code of ethics in social work and ethical dilemma

code of ethics in social work and ethical dilemma

Ethical Standards

NASW has stated six ethical standards in code of ethic. The following ethical standards are relevant to the professional activities of all social worker. These standard concerns;

1. Social worker ethical responsibilities to the clients:

It involves social workers commitment and loyalty to the client. He/she has to work for the best interest of the client by providing better services on the basis of relevant professional experiences where he/she has to respect the self-determination and cultural aspect of client. While, working with the client, social worker has to maintain principle of privacy and confidentiality and exercise careful judgment and take responsible step to protect clients from harm.

Commitment to the client:

Social worker primary responsibility of the client is to promote clients well-being.

Self-determination:

Social worker respect and promote the right of clients to make self-decision and assist clients in their effort to identify and clarify their goal.

Informed consent:

They should provide services to client only in context of professional relationship on valid inform consent. They should use clear and under stable language to inform client of the purpose of the service.

Competence:

They should present themselves as competent only within the boundaries of their education, training, license and other professional experiences. They continually strive to increase their professional knowledge and skills and to apply them in practice. They should aspire to contribute to the knowledge base of the profession.

Cultural Competence and Social Diversity:

They should understand cultural and its function in human behavior and society, recognizing the strength that exits in all culture. Confidentiality should provide with client with reasonable exists to record concerning the client. Social worker should under no circumstances engage in sexual activities with current clients. Also he/she shouldn’t engage in physical contact, sexual harassment, derogatory language. Moreover, social worker should consider clients ability to pay. (payment for services).

2.Social Worker Ethical Responsibility to the Colleague:

Respect

Social worker should treat colleague with respect avoid negative criticism.

Confidentiality:

They should respect confidential information shared by colleagues during their professional relationship.

Inter-disciplinary Collaboration:

Social workers who are the member of an inter-disciplinary team should participate in and contribute to decision that affect the well-being of clients.

Dispute involving Colleague:

They shouldn’t take advantage of disputes between colleague and employer to obtain a position.

Sexual Relationship:

Social workers have to avoid sexual relationship and should be sensitive to sexual harassment. Social workers should take adequate measures to discourage, prevent, expose, and correct the unethical conduct of colleagues. Sexual relation perform vital role in social worker ethical responsibilities. In the case of impairment of colleagues due to personal problems, psychosocial distress, substance abuse, or mental health difficulties that interferes with practice effectiveness, social workers should consult with that colleague when feasible and assist the colleagues in taking remedial action.

3.Social Workers Ethical Responsibilities in Practice Settings:

This involves supervision, consultation, education and training, billing, client transfer, administration, arrangement of opportunities of staff development. Social workers should have the necessary knowledge and skill to supervise or consult appropriately. In addition, social workers should provide instruction only within their areas of knowledge and competence and should provide instruction based on the most current information and knowledge available in the profession.

Knowledge and skills should have necessary knowledge or skills to supervise or consult appropriately. Social work administrators should advocate within and outside their agencies for adequate resources to meet client’s needs. They should provide instruction only within their areas of competence. He/she must be committed to the employers and employing organizations. Social workers have to ensure accurate documentation including delivery of services, continuity of the services and the termination of the services. Social worker administration should advocate within the outside their agency for adequate resources to meet client’s need. Records should be maintained for the number of years required by state statues or relevant contracts. Proper documentation, continuity of services and termination of services is necessary factor that the social worker should be responsible off.

4.Social Worker Ethical Responsibilities as Professionals:

Competence is a major professional ethical responsibility of social workers. They should be up-to date with current and emerging knowledge relevant to social work. They shouldn’t perform any form of discrimination on the basis of gender, color, ethnicity, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, or mental or physical disability etc. social worker shouldn’t take up ethical advantage out of client and shouldn’t allow their personal problem to interfere with their professional judgment of performance. Social worker shouldn’t participate or be associated with dishonesty, fraud, or deception. In addition, social worker shouldn’t allow their own personal problems, psychosocial distress, legal problems, substance abuse, or mental health difficulties to interfere with their professional judgment and performance. Social workers shouldn’t take unethical advantage out of clients. They should honestly acknowledge the work of and the contributions made by others.

5.Social Workers Ethical Responsibilities to the Social Work Profession:

It involves integrity of the profession and evaluation and research. Social workers should be honest towards their profession by maintaining and promoting standards of practice. They should honestly work to promote standard of their professions. Social worker should be honest towards their profession and duties and responsibilities. Social should protect, enhance, and improve the integrity of the profession through appropriate study and research, active discussion, and responsible criticism of the profession. They should monitor and evaluate updated policies, implementation of programed and practice intervention. In addition, social workers should promote and facilitate evaluation and research to contribute to the development of knowledge.

6.Social Workers Ethical Responsibilities to the Boarder Society:

Social workers should promote and advocate general welfare policies and program for fulfilling the basic human needs for development. Social workers have ethical responsibilities to the boarder society which includes promotion of social welfare and public participation. Social workers have to promote and advocate general welfare program/services and policies for fulfilling the basic human needs for development. They have to promote social, economic, political and cultural values and institutions for realizing social justice. They should always engaged in social and political action that all have equal access to resources, employment, services and opportunity with special regard for vulnerable, disadvantaged, oppressed and exploited people and groups. Social worker should promote conditions that encourage respect for cultural and social diversity within the nation and globally. Social worker should always responsibly work for the welfare of disadvantage and oppressed people and act to prevent domination, discrimination and exploitation. Social workers should act to prevent and eliminate domination of, exploitation of, and discrimination against any person, group, or class on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, or mental or physical disability.

Ethical Dilemmas:

Dilemmas is the situation when the person faced with the choice between two equally on welcome alternatives which may involve conflict of more principle, and it is not clear which choice will be right one. (as a citied in AASW, 1999 and Banks, 1995).

Ethics: A system of belief held about what constitutes moral judgment and right conduct. Ethics are moral principles adopted by a culture, group, profession or an individual to provide rules for ethical conduct. (Corey, Corey & Callanan, 1998 as citied in AASW, 1999).

Regarding social worker ethical dilemma occurs many often time by working with clients. Like ethical principle says that one shouldn’t reject the client on the basis of their culture or who he/she is but sometimes personal values trying to overshadow such professional values and hence confusion occurs whether to accept or reject the client. Ethical dilemma is the condition social worker has a choice between two equally conflicting moral principle. While working with clients, sometimes social workers have to face ethical dilemma. For instance, client is a teenage pregnant girl. She wants to give birth to the baby. Some social worker knows that she is economically poor and couldnot care her baby properly. Even her doctor suggested aborting the pregnancy, since it is treat for her life. In addition she doesn’t want to disclose her pregnancy to her parents. In this case what would the social worker do if she come for the help? Would the social worker respect her rights to determination or suggests her for abortion? Or would he/she respect her rights to confidentiality or share his problems with her parents? This above example shows that an ethical dilemma is a condition when the social workers have a choice between two equally conflicting moral principles. At that time social workers do not have any idea which choice will be the right one. Generally, social workers have to encounter ethical dilemmas during interactions with clients, agency, policies, procedures, colleagues, administrators, and organizational system. Ethical Dilemma can occur when:

• A social worker has to take a moral responsibility of an action out of two different moral philosophies that conflict with each other.
• A social worker has to make a decision from the available choices without even knowing in advance the outcomes of the decision. The result can either be beneficial or harmful.
• A social worker has to make a choice that might be best only for a certain section of individuals involved in the conflict and is harmful for the other party.

According to McGowan and Mattison (1999,p.58), this kind of ethical dilemmas’ can be analyzed and resolved by a model given below.

Mode for Analyzing Ethical Dilemmas

Phase 1

Gather and assess case background information and case details.

Social worker has to gather relevant and detail background information of the case when he/she encounters an ethical dilemma. Then, social worker has to assess and understand hostilely the case or client circumstances.

Phase 2

Separating the practice considerations and ethical components.

Social worker has to separate and distinguish the practice consideration (e.g.: securing the best possible care and medical attention) of the case from ethical consideration (e.g.: clients right to self-determination).

Phase 3

Identifying value tension

Social worker has to identify the value tension which means social worker has to identify competing responsibility. He/she has to identify the factors that guide social worker to choose one responsibility over others. Some example of value tension is: self-determination versus professional paternalism confidentiality versus, disclosure, commitment to the agency policy versus discretionary judgments; right to individual versus the well-being of the family system.

Phase 4

Identifying the principles in the code of ethics that bear on the case.

While dealing with the dilemma, social worker has to consult with professional code of ethics in order to clarify and understand their own obligation and ethical standard. Social worker has to remember all the principle and ethical standard prior to making decision.

Phase 5

Identifying possible course of action

Social worker has to analyze and consider potential risks and benefits of each actions, commitment to a law, rule or policy while judging and deciding possible course of action.

Phase 6

Assessing which obligation deserves priority and justifying the choice of action.

In this phase, social worker has to weigh and measure the entire information gathered in the previous stages. While selecting an action for resolving a dilemma social worker has to review all the information and facts. Ultimately, possible action should be made with the consideration of practice principle, legal imperative, social worker’s experience, agency rules and obligation, professional paternalism.

Phase 7

Resolution and reflection

After the implementation of selected action, it is a phase when a social worker has to reflect on how he/she had given preferences to the action. Social worker evaluate their ethical decision making process and also compare with past decision making process. This is also a phase where social workers justify the decision.