Social Work Ethics Scenario

Melissa is a young, Jewish, urban professional who grew up in a middle-class suburb in New York. Her dream of having a big wedding at her parents’ country club was about to finally come true. Melissa was more than enthusiastic and eager to have the wedding of her dreams come true with everything already planned, invitations sent out, her wedding dress selected, and bridesmaid dresses picked out she had everything she could dream of in her wedding. One thing that Melissa and her Fiancé planned to due right after their marriage was to start having children. Melissa felt that she wanted to go get a physical exam to make sure she was in good health to carry a child. The doctor suggested she get tested for HIV as he suggest for all is clients to

Shaniya Robinson arrives at the County Human Services Authority for her monthly appointment with her social worker. Ms. Robinson is a 25 year old African American female who is receiving treatment for schizophrenia from the adult behavioral health services program. During a session the client reports that she is under a great deal of stress because she is having difficulty adjusting to being a new mother. Her five month old baby girl Shanice is teething and cries frequently. Ms. Robinson is also struggling financially because she is currently unemployed; her mental illness makes it difficult to sustain employment long term. And she does not receive support from the child’s father on a consistent basis. The combination of these

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.

Reflection is a process of learning through and from self-analysis, self-evaluation, self-dialogue and self-observation towards gaining new possibilities for self-enhancement. In social work, this learning process is an integral part of applying theory to practice. With the growing influence of postmodernism, social workers also need to be prepared to recognise the eurocentric discourse that grounds and governs their disciplinary knowledge. It is against this background that I will reflect upon Foucault’s power-knowledge axis, particularly as it relates to cultural competence. As will be demonstrated, anti-oppressive practice rests on the ability of social workers to analyse the power dynamics that pervade their encounters

Whether someone is a social worker, doctor, psychologist, etc. it is very likely that at some point in their career they will run into an ethical dilemma that they must address in a respectful and ethically sound fashion. Due to the fact that social workers establish strong relationships with their clients, and at times may be working with people on extremely personal levels (domestic violence, child abuse, homelessness, etc.) it is common in this field of practice to run into an ethical dilemma. An ethical dilemma is defined as “problematic situations whose possible solutions all offer imperfect and unsatisfactory answers” (). It is important for social workers to take the proper steps necessary to address the issue to make the correct decision that will have the best outcome for both themselves and their clients. Fortunately for the

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.

As a professional practitioner in the field of social work a great practice is to develop a foundation structured around the ethical standard set by the National Association of Social Workers. Dilemmas can arise, creating issues that could have a massive effect on clients, families, clinicians, communities, and the organization involved. In order to find a solution to the issue(s) models of ethical reasoning and ethical decision can assist with resolving ethical issues. Briefly I will discuss the case study presented with ethical issues, and will examine ethical reasoning models as it relates to the problem-based scenario.

Benkova. K., an author of the article Social Work Ethics as Applied Ethics, describes “ethics as a systematic drive to understand our individual and social moral experience in such a way that enables establishing rules which are to govern people’s behavior, to define values which are worth sticking to, and also to encourage such character traits in people which oneself is worth to develop”(Benkova 2009).

Ethical standards are very important as a social worker. Social workers strive each day to make a difference in their communities, and in people lives. When boundaries are cross and unethical practices are done, it put distrust among our communities and blocks out all the good work that is being done. Having a strong foundation about the Ethics of social work will ensure that social workers are following proper guidelines and putting their best foot forward each day on the job. The Ethical Dilemma George works at a community mental health center where he is a social worker.

The New York State Coalition against Domestic Violence (NYSCADV) provides training, support, technical assistance and advocacy to local direct service domestic violence programs across New York State. We achieve our mission through activism, training, prevention, technical assistance, legislative development and advocacy, and leadership development.

1. In a paragraph or two, describe a serious moral issue your future profession regularly copes with. I am a social worker dealing with a client that is seventeen years old and pregnant. My client wants to get an abortion because she isn't ready to be a mother and her boyfriend doesn't want anything to do with either, so she would end up being a single parent. I believe that abortion is wrong morally cause the child is innocent even though it is a fetus.

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

Client is currently not employed or attends school and is available to meet from Monday to Sunday except for when she drops of her daughter to school Monday to Friday at 8 AM and picks up at 1:30 PM.

Ethical issues in general, regardless of the profession or field one is in are inevitable. Social workers understand the value base of the profession and its value base of the profession and its ethical standards, as well as relevant laws and regulations that may impact practice at the micro and macro level (Segal, 2016). Although social workers are trained and understand ethical standards does not prevent them to one-day face ethical issues. According to (Reamer, 2014) we have embarked on a new period, one which few of us, he suspected, could have anticipated. Today’s social workers can provide services online or via video counseling or text messages to clients they never meet in person. They may receive Facebook friend request from clients or former clients that lead to boundary challenges. These boundary challenges as Reamer categorizes them are part of what he calls the Digital period. “Issues steadily arise even among segments of the population that one would expect to

Traditionally, social worker are expected to not impose their own values on their clients, and suspended judgment about client behaviors, even when their own values or society values demand a judgement (Dolgroff, Harrington & Loewenberg, 2012). This can often pose difficult ethical decisions for social workers and clients, as personal value systems are inevitable. Social worker value gap, value neutrality and value imposition are important to consider when analyzing any ethical situation with our clients. Consideration needs to be given to both the social worker and the client as they interact together, although it is the social worker’s role to not impose their own values onto the client. The social worker must uphold the value of self