Like human services, social work is considered a helping profession and has ethical guidelines. Social workers are vital members of the helping community and can be seen assisting many other helping professions such as nursing, counseling, and teaching (Cournoyer, 2011). Helping professions address a multitude of problems or dilemmas often involving a person’s physical, mental, social, intellectual, and spiritual well-being. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is a professional organization for social workers and those studying social work (figure 3.7).

Figure 3.7. NASW logo. All Rights Reserved. Used under fair use.

As someone in a helping profession, you are responsible for important decisions, some of which have legal effects. Often these decisions involve ethical choices in the best interest of clients’ lives. This code is relevant to all social workers, social work students, and social work educators regardless of their specific duties or settings.

To be an ethical and professional social worker one must have a thorough understanding of the Code of Ethics and the legal obligations social workers are responsible for (Cournoyer, 2011). When encountering specific dilemmas, you as a social worker are responsible for knowing what ethical principle or value best applies to that situation. You must also be able to think critically to determine the best outcome for all parties involved (Woodcock, 2011).

The following section is designed to help explore another code of ethics.

3.4.1 Establishment and Updates of the NASW Code of Ethics

Social work is grounded on the concepts of social justice and fairness and the idea that all people should be treated equally. Clearly, when looking at the history of our nation, not all people have been treated equally. As discussed in Chapter 2, social work in the nineteenth century became known as the calling that responded to the needs of vulnerable populations and those living in poverty. Through the rise of settlement houses and charity organization societies in the twentieth century and during the Great Depression, social workers promoted and provided new ways to address structural problems (Reamer, 2006)

As social work endeavored to gain recognition as a profession, the need arose for a formal code of ethics. While there were many social workers who helped pave the way, in 1920 Mary Richmond (figure 3.8) provided an experimental code of ethics which served as a base for many other social workers seeking social justice, equality, and fairness for vulnerable and oppressed populations (Reamer, 2006). As discussed in Chapter 2, this professionalization excluded ideas and practices credited to indigenous groups and people of color who also were caring for others and helping people solve life’s problems.

Richmond’s code of ethics served as a guide to the first edition of the NASW Code of Ethics which was constructed in October of 1960. This document, developed by the NASW’s Delegate Assembly of the National Association of Social Workers, officially defined the duties and obligations for which a social worker is responsible. The 1960 edition defined 14 responsibilities social workers were obligated to fulfill based on the mission of social work, and even included a discrimination clause. With the first revision in place, the social work profession established a sense of professionalism,the conduct, qualities, and qualifications recognized as part of a profession.

Figure 3.8. Mary Richmond, considered a leader in the field of social work.

The NASW Code of Ethics continues to be updated. Many significant revisions have been created as the needs of the increasingly diverse population social workers serve continue to change. Shortly after the publishing of the 1960 Code of Ethics, social workers became concerned with the Code’s suggestions for handling ethical dilemmas. In an effort to address these concerns, a task force was established to revise the original Code of Ethics (Reamer, 2006). In 1979, the NASW Delegate Assembly continued to work on the revisions as needed. It was not until the 1990’s when the NASW Code of Ethics was significantly modified again.

During the 1990s the Code of Ethics had several impactful changes that were centered on the relationship between clients and social workers (Reamer, 2006). The profession began to stress the importance of maintaining professional boundaries with clients as social workers started to become more involved in clients’ lives. Five new principles were also included in the Code of Ethics that were centered on social work impairment and dual relationships. This led to a major revision due to the profession’s developing understanding of ethical issues previously not addressed resulting in the public and media paying more attention to the NASW Code of Ethics.

In 2008, a major advancement occurred which incorporated the terms sexual orientation, gender identity, and immigration status into the non-discrimination standards in the Code of Ethics. This was a significant update because for a long period of time these groups of people have been heavily discriminated against in the United States and throughout the world.

The most recent updates to the NASW Code of Ethics occurred in 2017 and involved updating the Code to catch up with technological changes.

Structure of NASW Code of Ethics: Four Sections

The NASW Code of Ethics consists of four sections:

1. Preamble
2. Purpose
3. Ethical Principles
4. Ethical Standards (Woodcock, 2011)

The first section, the preamble, is intended to outline Social Work’s mission and core values while the second section provides a purpose and overview of the NASW Code of Ethics and how to handle or deal with ethical dilemmas (Woodcock, 2011). The third section, which is labeled Ethical Principles, helps define ethical principles based on Social Work’s six core values. Finally, the fourth section provides detailed ethical standards for which social workers are held accountable. It is important that as future social workers you are familiar with all four sections as they are intended to serve as guidelines for practice.

3.4.1.1 Preamble

Social Work’s mission is “to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty” (Cournoyer, 2011, p. 160). With this mission, social workers should have a clear indication of what is expected when entering the field and practicing as a social worker. The six core values of Social Work are derived from the mission statement.

Social workers should take pride in their work as they are seeking to improve the lives of others, and enhance the well-being of society. It is important to recognize social work’s primary mission, but as social workers you will also need to best represent the agency or organization you are working for. Every agency or organization will have their own guidelines or rules and may even have a different code of ethics; it is then your responsibility to incorporate those guidelines along with the NASW Code of Ethics. Social workers have many different roles and can be found in many areas of work, but the primary goal is to endorse social justice (Woodcock, 2011).

3.4.1.2 Purpose

The purpose of the NASW Code of Ethics is to hold social workers to a high standard of professionalism. It serves six purposes:

1. Identifying core values on which social work’s mission is based.
2. Summarizing broad ethical principles that reflect the profession’s core values and establishes a set of specific ethical standards that should be used to guide social work practice.
3. Helping social workers identify relevant considerations when professional obligations conflict or ethical uncertainties arise.
4. Providing ethical standards to which the general public can hold the social work profession accountable.
5. Socializing practitioners new to the field to social work’s mission, values, ethical principles, and ethical standards.
6. Articulating 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. (NASW, 2021)

3.4.1.3 Ethical Principles

The ethical principles are based on the six core values of social work. These six values are important for all social workers to recognize and apply to their practice. They should help direct you in all ethical decisions or dilemmas you encounter. Social workers should also be conscientious of these values when working with clients, talking with co-workers, writing grants, or any other role a social worker performs, even if an ethical dilemma does not present itself. During your education, these six values will become much more significant than you may have imagined. You will learn true definitions of these terms and how to apply them to your practice.

Today the term value is used in a variety of ways with many meanings. In the field of social work the six core values provide a framework for us that are connected in three important ways. First, the six core values have a direct relationship with clients, colleagues, and members of the broader society. Secondly, these six values derive from social work’s overall mission statement, and lastly, these six values relate to the resolution of ethical dilemmas and interventions that social workers use in their work (Reamer, 2006).

The six core values of social work are listed as follows:

1. Service
2. Social Justice
3. Dignity and Worth of a Person
4. Importance of Human Relationships
5. Integrity
6. Competence

3.4.3 Other Differences Between NOHS and NASW Codes

The ethical standards of social work consist of six important groups to whom social workers are responsible, similar to the seven groups to whom human services workers are responsible.

1. To clients
2. To colleagues
3. In practice settings
4. As professionals
5. To the social work profession
6. To broader society

It is interesting to compare the groups; the NASW code identifies “practice settings” (the places where you might do a beginning practicum or an internship) while the NOHS standards do not. Instead, NOHS identifies responsibilities of “educators”, which includes both classroom and practice settings. In addition to these groups, the standards for human services also include “responsibility to self” (which includes self-care) and “responsibility to employers” as key elements of the code. But the NASW doesn’t leave these groups out. In 2017, the NASW Code of Ethics added this paragraph to its “Purpose” section:

Professional self-care is paramount for competent and ethical social work practice. Professional demands, challenging workplace climates, and exposure to trauma warrant that social workers maintain personal and professional health, safety, and integrity. Social work organizations, agencies, and educational institutions are encouraged to promote organizational policies, practices, and materials to support social workers’ self-care (NASW, 2021).

The NASW code addresses some ethical dilemmas directly. Common ethical violations to be aware of consist of the following:

• Sexual activity with clients and colleagues
• Dual relationship
• Boundary violations
• Failure to seek supervision
• Failure to use practice skills
• Fraudulent behavior
• Premature termination
• Inadequate provisions for case transfer or referral
• Failure to discuss policies as part of informed consent with clients (Cournoyer, 2011)

3.4.5 References

Congress, E. P. (2000). What social workers should know about ethics: Understanding and resolving ethical dilemmas. Advances in Social Work, 1(1), 1–25.

Cournoyer, B. (2011). The social work skills workbook (7th ed.). Brooks Cole.

National Association of Social Workers. (2021). NASW code of ethics. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

Reamer, F. G. (2006). Social work values and ethics (2nd ed.). Columbia University Press.

Woodcock, R. (2011). Ethical standards in the NASW code of ethics: The explicit legal model and beyond. Families in Society, 92(1), 21–27. http://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.4052