Abstract
What is a code of ethics? A code of ethics is a set of guidelines to help professionals in a business work honestly and appropriately throughout all aspects of their occupation. Each profession has a “code of ethics” they must follow. The two codes of ethics that will be discussed are the code of ethics for the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the American School Counseling Association’s (ASCA) ethical standards. The primary purpose of National Association of Social Workers (2008) is “to help meet the needs of people depending on their current situation, whether that is poverty, vulnerability, etc.” (NASW Delegate Assembly). Whereas according to the American School Counselor Association (2010), the main focus for
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school counselors is to “address the areas of academic, career, and social/personal with all students.” A comparison and contrast of the two codes will be discussed. In doing this, one hopes to give someone a better understanding of the NASW and ASCA code of ethics. Introduction The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) is “a professional organization for school counselors that have the qualifications and skills to meet students’ needs in the areas of academic, career, and social/personal” (American School Counselor Association, 2010). According to the American School Counselor Association (2010), members of this program that have to abide by the ethical standards are certified/licensed school counselors, directors or supervisors of school counseling programs, school counselors in training, and school counselor educators. School counselors must maintain professional ethical relationships with a variety of personnel within the school system. The ethical standards for ASCA have been broken down into sections on how a school counselor should maintain ethical behavior within a school system and with whom. According to the American School Counselor Association (2010), these ethical standards addresses how a school counselor should professionally behave with students, parents/guardians, colleagues and professional associates, school communities and families, self, profession, and maintenance of standards (American School Counselor Association). Also, it addresses different sections among working with the personnel which include: “confidentiality, dual relationships, appropriate referrals, group work, danger to self or others, student records, evaluation, assessment and interpretation, technology, student peer support program, parent rights and responsibilities, parents/guardians and confidentiality, professional relationships, sharing information with other professionals, collaborating and educating around the role of the school counselor, responsibilities to the school, responsibility to the community, professional competence, multicultural and social justice advocacy and leadership, professionalism, contribution to the profession, supervision of school counselor candidates pursuing practicum and internship, and maintenance of ethical behavior”( American School Counselor Association, 2010). The National Association of Social Workers’ main purpose “is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic needs of all people by focusing those aspects in a social or societal context” (NASW Delegate Assembly, 2008).
According to NASW Delegate Assembly (2008), social work bases its profession on a set of core values. These core values include: service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence (NASW Delegate Assembly, 2008). Social workers like school counselors have to follow a set of professional guidelines. These are known as “the code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers.” The NASW serves six main purposes for their code of ethics. According to the National Association of Social Workers (2008), these purposes are: “1) identifying core values on which social work’s mission is based, 2) summarizes broad ethical principles that reflects the profession’s core values and have a set of specific ethical standards that should be used to guide social work practice, 3) help social workers identify relevant considerations when professional conflict or ethical issues arise, 4) provide ethical standards where the general public can hold social work profession accountable, 5) helps bring understanding to people new to the field of social work’s mission, values, ethical principles, and ethical standards, 6) it expresses standards so that the social work profession itself can use this to assess whether social workers have engaged in unethical behavior” (NASW Delegate Assembly, 2008). Social workers must maintain professional ethical behavior toward a variety of activities. These activities include: “1) ethical responsibility to clients, 2) ethical responsibility to colleagues, 3) ethical responsibility in practice settings, 4) ethical responsibility as professions, 5) ethical responsibility to the social work profession, and 6) ethical responsibility to the broader society” (NASW
Delegate Assembly, 2008). Along with maintaining ethical behavior among these different sections, there are also issues addressed within these sections that are important to understand and follow. These issues addressed are: “informed consent, competence, cultural competence and social diversity, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, access to records, sexual relationships, physical contact, sexual harassment, derogatory language, payment for services, interruption of services, termination of services, respect, disputes involving colleagues, consultation, referral services, unethical conduct of colleagues, supervision, education and training, billing, etc.”(NASW Delegate Assembly, 2008). Although the American School Counselor Association and the National Association of Social Work are two different professions they do hold some similarities. Both the ASCA and NASW discuss the importance of the different persons they will be working with. For example, both discuss ways to interact and ethically behave with colleagues within their profession. As well as, the proper steps to take if one witnesses a colleague being unethical. ASCA (2010) states that when necessary one may have to make referrals to outside sources, which is in the best interest of the student and/or family (American School Counselor Association, 2010). In comparison, the NASW states that a social worker should refer to other professionals to make sure they are serving their clients fully if additional services are needed (NASW Delegate Assembly, 2008). Both the American School Counselor Association and the National Association of Social Work state the importance of confidentiality with their clients and how to properly disclose the limits of confidentiality to their clients. Other similarities that were found between the two codes of ethics are having responsibilities of being ethical with outside sources such as the community and being ethical as professions in this occupation. Lastly, another similarity discovered was competence within both professions. According to the American School Counselor Association (2010), maintaining professional competence means one understands their boundaries and stays within their training, as well as staying updated on research and things that change within school counseling (American School Counselor Association). Also, the National Association of Social Work states that a social worker should only practice within their training, education, and boundaries, and be accountable of their actions that take place (NASW Delegate Assembly, 2008). Although there are many similarities between ASCA and NASW, there are also many differences as well. One very obvious difference is the professions themselves. A school counselor and a social worker have many different duties they uphold with different sets of populations. Also, the American School Counselor Association states that a school counselor helps students meet the needs in four core areas: academic, career, social and personal (American School Counselor Association, 2010). In contrast, the National Association of Social Works’ main aim is to “enhance human well-being and help them function better on their own” (NASW Delegate Assembly, 2008). Another difference between ASCA and NASW is how each profession is paid through these different occupations. For example, a school counselor is salary based by the school district they work for. Whereas, a social worker may work for a company where they get paid by billable hours, which means one only gets paid if they see their clients and they are billable according to Medicaid. Conclusion To sum up, the American School Counselor Association and the National Association of Social Work do have many resemblances and differences. However, it is important to understand why there are different codes of ethics for different professions. These codes of ethics set the standards of what is acceptable and not acceptable in that profession. With these standards being set, it helps professionals be able to do their job more appropriately and thoroughly within an organized manner.
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 NASW (National Association of Social Workers) 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 mission and core values of the social work profession. 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 affect social work practice. The final section, "Ethical Standards," includes specific ethical standards
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.
As a student new to social work, The Code of Ethics written by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is in the forefront of my mind whenever practicing my freshly learned skills. According to the Code, these rules were written as the “values, principles, and standards to guide social workers’ conduct” (Code of Ethics - NASW, n.d.). Within my most-recent session, certain aspects of this code were relevant, including informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, a commitment to the client, the dignity and worth of a person, the importance of human relationships, integrity and competency of the worker, and social diversity.
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 [NASW]. (1998). The New NASW Code of Ethics Can Be Your Ally: Part I. Retrieved from: http://www.naswma.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=96
I attribute this by our consent interaction with the NASW: Code of Ethics in our social work courses. By the use of journals, it is easy for students to connect ethical issues to practice and know what to do in certain situations. As I am getting ready to become a social worker, keeping this ethical principles fresh in my mind will be important to assure clients are treated with respect and adequate services are provide.
The NASW Code of Ethics associated on October 30, 1960 and amended on April 11, 1967 is intended to serve as a guide to the everyday professional conduct of social workers. The primary mission is to increase human well-being and to help meet the needs of all people. From reading about Social Work and hearing people talk about their jobs as a Social Worker, it is often challenging, yet a rewarding career. They are responsible for helping individuals, families, and groups of people cope with problems they are facing to improve their patients’ lives. Social Work staff should be trained, competent and qualified to deliver social services to those facing life crises. NASW believes that all social service agencies must adhere to accreditation standards, licensing laws, and other regulatory mechanisms that protect consumers and ensure quality service delivery. The mission of the social work profession is established deeply in a setoff core values. Social Workers support these values throughout their profession:
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 six core values that are described in the Code of Ethics by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) are social justice, service, importance of human relationships, dignity and worth of a person, integrity, and competence. According to the NASW (2016), these core values are the foundation for the purpose of the social work profession. It is essential for social work professionals to be able to put aside their personal values, and embody these core values when working with clients.
National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington DC: Author.
"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 well-being 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" (NASW code of ethics).
Ethics consists of factors such as culture, religion, and these continuously affect a person’s beliefs and ethics. As individuals continue to develop and adapt to different values and ethics. This is through past experiences and the expectations as our life pattern changes. Core values in social work practice are the code of ethics, informing our understanding of the difference and diversity. The social work profession is evaluated by a whole set of guidelines, measures put in place by regulatory bodies, allowing the movement to put in place new governmental laws and guides within this field.
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
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