Im trying to study for my Social Science course and I need some help to understand this question.
How does ethics impact community work? What are some standards to consider and why? Choose 3 ethical standards (not codes) and address how they impact community/group work? Why are these standards vital to social workers and group work. Please see attached Code of Ethics document.
Code of Ethics of the
National Association of Social Workers
OVERVIEW
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, that inform social work practice. The final section, “Ethical
Standards,” includes specific ethical standards to guide social workers’ conduct
and to provide a basis for adjudication.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest organization
of professional social workers in the world. NASW serves social workers in 55
chapters throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam,
and abroad. NASW was formed in 1955 through a merger of seven predecessor
social work organizations to carry out three responsibilities:
strengthen and unify the profession
promote the development of social work practice advance sound social
policies.
Promoting high standards of practice and protecting the consumer of services
are major association principles.
Approved by the 1996 NASW Delegate Assembly and revised by the NASW
Delegate Assembly in 2017.
© 2017 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.
Preamble
The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and
help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and
empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. A
historic and defining feature of social work is the profession’s focus on individual wellbeing in a social context and the well-being of society. Fundamental to social work is
attention to the environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address problems in
living.
Social workers promote social justice and social change with and on behalf of
clients. “Clients” is used inclusively to refer to individuals, families, groups,
organizations, and communities. Social workers are sensitive to cultural and ethnic
diversity and strive to end discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other forms of social
injustice. These activities may be in the form of direct practice, community organizing,
supervision, consultation, administration, advocacy, social and political action, policy
development and implementation, education, and research and evaluation. Social
workers seek to enhance the capacity of people to address their own needs. Social
workers also seek to promote the responsiveness of organizations, communities, and
other social institutions to individuals’ needs and social problems.
The mission of the social work profession is rooted in a set of core values. These
core values, embraced by social workers throughout the profession’s history, are the
foundation of social work’s unique purpose and perspective:
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service
social justice
dignity and worth of the person
importance of human relationships
integrity
competence.
This constellation of core values reflects what is unique to the social work
profession. Core values, and the principles that flow from them, must be balanced
within the context and complexity of the human experience.
Purpose of the NASW Code of Ethics
Professional ethics are at the core of social work. The profession has an obligation to
articulate its basic values, ethical principles, and ethical standards. The NASW Code of
Ethics sets forth these values, principles, and standards to guide social workers’ conduct.
The Code is relevant to all social workers and social work students, regardless of their
professional functions, the settings in which they work, or the populations they serve.
The NASW Code of Ethics serves six purposes:
1. The Code identifies core values on which social work’s mission is based.
2. The Code summarizes broad ethical principles that reflect the profession’s core
values and establishes a set of specific ethical standards that should be used to guide
social work practice.
3. The Code is designed to help social workers identify relevant considerations when
professional obligations conflict or ethical uncertainties arise.
4. The Code provides ethical standards to which the general public can hold the social
work profession accountable.
5. The Code socializes practitioners new to the field to social work’s mission, values,
ethical principles, and ethical standards.
6. The Code articulates standards that the social work profession itself can use to assess
whether social workers have engaged in unethical conduct. 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.
*For information on NASW adjudication procedures, see NASW Procedures for the
Adjudication of Grievances.
The Code offers a set of values, principles, and standards to guide decision
making and conduct when ethical issues arise. It does not provide a set of rules that
prescribe how social workers should act in all situations. Specific applications of
the Code must take into account the context in which it is being considered and the
possibility of conflicts among the Code’s values, principles, and standards. Ethical
responsibilities flow from all human relationships, from the personal and familial to the
social and professional.
Further, the NASW Code of Ethics does not specify which values, principles, and
standards are most important and ought to outweigh others in instances when they
conflict. Reasonable differences of opinion can and do exist among social workers with
respect to the ways in which values, ethical principles, and ethical standards should be
rank ordered when they conflict. Ethical decision making in a given situation must
apply the informed judgment of the individual social worker and should also consider
how the issues would be judged in a peer review process where the ethical standards of
the profession would be applied.
Ethical decision making is a process. In situations when conflicting obligations
arise, social workers may be faced with complex ethical dilemmas that have no simple
answers. Social workers should take into consideration all the values, principles, and
standards in this Code that are relevant to any situation in which ethical judgment is
warranted. Social workers’ decisions and actions should be consistent with the spirit as
well as the letter of this Code.
In addition to this Code, there are many other sources of information about
ethical thinking that may be useful. Social workers should consider ethical theory and
principles generally, social work theory and research, laws, regulations, agency policies,
and other relevant codes of ethics, recognizing that among codes of ethics social
workers should consider the NASW Code of Ethics as their primary source. Social
workers also should be aware of the impact on ethical decision making of their clients’
and their own personal values and cultural and religious beliefs and practices. They
should be aware of any conflicts between personal and professional values and deal
with them responsibly. For additional guidance social workers should consult the
relevant literature on professional ethics and ethical decision making and seek
appropriate consultation when faced with ethical dilemmas. This may involve
consultation with an agency-based or social work organization’s ethics committee, a
regulatory body, knowledgeable colleagues, supervisors, or legal counsel.
Instances may arise when social workers’ ethical obligations conflict with agency
policies or relevant laws or regulations. When such conflicts occur, social workers must
make a responsible effort to resolve the conflict in a manner that is consistent with the
values, principles, and standards expressed in this Code. If a reasonable resolution of
the conflict does not appear possible, social workers should seek proper consultation
before making a decision.
The NASW Code of Ethics is to be used by NASW and by individuals, agencies,
organizations, and bodies (such as licensing and regulatory boards, professional liability
insurance providers, courts of law, agency boards of directors, government agencies,
and other professional groups) that choose to adopt it or use it as a frame of reference.
Violation of standards in this Code does not automatically imply legal liability or
violation of the law. Such determination can only be made in the context of legal and
judicial proceedings. Alleged violations of the Code would be subject to a peer review
process. Such processes are generally separate from legal or administrative procedures
and insulated from legal review or proceedings to allow the profession to counsel and
discipline its own members.
A code of ethics cannot guarantee ethical behavior. Moreover, a code of ethics
cannot resolve all ethical issues or disputes or capture the richness and complexity
involved in striving to make responsible choices within a moral community. Rather, a
code of ethics sets forth values, ethical principles, and ethical standards to which
professionals aspire and by which their actions can be judged. Social workers’ ethical
behavior should result from their personal commitment to engage in ethical practice.
The NASW Code of Ethics reflects the commitment of all social workers to uphold the
profession’s values and to act ethically. Principles and standards must be applied by
individuals of good character who discern moral questions and, in good faith, seek to
make reliable ethical judgments.
With growth in the use of communication technology in various aspects of
social work practice, social workers need to be aware of the unique challenges that may
arise in relation to the maintenance of confidentiality, informed consent, professional
boundaries, professional competence, record keeping, and other ethical considerations.
In general, all ethical standards in this Code of Ethics are applicable to interactions,
relationships, or communications, whether they occur in person or with the use of
technology. For the purposes of this Code, technology-assisted social work services
include any social work services that involve the use of computers, mobile or landline
telephones, tablets, video technology, or other electronic or digital technologies; this
includes the use of various electronic or digital platforms, such as the Internet, online
social media, chat rooms, text messaging, e-mail, and emerging digital applications.
Technology-assisted social work services encompass all aspects of social work practice,
including psychotherapy; individual, family, or group counseling; community
organization; administration; advocacy; mediation; education; supervision; research;
evaluation; and other social work services. Social workers should keep apprised of
emerging technological developments that may be used in social work practice and how
various ethical standards apply to them.
Ethical Principles
The following broad ethical principles are based on social work’s core values of service,
social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships,
integrity, and competence. These principles set forth ideals to which all social workers
should aspire.
Value: Service
Ethical Principle: Social workers’ primary goal is to help people in need and to
address social problems.
Social workers elevate service to others above self-interest. Social workers draw on
their knowledge, values, and skills to help people in need and to address social
problems. Social workers are encouraged to volunteer some portion of their professional
skills with no expectation of significant financial return (pro bono service).
Value: Social Justice
Ethical Principle: Social workers challenge social injustice.
Social workers pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and
oppressed individuals and groups of people. Social workers’ social change efforts are
focused primarily on issues of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and other forms
of social injustice. These activities seek to promote sensitivity to and knowledge about
oppression and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers strive to ensure access to
needed information, services, and resources; equality of opportunity; and meaningful
participation in decision making for all people.
Value: Dignity and Worth of the Person
Ethical Principle: Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of the person.
Social workers treat each person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of
individual differences and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers promote clients’
socially responsible self-determination. Social workers seek to enhance clients’ capacity
and opportunity to change and to address their own needs. Social workers are cognizant
of their dual responsibility to clients and to the broader society. They seek to resolve
conflicts between clients’ interests and the broader society’s interests in a socially
responsible manner consistent with the values, ethical principles, and ethical standards
of the profession.
Value: Importance of Human Relationships
Ethical Principle: Social workers recognize the central importance of human
relationships.
Social workers understand that relationships between and among people are an
important vehicle for change. Social workers engage people as partners in the helping
process. Social workers seek to strengthen relationships among people in a purposeful
effort to promote, restore, maintain, and enhance the well-being of individuals, families,
social groups, organizations, and communities.
Value: Integrity
Ethical Principle: Social workers behave in a trustworthy manner.
Social workers are continually aware of the profession’s mission, values, ethical
principles, and ethical standards and practice in a manner consistent with them. Social
workers act honestly and responsibly and promote ethical practices on the part of the
organizations with which they are affiliated.
Value: Competence
Ethical Principle: Social workers practice within their areas of competence and
develop and enhance their professional expertise.
Social workers continually strive to increase their professional knowledge and skills and
to apply them in practice. Social workers should aspire to contribute to the knowledge
base of the profession.
Ethical Standards
The following ethical standards are relevant to the professional activities of all social
workers. These standards concern (1) social workers’ ethical responsibilities to clients,
(2) social workers’ ethical responsibilities to colleagues, (3) social workers’ ethical
responsibilities in practice settings, (4) social workers’ ethical responsibilities as
professionals, (5) social workers’ ethical responsibilities to the social work profession,
and (6) social workers’ ethical responsibilities to the broader society.
Some of the standards that follow are enforceable guidelines for professional conduct,
and some are aspirational. The extent to which each standard is enforceable is a matter
of professional judgment to be exercised by those responsible for reviewing alleged
violations of ethical standards.
1. Social Workers’ Ethical Responsibilities to Clients
1.01 Commitment to Clients
Social workers’ primary responsibility is to promote the well-being of clients. In
general, clients’ interests are primary. However, social workers’ responsibility to the
larger society or specific legal obligations may on limited occasions supersede the
loyalty owed clients, and clients should be so advised. (Examples include when a social
worker is required by law to report that a client has abused a child or has threatened to
harm self or others.)
1.02 Self-Determination
Social workers respect and promote the right of clients to self-determination and assist
clients in their efforts to identify and clarify their goals. Social workers may limit
clients’ right to self-determination when, in the social workers’ professional judgment,
clients’ actions or potential actions pose a serious, foreseeable, and imminent risk to
themselves or others.
1.03 Informed Consent
(a) Social workers should provide services to clients only in the context of a
professional relationship based, when appropriate, on valid informed consent. Social
workers should use clear and understandable language to inform clients of the purpose
of the services, risks related to the services, limits to services because of the
requirements of a third-party payer, relevant costs, reasonable alternatives, clients’ right
to refuse or withdraw consent, and the time frame covered by the consent. Social
workers should provide clients with an opportunity to ask questions.
(b) In instances when clients are not literate or have difficulty understanding the
primary language used in the practice setting, social workers should take steps to ensure
clients’ comprehension. This may include providing clients with a detailed verbal
explanation or arranging for a qualified interpreter or translator whenever possible.
(c) In instances when clients lack the capacity to provide informed consent, social
workers should protect clients’ interests by seeking permission from an appropriate third
party, informing clients consistent with the clients’ level of understanding. In such
instances social workers should seek to ensure that the third party acts in a manner
consistent with clients’ wishes and interests. Social workers should take reasonable steps
to enhance such clients’ ability to give informed consent.
(d) In instances when clients are receiving services involuntarily, social workers should
provide information about the nature and extent of services and about the extent of
clients’ right to refuse service.
(e) Social workers should discuss with clients the social workers policies concerning
the use of technology in the provision of professional services.
(f) Social workers who use technology to provide social work services should obtain
informed consent from the individuals using these services during the initial screening
or interview and prior to initiating services. Social workers should assess clients
capacity to provide informed consent and, when using technology to communicate,
verify the identity and location of clients.
(g) Social workers who use technology to provide social work services should assess
the clients suitability and capacity for electronic and remote services. Social workers
should consider the clients intellectual, emotional, and physical ability to use
technology to receive services and the clients ability to understand the potential
benefits, risks, and limitations of such services. If clients do not wish to use services
provided through technology, social workers should help them identify alternate
methods of service.
(h) Social workers should obtain clients informed consent before making audio or
video recordings of clients or permitting observation of service provision by a third
party.
(i) Social workers should obtain client consent before conducting an electronic search
on the client. Exceptions may arise when the search is for purposes of protecting the
client or other people from serious, foreseeable, and imminent harm, or for other
compelling professional reasons.
1.04 Competence
(a) Social workers should provide services and represent themselves as competent only
within the boundaries of their education, training, license, certification, consultation
received, supervised experience, or other relevant professional experience.
(b) Social workers should provide services in substantive areas or use intervention
techniques or approaches that are new to them only after engaging in appropriate study,
training, consultation, and supervision from people who are competent in those
interventions or techniques.
(c) When generally recognized standards do not exist with respect to an emerging area
of practice, social workers should exercise careful judgment and take responsible steps
(including appropriate education, research, training, consultation, and supervision) to
ensure the competence of their work and to protect clients from harm.
(d) Social workers who use technology in the provision of social work services should
ensure that they have the necessary knowledge and skills to provide such services in a
competent manner. This includes an understanding of the special communication
challenges when using technology and the ability to implement strategies to address
these challenges.
(e) Social workers who use technology in providing social work services should comply
with the laws governing technology and social work practice in the jurisdiction in which
they are regulated and located and, as applicable, in the jurisdiction in which the client
is located.
1.05 Cultural Awareness and Social Diversity
(a) Social workers should understand culture and its function in human behavior and
society, recognizing the strengths that exist in all cultures.
(b) 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’
cultures and to differences among people and cultural groups.
(c) Social workers should obtain education about and seek to understand the nature of
social diversity and oppression with respect to race, ethnicity, national origin, color,
sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political
belief, religion, immigration status, and mental or physical ability.
(d) Social workers who provide electronic social work services should be aware of
cultural and socioeconomic differences among clients and how they may use electronic
technology. Social workers should assess cultural, environmental, economic, mental or
physical ability, linguistic, and other issues that may affect the delivery or use of these
services.
1.06 Conflicts of Interest
(a) Social workers should be alert to and avoid conflicts of interest that interfere with
the exercise of professional discretion and impartial judgment. Social workers should
inform clients when a real or potential conflict of interest arises and take reasonable
steps to resolve the issue in a manner that makes the clients’ interests primary and
protects clients’ interests to the greatest extent possible. In some cases, protecting
clients’ interests may require termination of the professional relationship with proper
referral of the client.
(b) Social workers should not take unfair advantage of any professional relationship or
exploit others to further their personal, religious, political, or business interests.
(c) Social workers should not engage in dual or multiple relationships with clients or
former clients in which there is a risk of exploitation or potential harm to the client. In
instances when dual or multiple relationships are unavoidable, social workers should
take steps to protect clients and are responsible for setting clear, appropriate, and
culturally sensitive boundaries. (Dual or multiple relationships occur when social
workers relate to clients in more than one relationship, whether professional, social, or
business. Dual or multiple relationships can occur simultaneously or consecutively.)
(d) When social workers provide services to two or more people who have a
relationship with each other (for example, couples, family members), social workers
should clarify with all parties which individuals will be considered clients and the
nature of social workers’ professional obligations to the various individuals who are
receiving services. Social workers who anticipate a conflict of interest among the
individuals receiving services or who anticipate having to perform in potentially
conflicting roles (for example, when a social worker is asked to testify in a child
custody dispute or divorce proceedings involving clients) should clarify their role with
the parties involved and take appropriate action to minimize any conflict of interest.
(e) Social workers should avoid communication with clients using technology (such as
social networking sites, online chat, e-mail, text messages, telephone, and video) for
personal or non-work-related purposes.
(f) Social workers should be aware that posting personal information on professional
Web sites or other media might cause boundary confusion, inappropriate dual
relationships, or harm to clients.
(g) Social workers should be aware that personal affiliations may increase the likelihood
that clients may discover the social workers presence on Web sites, social media, and
other forms of technology. Social workers should be aware that involvement in
electronic communication with groups based on race, ethnicity, language, sexual
orientation, gender identity or expression, mental or physical ability, religion,
immigration status, and other personal affiliations may affect their ability to work
effectively with particular clients.
(h) Social workers should avoid accepting requests from or engaging in personal
relationships with clients on social networking sites or other electronic media to prevent
boundary confusion, inappropriate dual relationships, or harm to clients.
1.07 Privacy and Confidentiality
(a) Social workers should respect clients’ right to privacy. Social workers should not
solicit private information from or about clients except for compelling professional
reasons. Once private information is shared, standards of confidentiality apply.
(b) Social workers may disclose confidential information when appropriate with valid
consent from a client or a person legally authorized to consent on behalf of a client.
(c) Social workers should protect the confidentiality of all information obtained in the
course of professional service, except for compelling professional reasons. The general
expectation that social workers will keep information confidential does not apply when
disclosure is necessary to prevent serious, foreseeable, and imminent harm to a client or
others. In all instances, social workers should disclose the least amount of confidential
information necessary to achieve the desired purpose; only information that is directly
relevant to the purpose for which the disclosure is made should be revealed.
(d) Social workers should inform clients, to the extent possible, about the disclosure of
confidential information and the potential consequences, when feasible before the
disclosure is made. This applies whether social workers disclose confidential
information on the basis of a legal requirement or client consent.
(e) Social workers should discuss with clients and other interested parties the nature of
confidentiality and limitations of clients’ right to confidentiality. Social workers should
review with clients circumstances where confidential information may be requested and
where disclosure of confidential information may be legally required. This discussion
should occur as soon as possible in the social worker-client relationship and as needed
throughout the course of the relationship.
(f) When social workers provide counseling services to families, couples, or groups,
social workers should seek agreement among the parties involved concerning each
individual’s right to confidentiality and obligation to preserve the confidentiality of
information shared by others. This agreement should include consideration of whether
confidential information may be exchanged in person or electronically, among clients or
with others outside of formal counseling sessions. Social workers should inform
participants in family, couples, or group counseling that social workers cannot
guarantee that all participants will honor such agreements.
(g) Social workers should inform clients involved in family, couples, marital, or group
counseling of the social worker’s, employer’s, and agency’s policy concerning the social
worker’s disclosure of confidential information among the parties involved in the
counseling.
(h) Social workers should not disclose confidential information to third-party payers
unless clients have authorized such disclosure.
(i) Social workers should not discuss confidential information, electronically or in
person, in any setting unless privacy can be ensured. Social workers should not discuss
confidential information in public or semi-public areas such as hallways, waiting rooms,
elevators, and restaurants.
(j) Social workers should protect the confidentiality of clients during legal proceedings
to the extent permitted by law. When a court of law or other legally authorized body
orders social workers to disclose confidential or privileged information without a
client’s consent and such disclosure could cause harm to the client, social workers
should request that the court withdraw the order or limit the order as narrowly as
possible or maintain the records under seal, unavailable for public inspection.
(k) Social workers should protect the confidentiality of clients when responding to
requests from members of the media.
(l) Social workers should protect the confidentiality of clients’ written and electronic
records and other sensitive information. Social workers should take reasonable steps to
ensure that clients’ records are stored in a secure location and that clients’ records are
not available to others who are not authorized to have access.
(m) Social workers should take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of
electronic communications, including information provided to clients or third parties.
Social workers should use applicable safeguards (such as encryption, firewalls, and
passwords) when using electronic communications such as e-mail, online posts, online
chat sessions, mobile communication, and text messages.
(n) Social workers should develop and disclose policies and procedures for notifying
clients of any breach of confidential information in a timely manner.
(o) In the event of unauthorized access to client records or information, including any
unauthorized access to the social workers electronic communication or storage
systems, social workers should inform clients of such disclosures, consistent with
applicable laws and professional standards.
(p) Social workers should develop and inform clients about their policies, consistent
with prevailing social work ethical standards, on the use of electronic technology,
including Internet-based search engines, to gather information about clients.
(q) Social workers should avoid searching or gathering client information electronically
unless there are compelling professional reasons, and when appropriate, with the
clients informed consent.
(r) Social workers should avoid posting any identifying or confidential information
about clients on professional websites or other forms of social media.
(s) Social workers should transfer or dispose of clients’ records in a manner that protects
clients’ confidentiality and is consistent with applicable laws governing records and
social work licensure.
(t) Social workers should take reasonable precautions to protect client confidentiality in
the event of the social worker’s termination of practice, incapacitation, or death.
(u) Social workers should not disclose identifying information when discussing clients
for teaching or training purposes unless the client has consented to disclosure of
confidential information.
(v) Social workers should not disclose identifying information when discussing clients
with consultants unless the client has consented to disclosure of confidential
information or there is a compelling need for such disclosure.
(w) Social workers should protect the confidentiality of deceased clients consistent with
the preceding standards.
1.08 Access to Records
(a) Social workers should provide clients with reasonable access to records concerning
the clients. Social workers who are concerned that clients’ access to their r
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