NASW Code of Ethics
Social workers’ primary goal is to help people in need and to address social problems is what VALUE
Service
Social workers practice within their areas of competence and develop and enhance their professional expertise.
Social workers continually strive to increase their professional knowledge and skills and to apply them in practice. Social workers should aspire to contribute to the knowledge base of the profession.
Competence
Social workers should demonstrate understanding of culture and its function in human behavior and society, recognizing the strengths that exist in all cultures.
Cultural Competence
Social workers should understand culture and its function in human behavior and society, recognizing the strengths that exist in all cultures.
Cultural Awareness and Social Diversity
Social workers understand the value base of the profession and its ethical standards, as well as relevant policies, laws, and regulations that may affect practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior
Social workers challenge social injustice. Social workers pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people.
Social Justice
What was added to Ethical Principle and Value of Integrity in 2021
Social workers should take measures to care for themselves professionally and personally.
Self Care :)
Social workers' primary responsibility is to promote the well-being of clients. In general, clients' interests are primary.
Commitment to Clients
Social workers should be alert to and avoid conflicts of interest that interfere with the exercise of professional discretion and impartial judgment.
Conflicts of Interest
Social workers understand that every person regardless of position in society has fundamental human rights. Social workers are knowledgeable about the global intersecting and ongoing injustices throughout history that result in oppression and racism, including social work’s role and response.
Advance Human Rights and Social, Racial, Economic, and Environmental Justice
Social workers treat each person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual differences and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers promote clients’ socially responsible self-determination. Social workers seek to enhance clients’ capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own needs.
Dignity and Worth of the Person
What does the acronym NASW stand for ?
National Association of Social Workers
Social workers respect and promote the right of clients to self-determination and assist clients in their efforts to identify and clarify their goals.
Self-Determination
Social workers should not solicit private information from or about clients except for compelling professional reasons.
Privacy and Confidentiality
Social workers understand how racism and oppression shape human experiences and how these two constructs influence practice at the individual, family, group, organizational, and community levels and in policy and research.
Engage Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI) in Practice
Social workers understand that relationships between and among people are an important vehicle for change. Social workers engage people as partners in the helping process. Social workers seek to strengthen relationships among people in a purposeful effort to promote, restore, maintain, and enhance the well-being of individuals, families, social groups, organizations, and communities.
Importance of Human Relationships
What is called when ethics are compromised or code of ethics must be used to determine next actions?
Ethical Dilemma
Social workers should use clear and understandable language to inform clients of the purpose of the services, risks related to the services, limits to services because of the requirements of a third-party payer, relevant costs, reasonable alternatives, clients' right to refuse or withdraw consent, and the time frame covered by the consent. Social workers should provide clients with an opportunity to ask questions.
Informed Consent
Social workers should develop and inform clients about their policies, consistent with prevailing social work ethical standards, on the use of technology to provide clients with access to their records.
Access to records
Social workers use ethical, culturally informed, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive approaches in conducting research and building knowledge. Social workers use research to inform their practice decision making and articulate how their practice experience informs research and evaluation decisions.
Engage in Practice-Informed Research and Research-Informed Practice
Social workers behave in a trustworthy manner.
Social workers are continually aware of the profession’s mission, values, ethical principles, and ethical standards and practice in a manner consistent with them.
Integrity
What did most of the 2021 changes to the NASW Code of Ethics address?
Technology and/or Self-Care
Social workers should provide services and represent themselves as competent only within the boundaries of their education, training, license, certification, consultation received, supervised experience, or other relevant professional experience.
Competence
Social workers should under no circumstances engage in sexual activities, inappropriate sexual communications through the use of technology or in person, or sexual contact with current clients, whether such contact is consensual or forced
Sexual Relationships
Social workers understand that engagement is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with and on behalf of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities