Social work ethics

Abstract

English This article compares and contrasts two main areas of the Australian and US codes of ethics for social workers. These have been selected for comparison because recent revisions in their provisions about dual relationships and confidentiality raise challenging questions about acceptable practice standards. French Cet article compare et contraste deux grands domaines des codes d'éthique pour les travailleurs sociaux d'Australie et des Etats-Unis. Ces deux codes d'éthique ont été sélectionnés pour comparaison en raison de leurs récentes révisions aux niveaux des 'relations doubles' et de la confidentialité. Ces questions posent des défis de taille quant aux normes de pratiques acceptables. Spanish Se comparan dos áreas principales de los códigos de trabajo social de Australia y de los Estados Unidos. Se eligieron estos dos códigos para comparación porque sus revisiones recientes acerca de relaciones duales y de secreto profesional suscitan cuestiones difíciles acerca de estándares aceptables.

Risky Business: Applying Ethical Standards to Social Media Use with Vulnerable Populations

“…The NASW Code of Ethics dates back to 1960 and includes 14 statements on best practices in social work (Congress & McAuliffe, 2006). Last revised in 2008, the NASW Code of Ethics has evolved to feature ethical principles valued by the profession and ethical standards of practice, each outlining behavioral expectations, reporting requirements, professional obligations, and responsibilities that social workers have to broader society (NASW, 2008).…”

“…To update the NASW Code of Ethics, approval is required from its Delegate Assembly. Consisting of elected NASW members, the Delegate Assembly meets every three years to approve policies and revisions proposed by the association (Congress & McAuliffe, 2006).…”

Moral distress as experienced by hospital social workers in South Korea and Australia

“…Using a normative philosophical conceptualisation, social work is arguably moral work because members of the profession are committed to a certain moral schema reflected in the shared and socially agreed to values of social justice and respect for people regardless of differences in individual moral beliefs (Cooper, 1966;Gray 2010). While recognising that there are variations between social work codes of ethics, cultures and contexts, shared values are reflected in these codes where they have been developed (Banks, 2012;Congress & McAuliffe, 2006;Fine & Teram, 2009).…”

Special Issue: Ethics in Couple and Family Therapy

“…How might empathic alertness and responsiveness guide me in principled action? These questions may lead us to the same outcome of the 'rule,' but we come to the outcome via self and relational engagement rather than compliance, which only carries us so far (Bowden & Smyth, 2008;Congress & McAuliffe, 2006).…”