.png){kind=icon}
Ethics in Social Work
Click on each question to check your answer.
1. When can confidential client information be disclosed?
All client information must be kept confidential unless consent has been given by the client or a legal representative of the client to disclose certain information. Confidentiality can be broken if disclosure is necessary to prevent serious and imminent harm to a client or others or if a court order requires the social worker to disclose specific information received from a client.
2. What are five strengths of the CASW Code of Ethics for Social Work?
(1) It provides direction and guidelines when ethical dilemmas arise. (2) It assists in creating and maintaining a professional identity. (3) It establishes norms related to the profession’s mission and methods. (4) It provides standards that can help adjudicate allegations of misconduct, ensure public accountability, and protect clients from malpractice or abuse. (5) It provides a public declaration that members of the profession should ensure that they have relevant and up-to-date skills and that they will not discriminate against clients.
3. What are the four periods associated with the social work profession’s concern with ethics? Explain each period.
(1) The morality period: the role of the social worker was believed to be to strengthen clients’ “morality.” Focus was on the morality of clients themselves rather than social workers’ own ethical practice or professional conduct. (2) The values period: Marked by debates about the future of social work and the need to achieve consensus over the profession’s core values. Increasing focus on the morality, values, and ethics of the profession and its practitioners. (3) The ethical theory and decision-making period: Surge in applied and professional ethics in several fields in response to technological developments and increasing public awareness of cases of professional misconduct. Increasing focus of social work on issues of social justice, social reform, and civil rights. Growing literature on social work ethics and theories of ethics. (4) The ethical standards and risk management period: Expansion of ethical standards to guide practitioners’ conduct and increased knowledge concerning professional negligence and liability. Formalization of a comprehensive code of ethics for the profession and the emergence of literature focusing on malpractice, liability, and risk-management strategies.
4. Why is self-care important, and what are some ways social workers can consistently practice self-care?
Excessive occupational exposure to stress can lead to burnout, compassion fatigue, and/or vicarious trauma and compromise the social worker’s ability to implement effective and ethical practice. One way for social workers to mitigate these risks is to integrate self-care into their professional practice. Self-care strategies or practices are used to support one’s emotional, psychological, physical, and spiritual health and well-being as a practitioner. Specifically, self-care can include individual strategies (e.g., regular sleep, diet, and exercise) and collective strategies (e.g., having a safe space within the workplace to share and reflect with others) that help to maintain a healthy personal-professional balance.
5. What are the six core values of the CASW Code of Ethics for Social Work?
(1) Respect for inherent dignity and worth of persons: Social workers must uphold clients’ human rights and their right to self-determination, respect diversity among clients, and ensure client choices are made based on voluntary, informed consent, paying particular attention to issues where clients are children. (2) The pursuit of social justice: Social workers must provide services, resources, and opportunities that work to benefit humanity and protect individuals from harm. (3) Service to humanity: Social workers must aim to promote the personal development of individuals and groups as outlined in the Code. In addition, the power they are given is to be used responsibly and in ways that meet the needs of clients and promote social justice. (4) Integrity of professional practice: Social workers respect and promote the values, purpose, and ethical principles of their profession and their field of practice. (5) Confidentiality in professional practice: Social workers respect their clients’ right to privacy and the importance of the trust their clients have placed in them. This entails keeping client information confidential. (6) Competence in professional practice: Social workers respect their clients’ right to be offered the highest quality of service possible. Thus, social workers limit their professional practice to areas where they are most competent.