Ethical Decision-Making in Social Work - RIT

1 Ethical Decision-Making in Social WorkWade Robison Linda Cherrey ReeserOriginally published by Allyn & Bacon2002, ISBN 0-205-30779-5 Wade Robison and Linda ReeserEthical Decision-Making in Social WorkTable of ContentsPreface1. Cases and theories2. How to use this book3. Structure of the book4. AcknowledgementsChapter 1 - ethics in Social Work: Tracking HarmsIntroduction1. Difficult Ethical cases2. The method of tracking harms: working through a casea. How the method worksb. Learning a skillc. A synopsis of the guide to Ethical decision -makingQuestionsChapter 2 - Reasons for acting1.

2 Introductiona. Self-interest and self-sacrificeb. Acting out of prudencec. Doing what is legally permitted or requiredd. Doing what is standardly donee. Appealing to the Code of Ethics2. Doing what is ethicala. Getting the factsb. Discounting our biasesc. Giving reasonsd. Finding true Ethical premisesi. Tracking harmsii. Ethical theoriesIntroduction(a) Utilitarianism(b) Deontology(c) Virtue theories(d) Comparing Ethical theoriesiii. True Ethical premisesQuestionsChapter 3 - ClientsIntroduction1. Intervention and self-determinationa.

3 A difficulty with understanding the clientb. When self-determination is possiblec. Problems with these criteriad. Choosing harme. Impaired self-determination2. Conflicts with self-determination3. Relations with clientsa. Dual relationshipsb. Further kinds of dual relationshipsc. Conflicts of interestd. The obligation to serve a client competentlye. Reciprocity and obligations in a professional relationshipf. Drawing boundariesg. Virtuesh. 'Recalitrant' clients4. Who is the client?Introductiona. Choosing one's clientb.

4 No choicec. The family as clientd. Diversity among clientsQuestionsChapter 4 - Peer relations1. The ideal and competence2. Less than the ideal3. Relations with other professionalsQuestionsChapter 5 - Agencies1. Maintaining autonomya. Professional autonomyb. Wearing different hats2. Integrity and agency policiesa. Internal Ethical problemsb. External Ethical problemsc. Having an Ethical characterd. Professional character traits3. Agency goalsa. Discretion and benign neglectb. Clarity of goalsc. Lack of clarity about goals4.

5 Conflicts between agenciesa. Agencies in competitionb. Cooperative endeavors?QuestionsChapter 6 - Justice1. Particular justice2. Procedural justice3. Social justicea. Formal justiceb. Conditions of justice and substantive principlesc. Social circumstanced. Natural characteristicse. Justice as free transactionsf. Justice as fairnessg. An alternativeQuestionsCases Chapter 1 - The death of a Dancing a legal Doing what the judge Adoptive childrenChapter 3 - Refusing Depressed and ready to Low-functioning Lying to save a Friends and professional Can you help me now?

6 Having Gift for A Social Hurting Automatic Caring for the family Self-identityChapter 4 - Relations among Social Peers? Family Bending over Value Lying about Attention deficit First graderChapter 5 - Buying a A pacifist Money or care? Limited number of Taking on more than it can Agency An adoption agencyChapter 6 - Still waiting after all this The waiting Differing Social circumstances Chapter 1 ethics in Social Work:Tracking HarmsIntroduction1.

7 Difficult Ethical cases2. The method of tracking harms: working through a casea. How the method worksb. Learning a skillc. A synopsis of the guide to Ethical decision -making2. The method of tracking harms: working through a casea. How the method worksSuppose one person intentionally does something to someone else that is itself harmful to that person's interests and will predictably cause much additional harm (is intrinsically and extrinsically harmful), the harm is of great magnitude, the person causing the harm knows that what he or she is doing is harmful and does it because it is harmful, and he or she sets a precedent so that others will cause similar harms in similar situations.

8 This sort of situation has as many footholds for immorality as one can find. We can imagine an ethically less harmful situation by supposing, for instance, that one causes just a little bit of harm or that one causes great harm intending to do a great deal of good. In short, an ethically wrong situation may be ethically wrong for a variety of different reasons, and changing the situation, even ever so slightly, may make it ethically , a variety of different features are necessary for the very best of Ethical cases, and changing any one of them, even ever so slightly, may make the case ethically worse.

9 The very best of Ethical cases, where no Ethical problems seem to have a footing, occurs when a person intends what is good for someone, knowing that it is good and doing it because it is good, and then works to ensure that what is intended comes to pass, it does come to pass, it is good, it has no harmful effects, and it has many good effects. These descriptions of the worst sort of Ethical case and the best sort provide us with clear examples we can hold up as standards of comparison for judging what kinds of problems we can have in deciding what we ought to do when we are involved in a particular difficult case.

10 As we shall see, the ways in which we can go ethically wrong are cases that cause difficulties always involve harms to various individuals, to organizations, or to society as a whole. It may help to think of a harm as a setback to an interest. We all presumptively have an interest in living, and so, presumptively, the baby's interest was set back in The death of a baby. Similarly, Deborah faces a choice between risking the setback of the interests of the other children in not being killed or hurt -- should Hal have killed the baby intentionally -- and setting back the interests of the family in staying together in the face of a terrible accident.