More handpicked essays just for you.
Values and ethics of social work
Values and ethics of social work
Values and professional ethics of social work
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
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). Cultural Competence Understanding culture is an important aspect of being a social worker; this does not mean learning common cultural traits is of great significance to the social work profession. “Consider the second-generation Japanese-American social worker whose practice consists of Mexican-American and African-American families. Memorizing national traits or cultural rituals would be interesting and informative, but ultimately these would be an inaccurate basis on which to “know” these particular families” (Dorfman, 1996, p. 33). When understanding cultural competence it is important to learn from the client about their culture in order to serve them in the most helpful and efficient way possible. There is a major drawback to memorizing information, and that is this information will not give you a real understanding of whom your client is and what life... ... middle of paper ... ...culture you need to understand who they are. Memorizing different facts about a culture will not necessarily help you in becoming culturally competent with your clients. The code of ethics is a valuable resource that should be used in order to keep the standards high in the profession of social work. Works Cited Delgado, M. (1999). Social work practice in nontraditional urban settings. New York: Oxford University Press. Dorfman, R. (1996). Clinical social work: Definiton [sic], practice, and vision. New York: Brunner/Mazel Publishers. National Association of Social Workers [NASW]. (2008). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington, DC: NASW Press. 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
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.
It is important to include cultural issues in the helping process to be more effective. We also need cultural competence because the U.S. is becoming more diverse. Therefore with diversity comes different beliefs, norms, and values. Eurocentric values dominate sciences and began cultural universals which puts the clash of dominate and non-dominate cultural behaviors in motion. In 1996 the NASW Code of Ethics increased the recognition of cultural competence. It is important to know diversity exist within ethnic and cultural groups because social workers need to know that relationships between helping professionals and clients may be strained. This happens because of the distrust between groups. Another important aspect is that the professional realizes their own values, biases, and beliefs. The reason for this is because they must value diversity to start with and understand the dynamics of difference. Culturally competent practitioners have to go through developmental process of using their own culture as a starting point to meet all behaviors. Striving for cultural competence is a long term process of development. The literature on cultural competence is theoretical and conceptual. They have not been evaluated in a systematic way. Roughly there are 2 million Native americans in the U.S. Which survive decimating disease, over-repressed in child welfare system, suffer from health problems, and are among the poorest people in the United States. Working with them clearly falls within the social work clearly mandate to serve vulnerable and oppressed clients. However, we do not know how many people from this group is actually receiving help from social workers. Even though it is important to train social workers to provide care in th...
Thompson, N (2005) Understanding Social Work: Preparing for Practice, Palgrave, MacMillan (Second Edition) Hampshire (Supplementary Course Reader)
First, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics Preamble (2008) states, “The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human wellbeing and help meet the basic human needs of all people.” In RCT, the goal is also to enhance wellbeing through the basic need for connection and growth-empowering relationships which is based on mutual empowerment for all people (Banks, Jordan, & Walker, 2011). Further, the NASW (2008) lists their core values to be: “service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence.” All of these values define RCT, because it emphasizes human relationships and the “five good things” (Jordan, 2008, p.2) that promote authenticity, respect, self-esteem, dignity, equality, and acts that promote relationships that empower others for an inclusive society (Banks, Jordan, & Walker,
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...
NASW (2001) Code of Ethics. Cultural Competencies. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on April 9, 2002 at http://www.socialworkers.org
In today’s society were an abundance of resources exist, social workers are often the entry point for people to access services. Therefore, it is imperative for social work professionals to have a clear understanding of themselves in relation to the client from a cultural perspective. While the social work profession has always focused on social justice and oppression it wasn’t until the civil rights movement that there was a conscious shift in the social work pedagogy to focus the social service practice on race, racism, and training the workforce in cultural competences. Later in the mid 1980’s, the tone of cultural competence would shift from race and racism to a more inclusive language, which includes a more robust list of all types of
In today’s society where an abundance of resources exists, social workers are often the entry point for people to access services. Therefore, it is imperative for social worker professionals to have a clear understanding of themselves in relation to the client from a cultural perspective. While the social work profession has always focused on social justice and oppression, it wasn’t until the civil rights movement that there was a conscious shift in the social work pedagogy to focus the social service practice on race, racism, and training the workforce in cultural competences. Later in the mid 1980’s, the tone of cultural competence would shift from race and racism to a more inclusive language, which includes a more robust list of all types
However, Johnson & Munich state that the means by which the social worker learn about the client's life, culture, and circumstances are contradictory to theories of cultural competence. (2009). Furthermore, problems by redefining conventional theories to acknowledge the client's view
Social work practice is a profession where it works alongside the ‘code of ethics’, these consist of formal statements which represent values of the professional community. The national associations such as Britain state the core values within this field are human dignity and worth, social justice, service to humanity (human rights), integrity and competence. The professional field is regulated by the ‘British Association of Social Work’ (BASW). The core values within social work are huma...
Cultural Competence is being able to engage in respectful and effective practice with diverse individuals, families, and communities, preserving their dignity and affirming their worth. A social worker should be aware of their clients’ cultural and environmental contexts, in order to know a client’s strengths, but cultural competence is never fully realized, achieved, or completed, but rather cultural competence is a lifelong process for social workers who will always encounter diverse clients and new situations in their practice. 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. Social workers should obtain education
Cultural competence is the process by which individuals and systems respond respectfully and effectively to people if all cultures, languages, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, religions, and other diversity factors in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values the worth of individuals, families, and communities, and protects and preserves the dignity of each (Berg-Weger, 2013). Cultural competence is a very important skill the social worker needs possess. It will helps the social worker to understand families from different background and help the clients get the resources that fit their own needs. Sometimes the system put clients in a one size fit all category. It can be hard for a client to get the resources they need if they do not
The profession of social work has four distinctive cultural tensions related to culture in the social work literature. Social work is a western construct as it was created with western beliefs and values in an Anglo-American culture. Due to this, most social work literature, theories, and skills were developed
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
Cultural Competency is “the process by which individuals and systems respond respond respectfully and effectively to people of all cultures languages, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, religions, and other diversity factors…” (Sue 24). In order to be culturally competent there are many factors that you must be knowledgeable about and practice in everyday interactions. Some of which include “understanding culture and its function in human behavior and society, ...have a knowledge base of their clients cultures and be able to demonstrate competence…, and obtain education about and seek to understand the nature of social diversity and oppression” (NASW 1999). I will have to know how to understand, interact with, and find the best possible solution for those who are both in my culture and those who come from many other cultures along with socio-economic backgrounds. As I was reading the introduction to Chapter two in our assigned textbooks I could not help but relate with what the content in the book started out at. Saying that all social workers must understand the perspectives of all people gets really overwhelming, especially when starting your path learning about social work. I felt like no person could be completely culturally competent because of the fact that you had to display being accepting and understanding and actually mean it.