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SWB100: Orientation to Social Work & Human Services - Essay Writing Assessment Answers

December 22, 2017
Author : Charles Hill

Solution Code: 1ACHA

Question: Social Work & Human Services

This assignment is related to “Social Work & Human Services” and experts at My Assignment Services AU successfully delivered HD quality work within the given deadline.

Social Work & Human Services Essay Writing

Task

The essay will focus on an in-depth examination of one of the threshold concepts topic areas. The essay will expand on the workshop, lecture and tutorial discussions on one of the topic areas examined in the unit. This is an academic paper and students will be expected to research beyond the content already delivered.

The focus of the essay is on one of the topic areas. The topic areas include:

  • Values
  • Ethics
  • Roles and Levels of Practice
  • Practice Standards
  • Practice frameworks
  • Social work and social control (also includes concept of ‘deservingness’)
  • Critical and Reflective practice

The task is to demonstrate an understanding of the topic area, and critical analysis of it in the context of Social Work /Human Services, i.e. why is it important to know about this, what challenges might arise.

You can narrow the focus down to look at an aspect of the topic, eg look at a couple of ethical principles like confidentiality and duty of care. Or eg how deservingness criteria impacts work with people with a disability.

These assignments are solved by our professional Social Work Experts at My Assignment Services AU and the solution are high quality of work as well as 100% plagiarism free. The assignment solution was delivered within 2-3 Days.

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Solution:

Introduction

Social work and human services is guided by a set of well-structured and developed ethical codes. The ethical codes guide practice and ensure form the core of the social work profession. There are various ethical responsibilities, attitudes and behaviours expected of social workers in carrying out their duties and responsibilities. During practice, social workers have various responsibilities guided by the ethical base developed in social work and human services. Confidentiality is one of the core responsibilities social workers have to the clients (Reamer, 2013). All social workers have an obligation to protect the confidentiality of the clients and promote their right to self-determination. According to contemporary social workers, there occur some situations at times when the clients’ rights to confidentiality are breached. However, these situations are often extra ordinary instances when social worker has to make the correct decision based on the context. Nevertheless, confidentiality must always be maintained at all times. Social work is a profession guided by a principles, standards and values. These characteristics determine and dictate every element of social work practice. We are entitled to work based on these Principe critical of which is maintaining client confidentiality (Ulrich et al, 2010).

Confidentiality principles in social work

These ethical responsibilities are developed and based on values stipulated and outlined in the code of ethics for social workers. As social workers, we are expected to respect the rights of our clients and guide the relationship based on trust, privacy and confidentiality of the information given by the clients. During professional practice and service, social workers are expected to be responsible for the information given to them by the clients (Banks, 2008). This is the basis of social work practice and is critical to the values and ethics regarding social work.

When seeking information from the client during practice. Social workers should be skilled enough not to intrude unnecessarily or inquire critical information that may compromise the client’s privacy. When seeking information from the client, the social worker should only focus on the information that is relevant to the situation in context (Hugman, 2003). The boundaries of personal information should be kept at all times. This ensure professionalism during practice thus distinguishing social work from other professions

Before getting any information from the client, the social workers must get approval from the client. This is usually in the form of an informed consent. To uphold the principles of confidentiality, a social worker is expected to obtain informed consent form their clients indicating that they are comfortable giving their personal information. The informed consent can also be obtained from authorised representatives of the client based on the situation on the ground. However, the baseline is that the client has to approach the whole process before you as a social worker can embark on getting information from the client (Gambrill, 2001).

Conveying information to the clients is also included as part of ethical behaviour related to confidentiality that is expected from all social work professionals. Social workers are expected to inform and make clients understand why the information is being collected and its intended use. The purpose of the information collected from the interview must be clarified at the onset of the interview. With such information in mind, it will be easy for the client to disclose critical information that will be needed in the whole process. A core mistake that a social worker can do is not informing the client of the purpose of the information to be collected. This may lead to legal actions on the social worker because he/ she would have breached the client’s confidentiality.

The concept of confidentiality is a very core and broad component of social work practice (Bell & Trish, 2015). There are cases where social work professionals have been accused of breaking client confidentiality and some of these people have been sentenced for the same. Therefore, it is mandatory for all social workers to uphold some of these ethical principles because they were developed to guide social work practice. The information collected from the client should only be used for the specific reason or purpose stipulated at the beginning of the interview. The social worker should always make sure the client information is use with a written authorization from the client, a purpose directly related to the purpose designed for the information or in cases where there is a lawful excuse. Otherwise, the information should be preserved for its original purpose. All these ethical principles and standard were developed with the sole purpose of maintaining client confidentiality at all times. Therefore, good social practice involved keeping these standards and implementing them to the latter.

It is evident that the issues and arguments revolving around the concept of confidentiality privacy are a mong the most difficult in the context of social work. The exact definition of the term ‘confidentiality’ and the exact extent to which the term should be upheld in cases where there is risk to self and others remains a dilemma. There has been confusion regarding the terms confidentiality and privacy. According to Collingridge (2001), confidentiality is a term dependent on privacy and respect for the rights and value upheld by the client

It is a duty for all social workers to respect all the rights pertained by the client. These include the right to confidentiality and privacy. All social workers have a critical responsibility to their clients in the form of confidentiality. A close interaction exists between client confidentiality and social work practice. Various standards in the code of ethics for social wok elaborate on the importance of the upholding client confidentiality. In social work confidentiality should be practice when it comes to obtaining informed consent from the client, the boundaries of client confidentiality, storage of client information and circumstances in which confidentiality may be breached. It is a duty of the social worker professional to tell the client all these information (Giurgiu & Marica, 2013).

Challenges

Implementing social work ethical standards is not always as easy as it may seem. Depending on the context and situation, social workers may face various challenges ensuring client confidentiality is maintained. So far, it is clear that social workers should ensure they protect the confidentiality of all information given to them by the clients. It the requirement that social workers will ensure confidentiality may not be applicable in some instances. Knowing when to and not to disclose client information based on the circumstance at hand is a major challenge for social workers (Casimir & Samuel, 2015). At times it may be necessary to disclose patient information for instance when there is potential harm to the client of other person in question. Such a dilemma has been a challenge for many social workers some of who find themselves in entangled court cases being accused of withholding critical information.

In such a situation, I would consult with a legal expert on the same. Before disclosing the information of my clients, I would talk to my lawyer concerning my boundaries as a social work professional. I would then use this information to make the correct judgment of whether to disclose the information or not. If by any case the information may pose a threat to my client, or other people or required by law, I would on the right side of the law and disclose the information. However, if these factors were not met, I would stand by my duty to keep the information of my clients confidential. An interesting case about such confidentiality dilemmas was the case of a man who was almost jailed for refusing to disclose client information in a court of law (Malugini, 2007). The social worker was order to submit the client’s records in court, which he refused, based on his belief in maintaining patient confidentiality. A couple battling a custody case required the documents. This is a typical case of a situation where a social worker may find it challenging to know when to withhold or release client information. Fortunately, the defendant was not jailed because his lawyers reached a common ground with the couple in the case

Another common challenge when it comes to confidentiality of client information occurs when dealing with minors. There often comes a time when the client may ask, “Will you tell my mom?” Despite how touching such a statement may be, we are required by law report to parents or in some case to the relevant department. The challenge in such a case is balancing between breaching the minor’s confidentiality and being human. In such a case, I would reflect on the case and make the decision based on my sound judgment. As social workers, we aim at supporting the client’s right to self-determination even for minors (Saxon, Jacinto, & Sophia, 2006). It also important to maintain human relationship means that when we breach the minor’s confidentiality, it may affect my trust with the children moving forward. There is also the issue of integrity. I am entitled to behave in a trustworthy manner to my clients even if they are minors. Therefore, in such a scenario, I would not tell the issue to the parents but will myself act as a parent and talk to the minor about the issue and the best ways to tackle it.

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