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ethical dilemmas faced by social workers
ethical dilemmas faced by social workers
ethical dilemma situations in social work
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Social workers may try their best to avoid ethical dilemmas, but the truth is they are faced with ethical dilemmas every day. In case 2.14 a social worker is faced with an ethical dilemma and does not realize the true meaning of her purpose in the situation. Instead of focusing on the child’s fundamental cause for needing her help, she focused on ways to change his sexuality. The social workers' approach of the case was inappropriate and violated several National Association of Social Works (NASW) codes of ethics (The National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, 2017). The national association of social workers code of ethics serves six purposes and was designed to guide social workers conduct. Social workers are known to be competence, This indicates that the client did not have a constant adult in his life, who he could have trust and asked to sever questions. By the social worker knowing her clients' recent background information she should have intervened and taken the reasonable steps to identify the clients’ well-being and interest. Once she had identified the clients' interest she could have explained his rights to him in a way that he would have understood. At this point, the client would have had a better understanding of his situation and what is occurring. If the social worker would have put her personal values to the side and focused on the central idea, such as the abuse and neglect the child has been exposed to, she would have been able to meet the standards of code 1.14 (The National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, A social worker must be alert and avoid all conflicts of interest at all times (The National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, 2017). In this case the social worker was not alert and did not exercise her professional discretion. The clients interest should always come first, and the social worker should disregard her own personal life or beliefs. A social worker should be able to provide help to a client no matter of their race, religion, or sexual orientation (The National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics,
In the social work practice, social workers should abide by and respect the protocol of their particular organization. The first ethical standard I would like to discuss is that a social worker having cultural competence and social (NASW, 1999). A social worker must possess the knowledge of values, customs, tradition and history just to name a few in order to have success with clients that may identify as something other than their own identity. Culture directs impacts human behavior. Within this case study, due to Mrs. Sanchez’s culture, she struggled to assimilate with the American culture and this included her being able to learn the English language. Her culture was very important to her and I respect that. As a social worker, I would have
The first case that I have chosen to analyze is case #3. The standards from the Code of Ethics that comes into play regarding this particular case would be the first and most valuable one will be commitment to client. With this code the social worker primary responsibility is to promote any type of well-being to the clients. The social worker has to remain loyal to their clients. Another standard from the Code of Ethics would be the privacy and confidentiality with this code only as a social worker you are only allow to discuss with persons who are legally incapable of giving informed consent and also their legal representative. Social workers can not disclose confidential information that could lead to identification of a client/ patient with
National Association of Social Workers. (1999). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington, DC: Author.
Working with people can be challenging, but so rewarding all at the same time. As humans, we are certainly not perfect and we are making mistakes daily. Making decisions is one thing that does not come easily to us, and depending on the day you can get multiple different answers to one situation. The NASW Code of Ethics is an extremely helpful tool when we are working with clients and something that does not ever waiver in ethical decision-making. If we are working in the Social work profession, then we must insure we are making the correct decision for everyone who is involved with the client.
In the National Association for Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, there are many standards a social worker should uphold in order to promote a healthy and helpful relationship with the client. One such aptitude is Cultural Competence and Social Diversity, which is in section 1.05 of the NASW code of ethics (National Association of Social Workers, 2008). There are three sections associated with this competency “Social workers should understand culture and its function in human behavior and society, recognizing the strengths in all cultures”. It is assumed that “social workers should have a knowledge base of their clients’ cultures and be able to demonstrate competence in the provision of services that are sensitive to clients”. As a final point “Social workers should obtain education” in order to understand cultural diversity and oppression in people (NASW, 2008, p. 9).
The boy involved in the case has undergone a tremendous amount of trauma and hardship for his age so any social worker involved in his case should handle it with the utmost sensitivity. The standard of cultural awareness and social diversity means the social worker should help provide a safe environment for the boy and make him feel welcome and offers acceptance. This standard seems to be the most important especially considering the ethical responsibility to a client which is always to put their interests before your own.
National Association of Social Workers. (1999). Code of Ethics. Retrieved July 27, 2001, from http://www.naswdc.org/Code/ethics.htm.
NASW has formal procedures to adjudicate ethics complaints filed against its members. In subscribing to this Code, social workers are required to cooperate in its implementation, participate in NASW adjudication proceedings, and abide by any NASW disciplinary rulings or sanctions based on it (Code of Ethics).” Understanding what the code of ethics is used for is the best way to understand the history behind its
Ethics is a branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality; that is, about concepts such as good and bad, right and wrong, justice, and virtue. The NASW Code of Ethics is intended to serve as a guide to the everyday professional conduct of social workers. This Code includes four sections. The first Section, "Preamble," summarizes the social work profession 's mission and core values. The second section, "Purpose of the NASW Code of Ethics," provides an overview of the Code’s main functions and a brief guide for dealing with ethical issues or dilemmas in social work practice. The third section, "Ethical Principles," presents broad ethical principles, based on social work 's core values, which inform social work practice.
The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) Code of Ethics (2010) proposes three core values of Social Work, respect for persons, social justice and professional integrity (pp.12). These core values establish “ethical responsibilities” for the social worker (AASW, 2010, pp.12), specifically, the value of respect for persons, which sustains the intrinsic worth of all human beings as well as the right to wellbeing and self determination consistent with others in society (AASW, 2010,p.12). This Code of Ethics stipulates the duty of care a social worker must provide, a...
National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington DC: Author.
National Association of Social Workers. (2016). Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers Retrieved
All social workers are beholden to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics. Professional ethics are the main core of social work. The profession has an obligation to articulate its basic values, ethical principles, and ethical standards. The code is composed of thematic sections that outline a social worker’s responsibility to clients, colleagues, employers, and the profession. Some responsibilities that a social worker has to a client are that the clients are their primary responsibility, fostering maximum self-determination in clients, respecting the privacy of clients, keeping information that has been shared during the course of their duties confidential and charging fees for services that are fair and considerate
Banks, S., 2006. Ethics and Values in Social Work. 3rd ed. Hampshire, England.: Palgrave MacMillan .
The social work profession and its Code of Ethics dictate that social workers must act in the best interest of the client, even when those actions challenge the practitioner’s personal, cultural and religious values. In practice; however, ethical decision-making is more complex than in theory. As helping professionals, social workers are constantly faced with ethical decision-making or ethical dilemmas. As noted by Banks (2005), an ethical dilemma occurs “when a worker is faced with a choice between two equally unwelcome alternatives that may involve a conflict of moral principles, and it is not clear what choice will be the right one” (as cited in McAuliffe & Chenoweth, 2008, p. 43). In addition, ethical decision-making is a process that