Values and Ethics

in Social Work

The Nature of Values

A value is a type of belief, centrally located
in ones total belief system, about how
one ought, or ought not to behave, or
about some end-state of existence worth
or not worth attaining.

The Nature of Values

Instrumental Values: How we should or
should not behave
Provide the moral or ethical guidelines
that help determine how we conduct our
lives, and as social workers, how we
perform our work.

The Nature of Values

Terminal Values: Reflects the bottom line of
what we want to accomplish.

The Difficulty of Dealing with Values

Values are such a central part of our
thought processes that we often are not
consciously aware of them and therefore
are unable to identity their influence on
our decisions.

The Difficulty of Dealing with Values

A person may be forced to choose among
values that are in conflict with one
another. This is known as a value
conflict.

The Difficulty of Dealing with Values

Addressing values in the abstract may be
quite different from applying them in a
real-life situation.

The Difficulty of Dealing with Values

Values are problematic because they
change over time.

The Place of Values in Social Work

Values clarification is an important aspect
of social work practice.
Social workers must be concerned with
his or her own values , and control for
inappropriate intrusion into practice
situations. This is known as value
suspension.

Values Held by Social Workers

Commitment to the primary importance of
the individual in society.
Commitment to social change to meet
socially recognized needs.
Commitment to social justice and the
economic, physical, and mental wellbeing of all in society.

Values Held by Social Workers

Respect and appreciation for individual
and group differences.
Commitment to developing clients ability
to help themselves.
Willingness to transmit knowledge and
skills to others.
Respect for confidentiality of relationship
with clients.

Values Held by Social Workers

Willingness to keep personal feelings and
needs separate from professional
relationships.
Willingness to persist in efforts on behalf
of clients despite frustration.
Commitment to a high standard of
personal and professional conduct.

Areas of Practice Addressed by the

NASW Code of Ethics
Standards related to the social workers
ethical responsibility to clients.
The social workers ethical responsibility
to colleagues.
The social workers ethical
responsibilities in practice settings.

Areas of Practice Addressed by the

NASW Code of Ethics
The social workers ethical
responsibilities as a professional.
The social workers ethical responsibility
to the social work profession.
The social workers ethical
responsibilities to the broader society.

Competencies Required
For
Social Work
Practice

Competencies Related to
Interpersonal Helping

Self-awareness and the ability to use self in

facilitating change.
Knowledge of the psychology of giving and
receiving help.
Ability to establish professional helping
relationships.
Understanding differing ethnic and cultural
patterns, as well as the capacity to engage in
ethnic-gender-, and age-sensitive practice.

Competencies Related to
Interpersonal Helping
Knowledge and application of the Code of
Ethics as a guide to ethical practice.
General understanding of individual and
family behavior patterns.
Skill in client information gathering.
Ability to analyze client information and
identify both the strengths and problems
evident in a practice situation.

Competencies Related to
Interpersonal Helping
Capacity to counsel, problem solve,
and/or engage in conflict resolution with
clients.
Possession of expertise in guiding the
change process.

Competencies Related to
Professional Development
Ability to be introspective and critically
evaluate ones own practice.
Ability to make use of consultation.
Ability to consume and extend
professional knowledge.

Frequently Used Social Work

Competencies
Case Planning and Maintenance
Individual and Family Treatment
Delivery System Knowledge Development
Staff Information Exchange
Risk Assessment and Transition Services
Staff Supervision

Case Planning and Maintenance

Expertise in service planning and
monitoring
Ability to carry out the employing
agencys programs and operating
procedures
Knowledge of clients background factors
Skills in interagency coordination
Ability to engage in case advocacy

Individual and Family Treatment

Sufficient knowledge of human
development to make in-depth
psychosocial assessments.
In-depth knowledge of family functioning.
Skill in the selection and application of
individual and/or family treatment
modalities.

Delivery System Knowledge

Development
Ability to maintain up-to-date knowledge
of a variety of human service programs.
Skills in building interagency coordination
and linkage.

Staff Information Exchange

Ability to prepare and consume written
and oral presentations regarding agency
programs.
Capacity to facilitate staff members
ability to make decisions and resolve
problems.
Ability to facilitate interdisciplinary
collaboration.

Risk Assessment and Transition

Services
Ability to apply general systems and/or
ecosystems theory when assessing
factors affecting a practice situation.
Skill in engaging clients in examining
problems in social functioning.
Skill in utilizing social work assessment
techniques.

Risk Assessment and Transition

Services Continued
Skill in the use of crisis intervention.
Ability to facilitate client transitions
between services and/or to terminate
service.

Staff Supervision
Knowledge of the literature regarding the
supervisory process.
Capacity to facilitate the work of
supervisees.
Ability to conduct worker evaluation and
professional development.

Prevention:
The
Future of
Social Work

Three Stages of Prevention

Primary Prevention

Secondary Prevention

Tertiary Prevention

Three Stages of Prevention

Primary Prevention
Actions taken prior to the onset of a
problem to intercept its cause or to
modify its course before a person is
involved.
It is the elimination of the noxious agent at
its source.

Three Stages of Prevention

Secondary Prevention
Involves prompt efforts to curtail and stop
the disease in the affected persons and
the spreading of the disease to others.

Three Stages of Prevention

Tertiary Prevention
Involves rehabilitative efforts to reduce the
residual effects of the illness, that is,
reducing the duration and disabling
severity of the disease.

Advocacy
The social worker advocate is one who is
his/her clients supporter, advisor,
champion, and if need be, representative
in his/her dealings with the court, the
police, the social agency, and other
organizations that affect his/her wellbeing.
This is Individual advocacy.

Advocacy

The social worker advocate is one who identifies

with the plight of the disadvantaged. He/she
sees as his/her primary responsibility the toughminded and partisan representation of their
interests, and this supersedes his/her fealty to
others. This role inevitably requires that the
practitioner function as a political tactician.
This is advocacy on behalf of a group or class of
people.

Empowerment
Empowerment is a process whereby
persons who belong to a stigmatized
social category throughout their lives can
be assisted to develop and increase skills
in the exercise of interpersonal influence
and the performance of valued roles.

Network
Network is the process of developing
multiple interconnections and chain
reactions among support systems.
Personal networking
Networking for mutual aid and self-help
Human service organization networking
Networking with communities for
community empowerment

Class Action Social Work

A forensic social work/legal profession
collaborative litigation activity involving
social work concerns, with the goal of
obtaining a favorable court ruling that will
benefit the social welfare of a specific
group of persons.

Examples of Class Action Social Work

Serrano v. Priest: Argued that the quality of
a childs education should not be
dependent on the wealth of a school
district.

Examples of Class Action Social Work

Nicacio v. United States INS: Hispanic
plaintiffs who were exhibiting psychiatric
symptoms, allegedly caused by stressful
interrogations conducted by patrol
officers of the United States INS.

Reference
Morales, A.T. & Sheafor, B.W. (2004). Social work: A profession of many faces. Boston:
Allyn and Bacon.