The National Association of Social Workers has a code of ethics used to guide the actions of social workers. The ethical code gives the workers guidance in their everyday work with clients as well as promotes the mission of social work. Social workers who fail to abide by the code of conduct may face disciplinary hearings or lose their license.
The social worker’s foremost responsibility is to his clients. He must explain the function and extent of the services he offers. Social workers should only use recognized standards of service with clients, and only use techniques in which they have training. Any information shared with a third party must have the signed consent of the client. The social worker must respect the client’s privacy. If the social worker shares information with his client from the client’s record, the social worker must interpret any data the client doesn’t understand. At no time should a social worker enter into a sexual relationship with a client or a member of the client’s family. The social worker’s fee schedule should be easy to understand and fair for all his clients. The social worker must also take into consideration the ability of his client to pay his fees.
The social worker must make every effort to show respect for his co-workers. When a situation calls for collaboration, social workers on the team must respect the privacy of their clients. Consultations and referrals may be necessary. In those cases, the social worker must obtain the client’s consent to share pertinent information with the new service providers. If a social worker sees a colleague behaving outside the realm of acceptable behavior, it is his responsibility to report his colleague to the appropriate regulatory body in his state of residence.
Supervisors and social work educators are responsible for providing their colleagues with the most recent information and training practices in their field. When working as educators, the teacher must not use the real names of any clients as examples. Within the practice, supervisors are in charge of billing, client records, client transfers and dealing with outside agencies in an appropriate manner.
Once a social worker begins a job, he has an ethical responsibility to continue his education to stay current within his field. At no time should a social worker demonstrate any form of discrimination, nor should he participate in any form of deception, fraud or dishonesty. The social worker should work to promote and maintain the code of ethics established in his state. Any research performed by the social worker should follow acceptable industry standards and should recognize all sources of information.
- Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images