellence by establishing thresholds for professional competence (CSWE, 2015).