Nasw code of ethics pdf download 2019

This may include providing clients with a detailed verbal explanation or arranging for a qualified interpreter or translator whenever possible. In such instances social workers should seek to ensure that the third party acts in a manner consistent with clients' wishes and interests.

Social workers should take reasonable steps to enhance such clients' ability to give informed consent. If clients do not wish to use services provided through technology, social workers should help them identify alternate methods of service. Exceptions may arise when the search is for purposes of protecting the client or other people from serious, foreseeable, and imminent harm, or for other compelling professional reasons.

This includes an understanding of the special communication challenges when using technology and the ability to implement strategies to address these challenges. Social workers must take action against oppression, racism, discrimination, and inequities, and acknowledge personal privilege.

Social workers should assess cultural, environmental, economic, mental or physical ability, linguistic, and other issues that may affect the delivery or use of these services. Social workers should inform clients when a real or potential conflict of interest arises and take reasonable steps to resolve the issue in a manner that makes the clients' interests primary and protects clients' interests to the greatest extent possible.

In some cases, protecting clients' interests may require termination of the professional relationship with proper referral of the client. In instances when dual or multiple relationships are unavoidable, social workers should take steps to protect clients and are responsible for setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries.

Dual or multiple relationships occur when social workers relate to clients in more than one relationship, whether professional, social, or business.

Dual or multiple relationships can occur simultaneously or consecutively. Social workers who anticipate a conflict of interest among the individuals receiving services or who anticipate having to perform in potentially conflicting roles for example, when a social worker is asked to testify in a child custody dispute or divorce proceedings involving clients should clarify their role with the parties involved and take appropriate action to minimize any conflict of interest. Social workers should be aware that involvement in electronic communication with groups based on race, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, mental or physical ability, religion, immigration status, and other personal affiliations may affect their ability to work effectively with particular clients.

Social workers should not solicit private information from or about clients except for compelling professional reasons. Once private information is shared, standards of confidentiality apply. The general expectation that social workers will keep information confidential does not apply when disclosure is necessary to prevent serious, foreseeable, and imminent harm to a client or others.

In all instances, social workers should disclose the least amount of confidential information necessary to achieve the desired purpose; only information that is directly relevant to the purpose for which the disclosure is made should be revealed. This applies whether social workers disclose confidential information on the basis of a legal requirement or client consent. Social workers should review with clients circumstances where confidential information may be requested and where disclosure of confidential information may be legally required.

This discussion should occur as soon as possible in the social worker-client relationship and as needed throughout the course of the relationship. This agreement should include consideration of whether confidential information may be exchanged in person or electronically, among clients or with others outside of formal counseling sessions. Social workers should inform participants in family, couples, or group counseling that social workers cannot guarantee that all participants will honor such agreements.

Social workers should not discuss confidential information in public or semi-public areas such as hallways, waiting rooms, elevators, and restaurants. When a court of law or other legally authorized body orders social workers to disclose confidential or privileged information without a client's consent and such disclosure could cause harm to the client, social workers should request that the court withdraw the order or limit the order as narrowly as possible or maintain the records under seal, unavailable for public inspection.

Social workers should take reasonable steps to ensure that clients' records are stored in a secure location and that clients' records are not available to others who are not authorized to have access.

Social workers should use applicable safeguards such as encryption, firewalls, and passwords when using electronic communications such as e-mail, online posts, online chat sessions, mobile communication, and text messages. Social workers who are concerned that clients' access to their records could cause serious misunderstanding or harm to the client should provide assistance in interpreting the records and consultation with the client regarding the records.

Social workers should limit clients' access to their records, or portions of their records, only in exceptional circumstances when there is compelling evidence that such access would cause serious harm to the client. Both clients' requests and the rationale for withholding some or all of the record should be documented in clients' files. Sexual activity or sexual contact with clients' relatives or other individuals with whom clients maintain a personal relationship has the potential to be harmful to the client and may make it difficult for the social worker and client to maintain appropriate professional boundaries.

Social workers--not their clients, their clients' relatives, or other individuals with whom the client maintains a personal relationship--assume the full burden for setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries.

If social workers engage in conduct contrary to this prohibition or claim that an exception to this prohibition is warranted because of extraordinary circumstances, it is social workers--not their clients--who assume the full burden of demonstrating that the former client has not been exploited, coerced, or manipulated, intentionally or unintentionally.

Providing clinical services to a former sexual partner has the potential to be harmful to the individual and is likely to make it difficult for the social worker and individual to maintain appropriate professional boundaries. Social workers should not engage in physical contact with clients when there is a possibility of psychological harm to the client as a result of the contact such as cradling or caressing clients.

Social workers who engage in appropriate physical contact with clients are responsible for setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries that govern such physical contact. Social workers should not sexually harass clients. Sexual harassment includes sexual advances; sexual solicitation; requests for sexual favors; and other verbal, written, electronic, or physical contact of a sexual nature.

Social workers should not use derogatory language in their written, verbal, or electronic communications to or about clients. Social workers should use accurate and respectful language in all communications to and about clients. Consideration should be given to clients' ability to pay. Bartering arrangements, particularly involving services, create the potential for conflicts of interest, exploitation, and inappropriate boundaries in social workers' relationships with clients.

Social workers should explore and may participate in bartering only in very limited circumstances when it can be demonstrated that such arrangements are an accepted practice among professionals in the local community, considered to be essential for the provision of services, negotiated without coercion, and entered into at the client's initiative and with the client's informed consent. Social workers who accept goods or services from clients as payment for professional services assume the full burden of demonstrating that this arrangement will not be detrimental to the client or the professional relationship.

When social workers act on behalf of clients who lack the capacity to make informed decisions, social workers should take reasonable steps to safeguard the interests and rights of those clients. Social workers should make reasonable efforts to ensure continuity of services in the event that services are interrupted by factors such as unavailability, disruptions in electronic communication, relocation, illness, mental or physical ability, or death.

Social workers who refer clients to other professionals should disclose, with clients' consent, all pertinent information to the new service providers. Social workers should withdraw services precipitously only under unusual circumstances, giving careful consideration to all factors in the situation and taking care to minimize possible adverse effects.

Social workers should assist in making appropriate arrangements for continuation of services when necessary. Unwarranted negative criticism may include demeaning comments that refer to colleagues' level of competence or to individuals' attributes such as race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, and mental or physical ability.

Social workers should respect confidential information shared by colleagues in the course of their professional relationships and transactions. Social workers should ensure that such colleagues understand social workers' obligation to respect confidentiality and any exceptions related to it.

Professional and ethical obligations of the interdisciplinary team as a whole and of its individual members should be clearly established. If the disagreement cannot be resolved, social workers should pursue other avenues to address their concerns consistent with client well-being.

Social workers should seek consultation only from colleagues who have demonstrated knowledge, expertise, and competence related to the subject of the consultation. Social workers who become involved in, or anticipate becoming involved in, a sexual relationship with a colleague have a duty to transfer professional responsibilities, when necessary, to avoid a conflict of interest. Social workers should not sexually harass supervisees, students, trainees, or colleagues.

Social workers should be familiar with national, state, and local procedures for handling ethics complaints. These include policies and procedures created by NASW, licensing and regulatory bodies, employers, agencies, and other professional organizations.

Social work educators and field instructors are responsible for setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries. Social workers who have responsibility for evaluating the performance of others should fulfill such responsibility in a fair and considerate manner and on the basis of clearly stated criteria.

Records should be maintained for the number of years required by relevant laws, agency policies, and contracts. Social workers should establish and maintain billing practices that accurately reflect the nature and extent of services provided and that identify who provided the service in the practice setting.

To minimize possible confusion and conflict, social workers should discuss with potential clients the nature of the clients' current relationship with other service providers and the implications, including possible benefits or risks, of entering into a relationship with a new service provider. When not all clients' needs can be met, an allocation procedure should be developed that is nondiscriminatory and based on appropriate and consistently applied principles.

Social work administrators should take reasonable steps to eliminate any conditions in their organizations that violate, interfere with, or discourage compliance with the Code. Social work administrators and supervisors should take reasonable steps to provide or arrange for continuing education and staff development for all staff for whom they are responsible. Continuing education and staff development should address current knowledge and emerging developments related to social work practice and ethics.

Social workers should take reasonable steps to ensure that their employing organizations' practices are consistent with the NASW Code of Ethics. Reasonable differences of opinion exist among social workers concerning their primary obligation as professionals during an actual or threatened labor strike or job action. Social workers should carefully examine relevant issues and their possible impact on clients before deciding on a course of action.

Social workers should critically examine and keep current with emerging knowledge relevant to social work. Social workers should routinely review the professional literature and participate in continuing education relevant to social work practice and social work ethics. Social workers should not practice, condone, facilitate, or collaborate with any form of discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, or mental or physical ability.

Social workers should not permit their private conduct to interfere with their ability to fulfill their professional responsibilities. Social workers should not participate in, condone, or be associated with dishonesty, fraud, or deception.

Social workers should claim only those relevant professional credentials they actually possess and take steps to correct any inaccuracies or misrepresentations of their credentials by others. Social workers should protect, enhance, and improve the integrity of the profession through appropriate study and research, active discussion, and responsible criticism of the profession.

These activities may include teaching, research, consultation, service, legislative testimony, presentations in the community, and participation in their professional organizations. Social workers should seek to contribute to the profession's literature and to share their knowledge at professional meetings and conferences.

Appropriate institutional review boards should be consulted. Informed consent should include information about the nature, extent, and duration of the participation requested and disclosure of the risks and benefits of participation in the research.

Social workers should assess whether participants are able to use the technology and, when appropriate, offer reasonable alternatives to participate in the evaluation or research. Social workers should inform participants of any limits of confidentiality, the measures that will be taken to ensure confidentiality, and when any records containing research data will be destroyed.

They should not fabricate or falsify results and should take steps to correct any errors later found in published data using standard publication methods. Social workers should promote the general welfare of society, from local to global levels, and the development of people, their communities, and their environments. Social workers should advocate for living conditions conducive to the fulfillment of basic human needs and should promote social, economic, political, and cultural values and institutions that are compatible with the realization of social justice.

Social workers should facilitate informed participation by the public in shaping social policies and institutions. Social workers should provide appropriate professional services in public emergencies to the greatest extent possible.

Social workers should be aware of the impact of the political arena on practice and should advocate for changes in policy and legislation to improve social conditions in order to meet basic human needs and promote social justice.

Social workers should promote policies and practices that demonstrate respect for difference, support the expansion of cultural knowledge and resources, advocate for programs and institutions that demonstrate cultural competence, and promote policies that safeguard the rights of and confirm equity and social justice for all people. The first Section, "Preamble," summarizes the social work profession's mission and core values.

The second section, "Purpose of the NASW Code of Ethics," provides an overview of the Code's main functions and a brief guide for dealing with ethical issues or dilemmas in social work practice. Social workers act honestly and responsibly and promote ethical practices on the part of the organizations with which they are affiliated. Ethical Principle: 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. The following ethical standards are relevant to the professional activities of all social workers.

Some of the standards that follow are enforceable guidelines for professional conduct, and some are aspirational. The extent to which each standard is enforceable is a matter of professional judgment to be exercised by those responsible for reviewing alleged violations of ethical standards.

Examples include when a social worker is required by law to report that a client has abused a child or has threatened to harm self or others. Social workers should not engage in physical contact with clients when there is a possibility of psychological harm to the client as a result of the contact such as cradling or caressing clients.

Social workers who engage in appropriate physical contact with clients are responsible for setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries that govern such physical contact. Sexual harassment includes sexual advances, sexual solicitation, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

Social workers should use accurate and respectful language in all communications to and about clients. When social workers act on behalf of clients who lack the capacity to make informed decisions, social workers should take reasonable steps to safeguard the interests and rights of those clients. Social workers should make reasonable efforts to ensure continuity of services in the event that services are interrupted by factors such as unavailability, relocation, illness, disability, or death.

Social workers should respect confidential information shared by colleagues in the course of their professional relationships and transactions. Social workers should not sexually harass supervisees, students, trainees, or colleagues. Social workers who have responsibility for evaluating the performance of others should fulfill such responsibility in a fair and considerate manner and on the basis of clearly stated criteria.

Social workers should establish and maintain billing practices that accurately reflect the nature and extent of services provided and that identify who provided the service in the practice setting. Social work administrators and supervisors should take reasonable steps to provide or arrange for continuing education and staff development for all staff for whom they are responsible.

Continuing education and staff development should address current knowledge and emerging developments related to social work practice and ethics. Social workers should not practice, condone, facilitate, or collaborate with any form of discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, or mental or physical disability.

Social workers should not permit their private conduct to interfere with their ability to fulfill their professional responsibilities. Social workers should not participate in, condone, or be associated with dishonesty, fraud, or deception.

Social workers should promote the general welfare of society, from local to global levels, and the development of people, their communities, and their environments. Social workers should advocate for living conditions conducive to the fulfillment of basic human needs and should promote social, economic, political, and cultural values and institutions that are compatible with the realization of social justice.

Social workers should facilitate informed participation by the public in shaping social policies and institutions.

Social workers should provide appropriate professional services in public emergencies to the greatest extent possible. Code Of Ethics. The Code is designed to help social workers identify relevant considerations when professional obligations conflict or ethical uncertainties arise. The Code provides ethical standards to which the general public can hold the social work profession accountable.

The Code articulates standards that the social work profession itself can use to assess whether social workers have engaged in unethical conduct. NASW has formal procedures to adjudicate ethics complaints filed against its members.

Value: Dignity and Worth of the Person Ethical Principle: Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of the person. Value: Importance of Human Relationships Ethical Principle: Social workers recognize the central importance of human relationships.

Value: Integrity Ethical Principle: Social workers behave in a trustworthy manner. Value: Competence Ethical Principle: Social workers practice within their areas of competence and develop and enhance their professional expertise.

Ethical Standards The following ethical standards are relevant to the professional activities of all social workers. Social workers should provide clients with an opportunity to ask questions. This may include providing clients with a detailed verbal explanation or arranging for a qualified interpreter or translator whenever possible.

Social workers who provide services via electronic media such as computer, telephone, radio, and television should inform recipients of the limitations and risks associated with such services. Social workers should provide services in substantive areas or use intervention techniques or approaches that are new to them only after engaging in appropriate study, training, consultation, and supervision from people who are competent in those interventions or techniques.

When generally recognized standards do not exist with respect to an emerging area of practice, social workers should exercise careful judgment and take responsible steps including appropriate education, research, training, consultation, and supervision to ensure the competence of their work and to protect clients from harm. Social workers should obtain education about and seek to understand the nature of social diversity and oppression with respect to race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, and mental or physical disability.

Social workers should not take unfair advantage of any professional relationship or exploit others to further their personal, religious, political, or business interests. Social workers should not engage in dual or multiple relationships with clients or former clients in which there is a risk of exploitation or potential harm to the client. In instances when dual or multiple relationships are unavoidable, social workers should take steps to protect clients and are responsible for setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries.

Dual or multiple relationships occur when social workers relate to clients in more than one relationship, whether professional, social, or business. Dual or multiple relationships can occur simultaneously or consecutively.

Social workers who anticipate a conflict of interest among the individuals receiving services or who anticipate having to perform in potentially conflicting roles for example, when a social worker is asked to testify in a child custody dispute or divorce proceedings involving clients should clarify their role with the parties involved and take appropriate action to minimize any conflict of interest.

Social workers should not solicit private information from clients unless it is essential to providing services or conducting social work evaluation or research. Once private information is shared, standards of confidentiality apply.

Social workers may disclose confidential information when appropriate with valid consent from a client or a person legally authorized to consent on behalf of a client.

Social workers should protect the confidentiality of all information obtained in the course of professional service, except for compelling professional reasons. The general expectation that social workers will keep information confidential does not apply when disclosure is necessary to prevent serious, foreseeable, and imminent harm to a client or other identifiable person.

In all instances, social workers should disclose the least amount of confidential information necessary to achieve the desired purpose; only information that is directly relevant to the purpose for which the disclosure is made should be revealed.

Social workers should inform clients, to the extent possible, about the disclosure of confidential information and the potential consequences, when feasible before the disclosure is made.

This applies whether social workers disclose confidential information on the basis of a legal requirement or client consent. Social workers should review with clients circumstances where confidential information may be requested and where disclosure of confidential information may be legally required. Social workers should inform participants in family, couples, or group counseling that social workers cannot guarantee that all participants will honor such agreements.

Social workers should not discuss confidential information in any setting unless privacy can be ensured. Social workers should not discuss confidential information in public or semipublic areas such as hallways, waiting rooms, elevators, and restaurants. Social workers should protect the confidentiality of clients during legal proceedings to the extent permitted by law. Social workers should protect the confidentiality of clients when responding to requests from members of the media.

Social workers should take precautions to ensure and maintain the confidentiality of information transmitted to other parties through the use of computers, electronic mail, facsimile machines, telephones and telephone answering machines, and other electronic or computer technology.

Disclosure of identifying information should be avoided whenever possible. Social workers should not disclose identifying information when discussing clients for teaching or training purposes unless the client has consented to disclosure of confidential information.

Social workers should not disclose identifying information when discussing clients with consultants unless the client has consented to disclosure of confidential information or there is a compelling need for such disclosure. Social workers should protect the confidentiality of deceased clients consistent with the preceding standards. When providing clients with access to their records, social workers should take steps to protect the confidentiality of other individuals identified or discussed in such records.

Social workers should not engage in sexual activities or sexual contact with former clients because of the potential for harm to the client. If social workers engage in conduct contrary to this prohibition or claim that an exception to this prohibition is warranted because of extraordinary circumstances, it is social workers—not their clients—who assume the full burden of demonstrating that the former client has not been exploited, coerced, or manipulated, intentionally or unintentionally.

Social workers should not provide clinical services to individuals with whom they have had a prior sexual relationship. Providing clinical services to a former sexual partner has the potential to be harmful to the individual and is likely to make it difficult for the social worker and individual to maintain appropriate professional boundaries.

Social workers should avoid accepting goods or services from clients as payment for professional services. Social workers who accept goods or services from clients as payment for professional services assume the full burden of demonstrating that this arrangement will not be detrimental to the client or the professional relationship.

Social workers should take reasonable steps to avoid abandoning clients who are still in need of services. Social workers should withdraw services precipitously only under unusual circumstances, giving careful consideration to all factors in the situation and taking care to minimize possible adverse effects.

Social workers should assist in making appropriate arrangements for continuation of services when necessary. Social workers should not terminate services to pursue a social, financial, or sexual relationship with a client. Social workers who are leaving an employment setting should inform clients of appropriate options for the continuation of services and of the benefits and risks of the options. Social workers should avoid unwarranted negative criticism of colleagues in communications with clients or with other professionals.

Professional and ethical obligations of the interdisciplinary team as a whole and of its individual members should be clearly established.

Social workers for whom a team decision raises ethical concerns should attempt to resolve the disagreement through appropriate channels. Social workers should not exploit clients in disputes with colleagues or engage clients in any inappropriate discussion of conflicts between social workers and their colleagues.

Social workers should seek consultation only from colleagues who have demonstrated knowledge, expertise, and competence related to the subject of the consultation. When consulting with colleagues about clients, social workers should disclose the least amount of information necessary to achieve the purposes of the consultation.

Social workers who refer clients to other professionals should take appropriate steps to facilitate an orderly transfer of responsibility. Social workers are prohibited from giving or receiving payment for a referral when no professional service is provided by the referring social worker.

Social workers should avoid engaging in sexual relationships with colleagues when there is potential for a conflict of interest. Social workers who become involved in, or anticipate becoming involved in, a sexual relationship with a colleague have a duty to transfer professional responsibilities, when necessary, to avoid a conflict of interest. Social workers who believe that a social work colleague is incompetent and has not taken adequate steps to address the incompetence should take action through appropriate channels established by employers, agencies, NASW, licensing and regulatory bodies, and other professional organizations.

Social workers should be familiar with national, state, and local procedures for handling ethics complaints. These include policies and procedures created by NASW, licensing and regulatory bodies, employers, agencies, and other professional organizations.

Social workers who believe that a colleague has acted unethically should seek resolution by discussing their concerns with the colleague when feasible and when such discussion is likely to be productive. When necessary, social workers who believe that a colleague has acted unethically should take action through appropriate formal channels such as contacting a state licensing board or regulatory body, an NASW committee on inquiry, or other professional ethics committees.

Social workers should defend and assist colleagues who are unjustly charged with unethical conduct. Social workers who provide supervision or consultation are responsible for setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries.

Social workers should not engage in any dual or multiple relationships with supervisees in which there is a risk of exploitation of or potential harm to the supervisee.