Teaching BSW Students to Work with Complex Families

New BSW social workers are likely to be hired into job positions in some of the toughest, most complex, multiproblem areas: child and adult protective services. It is a huge challenge for educators to prepare students for the reality ahead as BSW social workers, particularly students of the usual college age who have grown up in relatively conventional homes. This article illustrates a method for helping students make that transition using ongoing, semester-long case work with simulated, challenging families as clients. Students work in small groups with simulated families who are constantly changing and facing new issues as the semester progresses. In the context of working with their client families, students must use record-keeping skills, evaluate relevant research, advocate and broker, solve problems, identify strengths, engage in ethical decision-making, prepare for court appearances, and evaluate their work on an ongoing basis.

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Nurses Working in and With Adult Protective Services: Agency Characteristics and Job Responsibilities

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.2437 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 695-696

Author(s):

Pi-Ju Liu ◽

Jessica Hernandez Chilatra

Keyword(s):

Social Workers ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Premature Death ◽

Job Responsibilities ◽

Protective Services ◽

Adult Protective Services ◽

Medical Needs ◽

Medical Emergencies ◽

System Part ◽

Client Education

Abstract The majority of Adult Protective Services (APS) workforce is staffed by social workers, though some agencies have recognized the need to address clients’ medical needs such as wounds, injuries, nutrition issues, hydration issues, premature death and more. Using survey data from the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA), we analyzed 99 nurses’ responses on their role in working in/with APS to help abused, neglect, and exploited adults. Out of the 99 nurses, 65 were direct employees of APS, and 61 did not report directly to a nurse supervisor. Forty-nine nurses carry a caseload like social workers, and 27 carry a caseload in conjunction with social workers. The most common services nurses provide are home visits, evaluations of clients and their medications, and client education. Qualitative data revealed the benefits of having nurses on staff, including assessing medical needs, preventing medical emergencies, providing holistic care, and navigating the healthcare system. Part of a symposium sponsored by Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of Elderly People Interest Group.

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Experiencing Clinical Ethical Dilemmas: Cases of Ethical Decision-Making in the Care of Children with Major Craniofacial Deformities

The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal ◽

10.1597/1545-1569_1995_032_0494_ecedco_2.3.co_2 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 32 (6) ◽

pp. 494-494 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ronald P. Strauss

Keyword(s):

Social Workers ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Social Issues ◽

Ethical Dilemmas ◽

Real Life ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Craniofacial Anomalies ◽

Policy Issues ◽

Case Based

This series of six papers considers ethical and health policy issues related to the care of children born with major craniofacial anomalies, using a real-life case-based approach. The papers are based upon the direct experiences of pediatricians, craniofacial surgeons, social workers, parents, and ethicists. Using a simple theoretic framework presented In the paper by Sharp, the authors “unpack” their cases and discuss the ethical, clinical, and social issues raised, considering policy implications.

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Ethical Decision-Making of Social Workers' Associations

International Social Work ◽

10.1177/00208728030463004 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 303-312 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Abraham Mansbach ◽

Roni Kaufman

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Social Workers ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making

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Religious and Secular Belief Systems in Social Work: A Survey of Israeli Social Work Professionals

Families in Society The Journal of Contemporary Social Services ◽

10.1606/1044-3894.121 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 84 (3) ◽

pp. 359-366 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Rujla Osmo ◽

Ruth Landau

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Social Work ◽

Social Workers ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Code Of Ethics ◽

Belief Systems ◽

Belief System ◽

Social Work Practice ◽

The Impact

In this study, the authors examined the impact of religiosity on social workers' ranking of ethical principles. The findings indicate that religiosity may be a distinguishing variable in some, but not all, contexts of ethical decision making in social work practice. The religiosity of religious social workers may influence their ethical decision making in situations with religious connotations. Moreover, religious social workers' ethical hierarchies seem to be more consistent both in different contexts and in comparison to those of secular social workers. The prospect that social workers may be influenced in some situations by a competing code of rules in conflict with the professional code of ethics emphasizes the need for social workers' awareness of their own belief system.

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Ethical decision-making of social workers in Spain during COVID-19: Cases and responses

Qualitative Social Work ◽

10.1177/14733250211050118 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 147332502110501

Author(s):

María-Jesús Úriz ◽

Juan-Jesús Viscarret ◽

Alberto Ballestero

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Social Work ◽

Social Workers ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Vulnerable Groups ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Emergency Situations ◽

Decision Making Processes

In this article we address the ethical decision-making processes of social work professionals in Spain during the first wave of COVID-19. We present some of the findings from a broader international research project led by professor Sarah Banks and carried out in collaboration with the International Federation of Social Workers. The first wave of COVID-19 had a major impact in Spain, hitting harder the most vulnerable groups. In this unprecedented and unexpected context, social workers had to make difficult ethical decisions on fundamental issues such as respecting service-user’s autonomy, prioritizing wellbeing, maintaining confidentiality or deciding the fair distribution of the scarce resources. There were moments of uncertainty and difficult institutional responses. The broader international project was carried out using an online questionnaire addressed to social work professionals in several countries. In this article, through several specific cases, we examine the ethical decision-making processes of social work professionals in Spain, as well as the way to resolve that situations. We have used a qualitative content analysis with a deductive approach to analyze the responses and cases. Findings show many difficult situations concerning the prioritization of the wellbeing of users without limiting their autonomy, the invention of new organizational protocols to provide support and resources for vulnerable people… Social workers had to manage the bureaucracy and had to solve some emergency situations getting personally involved or developing other cooperation mechanisms. The pandemic forced them to look for new forms of social intervention.

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Characteristics of Adult Protective Services Social Workers

Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect ◽

10.1300/j084v04n03_06 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 101-120 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mary Anne P. Salmon ◽

Vickie L. Atkinson

Keyword(s):

Social Workers ◽

Protective Services ◽

Adult Protective Services

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Beyond the Code of Ethics, Part I: Complexities of Ethical Decision Making in Social Work Practice

Families in Society The Journal of Contemporary Social Services ◽

10.1606/1044-3894.55 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 83 (5) ◽

pp. 474-482 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Sophie Freud ◽

Stefan Krug

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Social Work ◽

Social Workers ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Code Of Ethics ◽

Social Work Practice ◽

National Association ◽

Management Tool ◽

Ethical Implications

The authors have acquired experience in, and opinions on, ethical decision making while serving on a (U.S.) National Association of Social Workers (NASW) peer consultation ethics call line. The authors agree with scholars who view all human perceptions and activities as shaped by values, with the concurrent need to become more self-conscious about the ethical dimension of our daily life and professional practice. It is argued that our social work code of ethics is a necessary but insufficient tool for ethical decision making. The Code of Ethics (National Association of Social Workers, 1996) is frequently used as a risk management tool, offering guidelines for practice which may or may not be compatible with the goals of social justice for which social work ideally stands. Additionally, the unique and unexpected ways ethical issues emerge in clinical practice work against attempts to apply the Code as a rule book. Distinctions between ethical, legal, and clinical issues are difficult, given that the two latter domains have inevitable ethical implications. The authors urge readers to supplement a model of purely rational, ethical decision making with their emotions and intuition as shaped by our culture and our profession. Ethical judgments are best made in small groups where members bring different perspectives and intuitions to the process while agreeing on basic humanistic values.

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Universalism and cultural relativism in social work ethics

International Social Work ◽

10.1177/0020872807071479 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 11-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 54

Author(s):

Lynne M. Healy

Keyword(s):

Social Work ◽

Social Workers ◽

Professional Ethics ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Cultural Relativism ◽

Derechos Humanos ◽

Travail Social ◽

Droits Humains ◽

Social Work Ethics

English Given globalization and increasing multiculturalism, growing numbers of social workers face the challenges of respecting culture while upholding professional ethics. This article examines the perspectives of universalism and cultural relativism as applied to ethical decision-making in social work. A moderately universalist stance is recommended for social work, as valuing both diversity and human rights. French Face à la mondialisation et à l'augmentation du multiculturalisme, un nombre croissant de travailleurs sociaux font face à des défis dans un contexte qui demande de tenir compte à la fois du respect culturel et de l'éthique professionnelle. Cet article examine l'application de prises de décisions éthiques dans des perspectives universalistes et de relativisme culturel en travail social. Une position universaliste modérée est recommandée pour le travail social, valorisant à la fois la diversité culturelle et les droits humains. Spanish Dada la globalización y el multiculturalismo creciente, los trabajadores sociales se encuentran con el reto de respetar tanto la cultura como la ética profesional. Se examina la aplicación de las perspectivas universalistas y del relativismo cultural al proceso de decisión ética en trabajo social. Se recomienda una postura universalista moderada que respete tanto la diversidad como los derechos humanos.

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