Social Worker and Their Code of Ethics

According to the Preamble of the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers, “the primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human wellbeing 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.” National Association of Social Workers. (approved 1996, revised 1999, 2008). Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington, DC: Author. The ethical considerations of the Bruff Case as presented by Hermann and Herlihy (2006), are clearly defined and set forth Code of Ethics; additionally, the Code provides guidance to counselors on dealing with issues which might give rise to a violation due to a conflict of beliefs.

First and foremost, within the spirit of social work and the stated purpose of the Code of Ethics, social workers should not impose their personal religious or cultural beliefs on anymore. In fact, the 2008 Revision of the Code of Ethics including Section 4.02 on Discrimination, which reads in pertinent part, “social workers should not practice, condone, facilitate, or collaborate with any form of discrimination.” Cultural competence and social diversity are needed to insure that the social worker goes into every situation open-minded as a means of preventing the personal life and beliefs of the social worker to affect the performance of her duties to a client. Cultural competence and social diversity can also be said to allow “room for individual differences within [a] group.” Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2013, p. 397. “One of the major values adhered to in social work is that each individual has the right to self-determination.” Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2013, ...

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...other qualified professional social workers. The Procedures Manual sets forth that a social worker may submit an official request for professional review (RPR) when he or she believes that their actions with a client may have violated the Code of Ethics. NASW Procedures for Peer Review, Chapter 1 (2012).

References

Kirst-Ashman, & K. K. Zastrow, C., (2013, Ninth Edition). Understanding human behavior and the social environment. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole. Chapters 9 & 13, pp. 397-439 & 579-610.

National Association of Social Workers. (approved 1996, revised 1999, 2008). Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington, DC: Author.

National Association of Social Workers. (revised 1/2012). Procedures for Professional Review. Washington, DC: Author.

Frederic G Reamer, Social Work Malpractice and Liability: Strategies for Prevention (2003)