This topic should provide you with the ability to recognise how to work ethically in the community services industry, both respecting and protecting the rights of clients. You will learn to:
protect the rights of clients when delivering services, regardless of personal values, beliefs and attitudes;
utilise appropriate problem-solving techniques when facing competing value systems, and discuss potential ethical issues with appropriate personnel; and
recognise and report unethical conduct to appropriate personnel.
Section 3.6 Resolving ethical dilemmas or problems
3.6.1 Principles of ethical decision making
All professional ethical codes and guidelines are based on respect for the client, care and protection for the client where required and appropriate behaviour towards the client at all times.
In order to ensure that your decision making is ethical, you need to:
Be very clear on the ethical guidelines of your particular profession (eg. welfare work). There is no specific set of ethical principles relating to every area of community and welfare work, such as drug and alcohol and family support, but the code of ethics for welfare and social work are quite applicable.
Be guided by relevant legislation, such as child protection legislation and the Disability Services Act.
Be aware of your employing agency's code of ethics, reflected in their policy and procedures (this may be more specifically geared to the client group you are working with).
Demonstrate a commitment to a moral standard of professional behaviour which is upheld at all times. The way you treat your clients speaks louder than words.
3.6.2 Ethical dilemmas and effective problem solving
There are times when you will find yourself trying to balance the needs of different people involved in a decision, such as the client, a family member, other clients, the service and yourself.
Along with having a code of ethics of your profession, having a systematic way of examining a difficult ethical dilemma increases your chances of making sound ethical decisions.
Decision-making model
The following is a suggested model for working through the issues and dealing with ethical dilemmas.
1 Identify the problem
Gather as much information as you can to clarify the problem, eg. are there legal aspects to the issue? Should it be defined as an ethical dilemma? (consultation might help decide this.)
2 Apply the code of conduct or ethical guidelines
Once you have a clearer picture of the nature of the problem, consult the code of ethics to see if the issue is addressed. Sometimes even the guidelines won’t help you, so …
3 Determine the nature and dimensions of the dilemma and seek consultation
Ask yourself questions like ‘What actions will have the least chance of bringing harm to the client?’, ‘What decisions will safeguard the wellbeing of the client?’, ‘How can I best promote self-determination?’ You may be referred on by your agency director or coordinator where dilemmas involve outside agencies or other professionals. For example, you may have witnessed a situation you believe to be child abuse or neglect, and you could be directed to discuss this with DoCS as the main witness.
All workers have a duty of care to report behaviours that may be illegal and/or put other clients at risk. DoCS have officers available at its help-line desks to discuss concerns and may help workers to decide whether reporting would be the right thing to do at this point or not. Where a concern involves a director, supervisor or coordinator’s behaviour, it’s important to speak to someone outside the agency, such as the management committee or head office, or someone from an outside body or, in extreme cases, the police.
Appropriate people are usually at least one level up from the person causing concern and perhaps two levels up if you feel that the person may be biased. It is therefore useful to know who people within the service are, and the relevant reporting system
4 Generate possible actions
Brainstorm possible solutions with colleagues—a few heads are better than one.
5 Consider the possible consequences of all options and determine a course of action
Work your way through the options, looking at the potential consequences for all the parties involved.
6 Evaluate the selected course of action
Review your selected course of action to be sure it doesn’t raise any new ethical dilemmas!
7 Implement the course of action
Even though other professionals may act differently, you have worked through a process and justified your action. It is useful to evaluate its effectiveness after the event.
Activity 3.3
Figure 1: Ethical decision making model
Refer back to the Fran and Josh case study in the previous activity. Apply the ethical decision-making model by answering the following questions:
1. What is the problem (as you perceive it)?
2. How would you apply the ethical guidelines (in this case the welfare and community worker guidelines)?
3. What is the nature and dimension of the dilemma?
4. What possible actions could you take?
5. What are the possible consequences of all options? Determine a course of action.
6. List some ideas for evaluating the selected course of action.
7. How would you implement the course of action?
No matter what way you go about ethical decision making, you still may feel some anxiety about your decision. This is understandable given the serious nature of the situations and life choices we are involved in supporting our clients to make. Rarely is ethics black and white, right or wrong. Situations are often controversial because they may be complex, relate to conflicting values or contain a confusing mix of legislation and ethics.
An important sign of your commitment to ethical practice is your willingness to share your concerns or struggles with supervisors or colleagues. Also keep yourself well informed of the latest developments in your field and legislation changes, as well as be prepared to continually self-reflect and learn from your experiences. As you can see, this is a process that should never end, no matter how many years you are in a job or how much experience you have in a given field. We owe it to our clients to ensure that they receive the most professional and ethical assistance possible.
