Module 7: Values and Ethics in Social Service Practice Flashcards
(38 cards)
What is an Ethical Problem?
Identifying the right thing to do in a given practice situation
What are Ethical Dilemmas?
Choice by the SSW between 2 or more relevant but contradictory directives
What are Ethical Decision Making?
The process of analyzing and assessing the ethical dilemmas of practice in order to develop ethically appropriate professional behaviour
What is Client Self Determination?
The principle that clients have a right to autonomy and freedom of choice to make their own decisions
What is Paternalism?
The act of overriding the autonomous decisions of a person or making decisions for the person with the intention of benefiting the person
What are the elements of Client Self Determination?
- Freedom to choose
- Knowledge and information
- Access to resources
- Control and informed consent
- Involvement in decision making
What are Code of Ethics?
A collection of aspirations, regulations and guidelines that represent the values of a group or profession to which it applies; a complication of ethical standards
What are Ethics?
Branch of philosophy that deals with the rightness or wrongness of human actions
What are Values?
The customs, standards of conduct, and principles considered desirable by a culture, a group of people, or an individual
What are Ethics?
A system of moral principles and perceptions about right versus wrong and the resulting philosophy of conduct that is practised by an individual, group, professional or culture
What are the 8 core values?
- Service
- Social justice
- Dignity and worth of person
- Importance - Human relationships
- Integrity
- Competence
- Human rights
- Scientific inquiry
What are the purposes of the Code of Ethics?
- Protects public (clients) from negligence and malpractice, i.e. a mechanism for accountability
- Educates workers and the public about helping responsibilities
- Enforces standards of practice
- Provides a basis for improving practice
What are the limitations of the Code of Ethics?
- General guidelines, not precise action steps
- Does not always address the increasing complexity and diversity of life in the 21st century
- Opposing values create tension
- Ethical reasoning takes time, courage and effort
- Unethical behaviour may still go undetected
What is confidentiality?
A social worker or social service worker shall protect the confidentiality of all professionally acquired information. He or she shall disclose such information only when required or allowed by law to do so, or when clients have consented to disclosure
What are the 6 legal obligations of helping professional’s?
- Duty of care
- Duty to respect privacy
- Duty to maintain confidentiality
- Duty to inform
- Duty to report
- Duty to warn and protect
What are the limitations to Confidentiality in Ontario?
- Risk of harm to self → suicide
- Risk of harm to others → homicide
- Suspected child abuse
- Elder abuse → the “silent” crime (Ontario only)
- Subpoena for you and/or your records to attend court
What are other professionals and limits to confidentiality?
- Communicable disease (HIV, TB): must be reported to the health department by Doctor/nurse and all contacts must be notified
- Intimate Partner Violence: Police must lay a charge of assault even if the assault person does not want it; SSW must respect the person’s choice since kids not required to report the intimate partner violence
- Domestic violence mandated reportable crime
- Sexual violence is not mandated reportable crime
What is Child Abuse?
Child abuse constitutes all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power.
What is Elder Abuse?
Any action, or deliberate inaction by a person in position of trust which causes harm to an older person. The abuser can be a spouse, child, family member, friends, or paid caregiver
What are the types of Child Abuse?
- Physical
- Emotional
- Sexual
- Neglect
Child up to the age of 16, and including children subject to a child protection order who are 16 and 17 years old
What are the types of Elder Abuse?
- Physical
- Emotional/Verbal
- Sexual
- Neglect
- Financial: theft, fraud (e.g. title and mortgage fraud, forgery), improper use of Power of Attorney (POA) for Property (e.g. withdraw money for self)
Under the Ontario Child Abuse Law (under 16), what does the Child and Family Services Act (CFSA) require?
- Requires immediate mandatory reporting to Children’s Aid Society (CAS) of any suspected abuse or neglect
- CAS Intake worker gathers information
- If severe, CAS worker must meet with family and child within 12 hours (police and hospital often involved)
- Less serious cases: investigate within 30 days
What are the Ontario Elder Abuse Legislations?
• The Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 (LTCHA)
- Mandatory reporting if the person resides in a Nursing Home, i.e. Long Term Care (LTC) Home
- Report to the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC) 1-866-434-0144
• Substitute Decisions Act
- Voluntary reporting in particular circumstances if the older adult is not mentally capable
• The Retirement Residence Bill 21
- Promotes zero tolerance of abuse and neglect of residents/tenant but no mandatory reporting
What are the 3 criteria for informed consent?
- Capacity
- Comprehension of information
- Voluntary
