a. It is intended to complement child protection legislation, school policies and procedures and professional standards, codes or ethics as these apply to staff and other personnel. trailer a. c. Child welfare professionals should consult with their appropriate superiors when initiating a potentially intimate relationship with a foster parent or if they have had an intimate relationship with a person who will now be working with them as a foster parent. Informed consent emanates from the principle of client self-determination. Child welfare professionals should accurately and truthfully document their professional work according to agency policy and/or legal requirements in order to ensure accountability and continuity in the provision of services to clients. Child welfare professional should avoid harming those toward whom they have professional responsibilities. f. Child welfare administrators should maintain a high level of competence and provide support to upgrade competence throughout the organization. This code of ethics places the utmost importance on the protection and well being of children and families. NASW Standards for Social Work Practice in Child Welfare (PDF - 135 KB) National Association of Social Workers (NASW) (2013) Child welfare professionals should promote the welfare of those toward whom they have professional responsibilities. It there is a conflict between two or more ethical principles and/or responsibilities in a particular case, child welfare professionals should consult with superiors and colleagues knowledgeable about ethics issues, or with the child welfare ethics board, in choosing a proper course of action. If a situation arises where such a conflict may exist, child welfare professionals should consult with an appropriate superior and take steps to eliminate any potential or real conflict. 137 0 obj <> endobj Child welfare professionals should treat all parties to the case with respect, honesty, fairness, and cooperation. Child welfare professionals should discuss past, existing and potential multiple relationships with their appropriate superiors and resolve them in a manner which avoids harming and/or exploiting affected persons. The child welfare professional acts to provide those services. Whenever feasible, child welfare professionals should avoid professional relationships when a preexisting nonprofessional relationship is present. a. Child welfare professionals should maintain high standards of personal moral conduct when engaged in professional activity. a. a. In relation to children: 1. startxref d. Child welfare professionals should advise the court if they come to know of (he falsehood of prior testimony given in a child welfare proceeding. Child welfare professionals should Worm clients of the role of the court, if any, and of their legal and procedural rights. Child welfare professionals should apply the values and specialized knowledge of the child welfare field and should work to increase public awareness of those values in order to promote the general welfare of society. a. The Code of Ethical Conduct outlines the standard of behaviour expected by all Department of Family and Community Services workers Download Code of Ethical Conduct - File Code of Ethical Conduct, English - … a. 0000014424 00000 n The Code of Ethics for Child Welfare Professionals published by the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, Child Welfare Program is primarily a reproduction of the Illinois Code of Ethics for Child … C. Responsibilities to other family members. Child welfare professionals should act with integrity in their relationships with their colleagues, treating them with respect, honesty, and fairness and accepting their right to hold values and beliefs that differ from their own. 164 0 obj <>stream 0000001684 00000 n Hermann Hall 3241 S Federal Street, Room 204 Chicago, IL 60616, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship, Pritzker Institute of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (WISER), IIT Pritzker Institute of Biomedical Science and Engineering, IIT Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (WISER), Robert W. Galvin Center for Electricity Innovation, Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions Library, http://ethics.iit.edu/library/ethics-print-archive. Child welfare professionals should avoid professional matters where they have a private financial or personal interest. 137 28 b. e. Child welfare professionals who are still employed in the field should consult with their superior before initiating with a former client a relationship that has the potential for becoming intimate to help ensure that no exploitation will take place. Developing and coordinating a system of policies and practices that guides information sharing among the agencies that serve families is an important part of providing sound and ethical services. All CIS members are expected to: Fulfill the promises stated in their guiding statements, policies, contracts and promotional materials. d. Child welfare administrators should conduct official acts without partisanship. The child welfare professional acts to ensure that the basic needs of the child are met by the child's parents. c. Child welfare administrators should understand and apply legislation and regulations relevant to their professional role. Child welfare supervisors should apprise supervisees of current professional information and encourage supervisees to take advantage of continuing professional education in order to maintain a high level of competence. This paper provides a rational analysis of some of the issues involved and suggests responses to them. Child welfare professionals should continue appropriate intervention with clients until intervention is no longer required to meet the needs of the child or is no longer appropriate under the applicable statute. Child welfare professionals must behave in such a manner as to ensure not only, that their delegated authority is exercised appropriately but that their clients and society perceive their use of authority as appropriate. b. a. Child protection laws address three interests: the child’s, the parents’, and the state’s. c. Child welfare professionals should inform clients of all relevant confidentiality requirements and limitations. a. Child Protective Services (“CPS”) is a governmental agency tasked with receiving and investigating reports of child abuse or neglect. c. Child welfare professionals should keep clients informed about the case plan throughout the entire intervention. 0000003789 00000 n b. e. Child welfare professionals should seek assent for intervention from clients who are not capable of giving an informed consent, giving due consideration to the clients' preferences in pursuing their best interests. They should also suggest appropriate changes in policy and procedure. Their clients and society must be able to trust, that child welfare professionals are working with their clients' interests in mind with no element of disrespect, punishment, or personal bias. b. 2. 0000003277 00000 n Society delegates to the child welfare field and to those who become members of the field the authority to intervene in the lives of families with the goals of ensuring the safety of abused and neglected children, assisting parents in meeting minimum parenting standards, and planning alternative permanent care when parents are incapable of or unwilling to meet those standards. Other family members become clients when providing services to them will help meet the basic needs of the child. It identifies professional boundaries, ethical behaviour and how to avoid or better manage difficult situations. 6310 Services to the Child's Family When the Child Is in Substitute Care. ��o���� ���o��P������U�V2��.�p� ��x�v�zD��)T�E��[���x�G�8����5o�7$��Xh�\Q�ǵ����$��v��J���� ���� ��b�U`��P�a���1 Interpretation A social worker in child welfare shall a. Disclaimer: Please note the codes in our collection might not necessarily be the most recent versions. d. Child welfare professionals should conduct research according to accepted standards of professional competence, federal and state law and regulations, agency policy, and accreditation requirements. They also have a high level of responsibility for decisions made by their supervisees and should accept appropriate responsibiltity for those decisions. The management of child protection concerns arouses strong emotions and controversies and creates ethical tensions for all concerned. g. Child welfare supervisors should take appropriate steps to terminate employment of supervisees who are not competent and are not likely to become competent. Child welfare professionals are in inherently unequal relationships with their clients creating the potential for abuse of power. Child welfare professionals should protect the rights and welfare of research subjects, treating them with respect and dignity and protecting them from harm, danger, unnecessary discomfort, and ethnic and/or social discrimination. Sport Ireland & Sport NI are committed to ensuring that the best interests of children and young people attending our services are of paramount importance. Child welfare professionals should be familiar with and adhere to the foster Parent Law which sets forth the rights and responsibilities of foster parents. A Vision for the Child Wellbeing and Protection System 7 Child protection practice principles 8 Role of social workers 10 Decision-making in child wellbeing and protection settings 10 1. a. In accordance with the Florida Ethics in Education Act, employees of Highlands Christian Academy have a duty to report all suspected or actual cases of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect; have immunity from liability if they report such cases in good faith; and have a duty to comply with child protective … Improved practice and ethical standards 12 3. c. Child welfare supervisors should accept responsibility for their own decisions and the consequences of those decisions. 0000025625 00000 n c. When the prospective subject is not legally capable of giving informed consent, child welfare professionals should give an appropriate explanation of the research, obtain assent when appropriate, and obtain informed consent from a legally authorized representative. f. Child welfare professionals should report the findings of their research truthfully and completely. Child welfare professionals should follow applicable ethical principles in each practice decision. They should apprise the court of all relevant facts in the case, both positive and negative, of which they are aware. The first responsibility of the child welfare professional is to the client, however, the specific nature of that responsibility differs depending on whether the client is the child, the parent, or another family member. When such problems could interfere with performance, child welfare professionals should consider obtaining appropriate professional help and determine, along with their appropriate superior, whether they should limit suspend or terminate their professional duties. c. Child welfare supervisors should act as advocates for their supervisees by apprising upper management of problems which impede or prevent them from efficiently and effectively performing their duties. Child Protection. Child welfare professionals recognize the vulnerability of their clients and the serious responsibilities associated with intervention in the parent/ child relationship. Protective Behaviours - Skills for Life. Because sexual intimacies with former clients are potentially harmful to the client, child welfare professionals who do engage in sexual intirnacies after a two year period following termination of professional intervention are responsible for demonstrating that no exploitation is taking place. Child welfare professionals should accurately represent their qualifications educational backgrounds, and professional credentials. 1. a. d. Child welfare professionals who observe a violation of this Code by a colleague should bring the issue to the attention of the colleague if an informal resolution appears appropriate. When individuals accept the role of child welfare professional and the delegated authority inherent in that role, they publicly acknowledge having the professional responsibilities which accompany that authority. Both the parent and the child have the right to live together as a family, and the parent has the right to care for the child, if the parent is able and willing to meet the basic needs of the child. 0000101799 00000 n Child protection laws address three interests: the child's, the parents', and the State's. H�\��j�@��z�9&#[n�$ �I���.�����#�Gb,���R�,���O�tW��ʷ��>v����9�ѝ�ئp�o� ��]��k�f�z���K=d���1\���gU��߶y��=�����gjC���=��]~� �G��8��[�\N��~ԗ��l�om��3��w��}���4��m�uR�!����\�j�*��o_ b. Ethics and Values Social workers in child welfare shall demonstrate a commitment to the values and ethics of the social work profession and shall use NASW’s Code of Ethics as a guide to ethical decision making while understanding the unique aspects of child welfare practice. Research performed by child welfare professionals should be rigorous and relevant to the delivery of services, the outcomes of interventions, and policy formation in the child welfare field. b. Confidential information should be used only for professional purposes and shared only with authorized parties. b. Code of Ethics. 0000002244 00000 n Child welfare supervisors should not engage in sexual activities with current supervisees. b. Child welfare professionals should answer any questions the prospective subject asks. protection matters. The CPS process varies from state to state, and it can change depending on the allegation. 0000229903 00000 n And while SDM tools do much to increase consistency and validity of child protection assessments, they can never take away the human element in making decisions. The mandated nature of the child welfare professional/client relationship limits the options available to clients, but does not eliminate their right to self-determination. b. b. Client self-determination refers to the client's right to make self-determined choices and to freely act upon those choices without undue influence or coercion. d. Child welfare professionals should ensure that their clients have the opportunity to make self-determined choices from among the options available to them free from external coercion. The child welfare professional is a person who functions in a societally sanctioned decision-making capacity for neglect and/or abused children and their families. They should work to prevent misuse and distortion of their research findings. Child welfare administrators should exercise their discretionary authority to promote the values of the child welfare field. Child welfare supervisors also recognize their responsibilities to their supervisees, treating them with respect, fairness, and honesty; offering the professionaI support necessary to sustain the supervisees' continued motivated work; and providing a work environment which encourages ethical behavior. Submitted by KBL781 on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 16:15. Its purpose is to assist in identifying the many and often competing values and resonsibilities present in practice issues so that appropriate considertion is given to each value and responsibility in the decision-making process. 0000011553 00000 n Development of knowledge and research 12 Calls to Government 13 d. Child welfare professionals should take appropriate action against unethical conduct by any member of the child welfare field. Please contact the individual organizations or their websites to verify if a more recent or updated code of ethics is available. 0000008355 00000 n Child welfare professionals should act in the best interest of those Ioward whom they have professional responsibilities. Child welfare professionals should not perform professional activities when they know or should know that personal problems, mental health problems, or substance abuse could impede professional judgment and performance. f. Child welfare professionals should not engage in sexual activity with clients' relatives or with other individuals with whom clients maintain a close personal relationship since such behavior has the potential of being harmful to the client. Social welfare workers in the protective services field—among them social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists—are expected to follow the laws of the state in which they practice, but are also bound by their professional code of ethics. In mandated relationships there is a special potential for harm and exploitation of vulnerable clients by child welfare professionals. 0000005076 00000 n An Introduction to Ethics in Child Welfare Supervision [Video] Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (2017) Provides practical applications of ethical decision-making during child welfare supervision. c. Child welfare administrators should establish procedures that promote ethical behavior and hold individuals and organizations accountable for their conduct. 0000028559 00000 n 0000022699 00000 n 16. c. Child welfare professionals should testify honestly in court. For example, if there is an allegation of physical abuse, a child may need to undergo medical exams. c. Child welfare professionals should minimize harm when it is unavoidable. Child welfare professionals' responsibilities to colleagues, supervisees, foster parents, the court, employees, the child welfare field, and society also find their roots in many of the same values respect for persons, honesty, promise keeping and loyalty as well as in the values of accepting the responsibility for one's actions and their consequences and holding professional behavior to a standard higher than self-interest. 0000004282 00000 n Child welfare administrators therefore, should nurture and model organizational norms that encourage and reward the ethical behavior for which society holds the child welfare field accountable. a. The standards of practice all early childhood services should uphold are outlined in this Code of Ethical Conduct. These laws also address parents’ interests in child protection matters. <<48C14F492D777947AE86F0458D3B5AD8>]>> Child welfare administrators recognize that, although each Chad welfare professional is responsible for his/her ethical behavior, the agency is responsible for the environment in which ethical judgments are made. The first edition of the manual was published in 1980 as Child Protection: Providing Ongoing Services by Cynthia K. Ragan, Marsha K. Salus, and Gretchen L. Schultze. Child welfare professionals should inform clients as soon as feasible and in language that is understandable about the nature of the professional relationship, the nature of the professional intervention, the professional's delegated authority and the limits of that authority which decisions the client can make and which decisions the child welfare professional will make. Child welfare professionals should cooperate with colleagues in order to serve the best interests of their clients effectively and efficiently. 0000064274 00000 n 0000003314 00000 n ensuring that America's public policy concerning child maltreatment is well-informed and constructive. 6313 Contact with the Family. Professional education 11 2. Society values each child's natural right to have basic needs, for survival and development met and each child's natural right to live with his/her parents. d. Child welfare supervisors should provide necessary training and guidance when supervisees' personal or cultural differences could result in biased or discriminatory professional intervention with a particular individual or groups. 0000004557 00000 n The behavior of child welfare professionals should reflect the emphasis placed by the child welfare field on professional trust worthiness and on the values of respect for persons, client self-determination, individualized intervention, competence, loyally, diligence, honesty, promise-keeping, and confidentiality. Taking action to counteract unethical practice is therefore the responsibility of every early childhood professional. 6311 Participation of Parents' Attorneys When a Child Is in Substitute Care. Code of Ethics for Child Welfare Professionals. 0000003540 00000 n Child welfare professionals should evaluate the decision-making capacity of all clients and reevaluate it appropriately as circumstances change. Prior editions contained material based on Child Protective Services: A Guide for b. c. Child welfare professionals should not engage in sexual activities with former clients who were adults during the professional intervention for a period of at least two years after the termination of the professional intervention. Child welfare professionals should thoroughly familiarize themselves with the background of the case involved. It Promotes decision-making by the client after complete and accurate information regarding the nature of the intervention and the possible consequences of that intervention have been fully discussed by the professional and the client. a. 0000136183 00000 n Child welfare professionals should not allow their private interests, whether personal, financial or of any other sort, to conflict or appear to conflict with their professional duties and responsibilities. 9. Child welfare administrators should treat each client, colleague, and employee with respect. 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