Social workers should not engage in dual or multiple relationships with clients or former clients in which there is a risk of exploitation or potential harm to the client. The following broad ethical principles are based on social work’s core values of service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. Social workers should never design or conduct evaluation or research that does not use consent procedures, such as certain forms of naturalistic observation and archival research, unless rigorous and responsible review of the research has found it to be justified because of its prospective scientific, educational, or applied value and unless equally effective alternative procedures that do not involve waiver of consent are not feasible. Social workers who speak on behalf of professional social work organizations should accurately represent the official and authorized positions of the organizations. Social workers should act to prevent the unauthorized and unqualified practice of social work. Social workers—not their clients, their clients’ relatives, or other individuals with whom the client maintains a personal relationship—assume the full burden for setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries. In instances when clients lack the capacity to provide informed consent, social workers should protect clients’ interests by seeking permission from an appropriate third party, informing clients consistent with the clients’ level of understanding. Social workers who provide supervision should evaluate supervisees’ performance in a manner that is fair and respectful. ET, Member Services: Please see our current list of offerings. When a court of law or other legally authorized body orders social workers to disclose confidential or privileged information without a client’s consent and such disclosure could cause harm to the client, social workers should request that the court withdraw the order or limit the order as narrowly as possible or maintain the records under seal, unavailable for public inspection. Social workers should not disclose confidential information to third¬party payers unless clients have authorized such disclosure. Fundamental to social work is attention to the environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address problems in living. Social workers’ ethical behavior should result from their personal commitment to engage in ethical practice. Social workers should protect the confidentiality of clients during legal proceedings to the extent permitted by law. Social workers who become involved in, or anticipate becoming involved in, a sexual relationship with a colleague have a duty to transfer professional responsibilities, when necessary, to avoid a conflict of interest. Social workers also should be aware of the impact on ethical decision making of their clients’ and their own personal values and cultural and religious beliefs and practices. When an individual who is receiving services from another agency or colleague contacts a social worker for services, the social worker should carefully consider the client’s needs before agreeing to provide services. This Code includes four sections. In all instances, social workers should disclose the least amount of confidential information necessary to achieve the desired purpose; only information that is directly relevant to the purpose for which the disclosure is made should be revealed. Appropriate institutional review boards should be consulted. Some of the standards that follow are enforceable guidelines for professional conduct, and some are aspirational. Social workers should not engage in sexual activities or sexual contact with former clients because of the potential for harm to the client. These core values, embraced by social workers throughout the profession’s history, are the foundation of social work’s unique purpose and perspective: This constellation of core values reflects what is unique to the social work profession. Read the Código de Ética (Spanish version), Highlighted Revisions to the Code of Ethics, 2017 Approved Changes to the NASW Code of Ethics FAQ. Social workers should ensure that their representations to clients, agencies, and the public of professional qualifications, credentials, education, competence, affiliations, services provided, or results to be achieved are accurate. 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