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Law
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Topic:

Ethical Issues and Social Problems Analysis Paper

Essay Instructions:

As a human service professional, you will develop working relationships with clients who have encountered various social problems. Therefore, it is important for counselors to plan, design, and conduct research that reflect ethical principles and address specific problems. Clients are identified as individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Therefore, when addressing specific social problems, it is important to understand that clients’ right to privacy and confidentiality is a key component for the helping profession. Although you may be a human service worker or social worker who adheres to confidentiality as a professional ethical standard, you may work with other professionals who may not respect and/or honor the privacy of clients. As you read the following case study, be sure to identify specific ethical principles, social problems, and research implications (plans/topics that would address the issues):
Ann works as a licensed social worker for a non-profit human service agency located in a rural area. Her primary duties include counseling individuals and small groups. The staff consists of an executive director, a psychologist, supervisor of social work services, teachers, and child care workers. The agency contracts with the local child protective service agency to provide services to parents and families whose child(ren) have been placed in foster care due to child abuse or neglect. The parents who receive services are court ordered to complete a treatment plan to include counseling (individual and/or group) in order to regain custody of their child(ren). The agency provides intense family preservation services Monday to Friday from 8:30 – 4:30 to include individual and group counseling, parenting classes, and educational services.
Jasmine is a nineteen year old mother of a two year old daughter who was placed in foster care due to maltreatment and “failure to thrive.” She attends therapeutic group sessions twice weekly with Ann, along with other parents whose children were also placed in foster care. Jasmine divulges to her caseworker (child protective services) that she tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). She is also a Type II diabetic who tests her glucose levels in the bathroom during breaks. Ann’s co-workers are aware that Jasmine uses a glucometer several times during the day to monitor her diabetes while she receives services at the agency. The executive director, Mary, becomes very angry when she is informed (not by Ann) that Jasmine is HIV positive. During a treatment team staffing, the executive director suggests that Ann speak privately with Jasmine in order to persuade her to inform the other clients (who attend group sessions with Jasmine) that she is HIV positive. The executive director states that Jasmine places the staff and the other clients at risk when she pricks her finger to test her glucose level. Mary also states that if Jasmine refuses to inform her group members of her HIV status, it is Ann’s obligation as the agency’s social worker to disclose Jasmine’s private information (during a group session) to the other clients who attend the group sessions. Mary, the executive director, is not a trained counselor or social worker but she believes that it will be therapeutic for Jasmine and the clients if she shared her HIV status with the group.
Please respond to the following:
For this paper read the ethical dilemma (case) case scenario outlined above to develop a hypothetical ethical dilemma response and demonstrate an appropriate ethical decision making process. The case scenario also includes various social problems for which you will identify and describe how you would develop and/or conduct a research plan to address these issues. You will address several substantial areas in your analysis:
•Identify and discuss in depth a specific social problem in the case study..
•Define ethics..
•Identify both the dilemma and individuals involved..
•Summarize the main ethical concerns presented in the dilemma, including references to specific ethical standards..
•Provide application of human service profession theories and competencies..
•Outline the decision making process you would use if you were the professional worker..
•Describe a research topic and/or plan you would formulate to address the social problem identified in the case study..
references
•American Counseling Association
https://www(dot)counseling(dot)org/
•National Association of Social Workers
http://socialworkers(dot)org/
•Principles for (AMHCA) American Mental Health Counselors Associations
http://ethics(dot)iit(dot)edu/ecodes/node/5125
•Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals
http://www(dot)nationalhumanservices(dot)org/ethical-standards-for-hs-professionals
•National Association of Social Workers’ Code of Ethics
http://socialworkers(dot)org/
Carefully review the ACA Code of Ethics and Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals as you read Part IV & V of the ACA Code of Ethics Casebook
https://mbsdirect(dot)vitalsource(dot)com/#/books/9781119025511/cfi/0!/4/[email protected]:0.00
Finalize your analysis (paper) so it is a polished academic discussion on professional ethical standards, relevant research on the social problem identified in the case study, and ethical decision making. Your response should be between 5 to 7 pages, and should include a title page, be 12-font and double spaced. The title and references pages will not be considered as part of the page count for this assignment. Be sure to use APA style citation for citing any sources to support your claims. At least six references from journals or approved websites such as those of the US government, research organizations, universities, etc need to be used for this paper. 

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Ethical Issues and Social Problems Analysis
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Ethical Issues and Social Problems Analysis
At times human service professional will have no choice to make decisions with possible ethical consequences at some point in their career. The decision might be about their own conduct, their colleagues or clients. Sometimes the decisions will be easy to make due to the available clear guidelines and no harm will result. Other decisions might be difficult to make because of unclear guidelines and circumstances and if the decisions are wrong, there will be harmful consequences to those who are involved. Consequences will surface now and again that will directly affect the human service professional. For example, in the scenario, somebody breaches the confidentiality principle by disclosing Jasmine’s health statuses to the Executive Director without Jasmine’s consent. Ann is told to discuss the issue with Jasmine to persuade her to share her status with the rest of the members if she does not; it is Ann’s obligation to disclose Jasmines private information to the rest of the agency.
Ann is put on an ethical dilemma of either to also breach the confidentiality principle in case Jasmine declines to disclose her own status. Starting to discuss the issue with Jasmine will also put her in an ethical dilemma of what to do since her private information has been leaked to the executive director. She will also be thinking of who might have disclosed her private information. Mary, the executive director is also in an ethical dilemma of reacting badly after realizing the Jasmine is HIV positive and demands for immediate actions and if possible disclosure of her status to the other members. She does not consider Jasmine’s welfare when she will realize that there are people who secretly know her statuses. To avoid this, she appoints Ann as the social worker to talk to Ann.
Principles of ethics are there to guide and govern the conduct of people (American Counseling Association). Smith and Hodges have defined ethics as a "human reflecting self-consciously on the act of being a moral being." This involves self-reflection of how one is supposed to behave as a moral being in the society. Some of the standards are dictated by individual systems, law, or religion. NAADAC recognizes that personal and professional ethics cannot be dealt separately. Human service professionals also recognize that their ability of doing well is based on their concern about the well-being of those who they serve. The Code of Ethics was established to govern the conduct of social workers and it is the accepted standards for human service professionals. When any standard is breached, it is evaluated by consulting the NAADAC Code of Ethics. "The NAADAC Code of Ethics is designed as a statement of the values of the profession and as a guide for making clinical decisions," (The Association for Addiction Professionals).
In every ethical dilemma, there need to be an ethical decision-making that should be guided by the provided values and virtues. These values and virtues have been expressed in the code of ethics of all human service professionals. Although the professionals may striv...
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