NASW Code of Ethics
The code of ethics of NASW has a set of ethical standards, values, and principles for guiding the conduct of clinical social workers and counselors while discharging their duties. It providers standards of ethical practice to followed by social workers in the event of conflicting and uncertainties in their professional obligations. It further provides standards for assessing whether the social worker has been engaged in unethical conduct in discharging their responsibilities. NASW Code of ethics provides a formal way and procedures for adjudicating ethics complaints against its members (Barsky, 2017). However, like most other professionals, the NASW code of ethics has no universal values, standards, and principles for solving all ethical challenges and this presents a dilemma to the social workers. Ethical areas are posing great challenges to social workers including how dealing with differences in personal values between the social worker and their clients and dealing with confidentiality of information involving minors.
Differences in Personal Values
There are differences in personal values between people and this also extends to the social work profession. NASW code of ethics demands all clinical social workers to understand and comply and incorporate cultural and religious values in caring for their parents. The differences can emanate from differences in cultural and social values, religious beliefs, differences in sexual orientation, etc. between the social worker and his or her clients. Social workers are serving clients from any backgrounds should be ready to assist clients whose personal moral beliefs differ with that of a social worker. It is possible that the nature of assistance required by the clients could conflict personal moral beliefs of the social worker.
Example
For example, an expectant woman may ask her social worker to help in securing her in securing an abortion. Such a scenario may conflict with the religious belief of the social worker and could face a dilemma in making the decision. The worker is torn between offering the requested services to maintain the sound relationship with clients or standing with their moral and Christian values against an abortion. Compelled by their moral beliefs, the social worker may ask the client to consider other options instead of procurement an abortion. However, the social worker is ultimately compelled to consider the policy statement of NASW on family planning and reproductive health. The statement supports the clients to make their own decision regarding their reproduction and sexuality. In particular, the state bans on abortion after six weeks of conception when the fetal heartbeat and abortion can only be secured to save the life of the mother. Therefore, even though Iowa State laws on sexual and reproduction health give women the right to decide on their sexual and reproductive health; this does not extend to procuring an abortion. Based on the state law, the clinical social is advised to stand with their stand on not facilitating an abortion unless the client proves that her life is in grave danger if continued with gestation to delivery.
Confidentiality of Information involving Minors
The universal law protects the privacy and confidentiality of client information and this also applies in the social work profession. The confidentiality law compels clinical social workers to maintain the confidentiality of the client’s information (Benjamin, Ishimine, Joseph, & Mehta, 2018). The NASW Code of ethics requires strict confidentiality of information shared between social workers and their clients, and also involve information gathered from minors. However, certain situations may compel the social worker to share certain information with a third party. Depending and federal and states laws, minors may not have these confidentiality rights in some situations especially of the disclosure will enable the clinical social worker to improve their health outcomes.
Example
An example is when a minor disclose that to abusing drugs and alcohol to the counselor and explicitly requests the counselor to keep the information to confidential. In this case, the counselor faces a common challenge involving counseling the minors. The counselor’s dilemma is whether or not to disclose this sensitive information given by the minor to his parents (Benjamin, Ishimine, Joseph, & Mehta, 2018). The other challenging scenarios include information on pregnancy, contraception use, the abortion decision, and sexual activity. In these situations, the ethical obligation of the social worker’s not simple. While minors are entitled to confidentiality right albeit with some limitations, parents also have a right to know information concerning majors risks their children are facing. In this regard, social workers have to share with parents important information involving the safety of children. The social also need trust from their minor clients to be able to extract relevant information for their treatment.
Recommendations
Given these dilemmas, the following recommendation is relevant in making ethical decisions. The social worker is expected to follow the NASW code of ethics on the confidentiality of the client. The pertinent one includes keeping all information from the client confidential unless for compelling professional reasons (Lang-Anttila, 2017). However, the Iowa state laws permit the social worker to apply professional judgment in deciding on whether or not to inform the parents about their children’s drug and alcohol abuse problem. The social worker is therefore permitted by the state law to professionally exercise their discretion to determine whether disclosing such confidential information will serve the best interest of the minor or would adversely affect his or her efforts of helping the minor.
Conclusion
The code of ethics of NASW has a set of guiding ethical standards, values, and principles for clinical social workers and counselors while discharging their duties. The NASW Code of ethics has no universal values, standards, and principles for solving all ethical challenges and this presents a dilemma to the social workers. Several examples including clients request to secure an abortion and request never to disclose confidential information given by the minor present some common challenges to the clinical dilemmas. In dealing with these dilemmas, Federal and state laws need to follow to the later by the clinical social workers in resolving these types of dilemmas when they contradict to NASW code of ethics.
References
Barsky, A. (2017). Ethics alive! The 2017 NASW Code of Ethics: What’s new. New Social Worker. Retrieved from http://www. socialworker. com/feature-articles/ethics-articles/the-2017-nasw-code-of-ethics-whats-new.
Benjamin, L., Ishimine, P., Joseph, M., & Mehta, S. (2018). Evaluation and treatment of minors. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 71(2), 225-232.
Lang-Anttila, M. (2017). Ethical Dilemmas for Social Workers Utilizing NASW Code of Ethics in Rural K-12 Public Schools.