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Advanced Generalist Seminar. Professional Values and Ethics September 23, 2003. VALUES AND ETHICS. “ Values are concerned with what is good and desirable, while ethics deal with what is right and correct”-Loewenberg & Dolgoff (1996)
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Advanced Generalist Seminar Professional Values and Ethics September 23, 2003
VALUES AND ETHICS • “Values are concerned with what is good and desirable, while ethics deal with what is right and correct”-Loewenberg & Dolgoff (1996) • Our professional values reflect larger societal values…”general preferences” rather than specific directives
Professional Ethics • Provide guidelines about how we can translate our values into action • Provide direction about how people ought to act • Ethics are more specific, demanding and potentially controversial
Dignity & worth of each individual Client self determination Respect for diversity Provide resources and opportunities for self actualization Empowerment of clients Promote social justice Safeguard confidentiality Respect colleagues Accept responsibility for own professional conduct Highlights of SW Values
Legal Responsibility • Social work is a socially mandated profession that has been given authority to perform certain functions for the community and prohibited from performing others • With this authority comes legal responsibility
Fiduciary Responsibility • Responsibility human service professionals have to their clients • We have specialized knowledge & skills our clients do not possess
Three Key Areas of Responsibility • Right to Confidentiality-info cannot be revealed without consent • Duty to Tell the Truth • Concept of Loyalty-client’s interests first
Gather & Assess Info Separate the Practice Considerations & the Ethical Considerations Identify value tensions Identify principles in the Code of Ethics Identify possible courses of action Assess which obligation deserves priority and justify the course of action Resolution & Reflection Analyzing Ethical Dilemmas
In Summary…. • Ethical decision-making should be afforded the rigor of “practice decisions”…move away from intuitive decision-making • Guides offer a structured approach to analyzing ethical dilemmas • Consult with colleagues who’s judgement you trust