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Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in Social Work
A Narrative On The Witch-Hunt Narrative: The Moral Dimensions, Frederic G. Reamer
A Narrative On The Witch-Hunt Narrative: The Moral Dimensions, Frederic G. Reamer
Faculty Publications
Ross Cheit’s The Witch-Hunt Narrative raises a number of complex moral issues. Cheit’s principal purpose is to challenge the belief that our society has overreacted to claims about the sexual abuse of children. Both directly and indirectly, Cheit’s in-depth analysis broaches moral concerns pertaining to the integrity of child abuse allegations, investigations, civil litigation, and criminal prosecution, with an emphasis on the mixed motives of the parties involved in key cases. This article provides an overview of ethical questions pertaining to gathering information from very vulnerable individuals, informed consent, institutional review, protection of research participants, the use of deception and …
Clinical Social Work In A Digital Environment: Ethical And Risk-Management Challenges, Frederic G. Reamer
Clinical Social Work In A Digital Environment: Ethical And Risk-Management Challenges, Frederic G. Reamer
Faculty Publications
Clinical social workers’ use of digital and other technology to provide distance counseling services is proliferating. Increasing numbers of contemporary practitioners are using video counseling, email chat, social networking websites, text messaging, smartphone apps, avatar-based websites, self-guided web-based interventions, and other technology to provide clinical services to clients, some of whom they may never meet in person. The advent of this technology has produced a wide range of ethical challenges related to social workers’ application of traditional social work ethics concepts: client informed consent; client privacy and confidentiality; boundaries and dual relationships; conflicts of interest; practitioner competence; records and documentation; …
The Evolution Of Social Work Ethics: Bearing Witness, Frederic G. Reamer
The Evolution Of Social Work Ethics: Bearing Witness, Frederic G. Reamer
Faculty Publications
The evolution of ethical standards in social work, and conceptual frameworks for examining ethical issues, is among the most compelling developments in the history of the profession. Since the formal inauguration of social work in the late nineteenth century, the profession has moved from relatively simplistic and moralistic perspectives to conceptually rich analyses of ethical issues and ethical guidelines. This article examines the evolution of social work ethics from the profession’s earliest days and speculates about future challenges and directions.
Distance And Online Social Work Education: Novel Ethical Challenges, Frederic G. Reamer
Distance And Online Social Work Education: Novel Ethical Challenges, Frederic G. Reamer
Faculty Publications
Digital technology has transformed social work education. Today’s students can take individual courses and earn an entire degree without ever meeting their faculty members in person. Technological innovations such as videoconferencing, live online chat, asynchronous podcasts, and webinars enable social work educators to reach students whose personal circumstances and geographical locations make it difficult for them to attend school in person. This paper highlights complex ethical issues associated with the proliferation of digital and online social work education. Key ethical issues concern student access; course and degree program quality and integrity; academic honesty and gatekeeping; and privacy and surveillance.
Open Adoption And Adolescence, Deborah H. Siegel
Open Adoption And Adolescence, Deborah H. Siegel
Faculty Publications
In open adoptions, birth and adoptive families exchange identifying information and have contact. Although most adoptions today include some form of openness, much of the public remains wary of this. The purpose of this study was to explore, longitudinally, adoptive parents' perceptions of their children's open adoptions. This article reports the findings of tape-recorded interviews with 31 adoptive parents who were first interviewed when their children were infants and toddlers, again 7 years later, and a third time when their children were adolescents. The study found adoptive parents were committed to maintaining contact with the birth family even when discomforts …
Social Workers' Management Of Error, Frederic G. Reamer
Social Workers' Management Of Error, Frederic G. Reamer
Faculty Publications
Social workers, like all professionals, sometimes make mistakes. For example, they may disclose clients' confidential information inappropriately, fail to respond to clients' reasonable requests in a timely manner, or engage in improper dual relationships with clients. Ideally, social workers who err would follow a protocol that honors the profession's commitment to responsible and honest communication and minimizes the practical risks faced by social workers who might be named in lawsuits, licensing board complaints, and ethics complaints. This article explores the nature and forms of social work error and possible constructive responses to it that (a) protect clients, (b) minimize risk …
Ethical Issues In Open Adoption, Frederic G. Reamer, Deborah H. Siegel
Ethical Issues In Open Adoption, Frederic G. Reamer, Deborah H. Siegel
Faculty Publications
Total secrecy and confidentiality no longer typify adoption in the United States. Today, most adoptions involve an exchange of information or some form of contact between the birth family and adoptive family - so-called open adoptions. This article provides a comprehensive overview of ethical issues associated with various forms of open adoption, including issues of privacy, confidentiality, self-determination, paternalism, conflicts of interest, deception, and truthtelling.We present guidelines for social work practice in open adoptions, based on current ethical theory and ethical standards in social work.
Nontraditional And Unorthodox Interventions In Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer
Nontraditional And Unorthodox Interventions In Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer
Faculty Publications
Social work interventions with individuals, families, couples, and small groups have evolved over time. Traditional casework methods associated with social work's pioneers during the early and mid-twentieth century, such as Mary Richmond, Florence Hollis, Harriett Bartlett, Grace Coyle, and Helen Perlman have been transformed. Today's social workers are more likely to discuss and debate the use of such approaches as dialectical behavior therapy, narrative therapy, hypnosis, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, art and dance therapy, radical cognitive therapy, and Internet-based therapy, among others. Clinicians now have access to a staggering array of clinical options that would be unimaginable to social …
Ethical And Legal Standards In Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer
Ethical And Legal Standards In Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer
Faculty Publications
Social workers frequently encounter circumstances involving ethical and legal issues. In many instances, relevant ethical and legal standards complement each other; however, in some circumstances, ethical and legal standards conflict. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the relationship between U.S. ethical and legal standards in social work. The author presents a conceptually based typology of 4 types of relationships between legal and ethical standards. Case examples are included. The author concludes with a decision-making framework designed to enhance social workers' constructive management of difficult decisions involving ethical and legal standards.
Moral Philosophy Meets Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer
Moral Philosophy Meets Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer
Faculty Publications
In recent years, social workers have become increasingly aware of ethical dilemmas in practice. Beginning especially in the mid-to-late 1970s, social work's literature has included a steady stream of reflections on difficult moral choices involving conflicts among professional duties and obligations (Loewnberg and Dolgoff 1996; Congress 1998; Reamer 1998, 1999). To what extent do clients have the right to engage in self-harming behavior without interference? How should social workers allocate scarce or limited resources such as emergency services, shelter beds, funds, and even their own time? Is it ethically permissible for social workers to violate laws and regulations they believe …
Families Affected By Substance Abuse, Annmarie Mumm, Lenore J. Olsen, Darlene Allen
Families Affected By Substance Abuse, Annmarie Mumm, Lenore J. Olsen, Darlene Allen
Faculty Publications
A generalist approach to practice with families affected by parental addiction is presented. Using a model program for working with parents and children who have been affected by substance abuse, the article illustrates the application of the problem-solving process to effect change at multiple levels, including individual, family, community, organizational, and policy-making levels. The authors describe assessment and intervention strategies at each of these levels and conclude with an evaluation of the project's success.
The Free Will-Determinism Debate And Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer
The Free Will-Determinism Debate And Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer
Faculty Publications
Social workers'judgments about the determinants of clients' problems have a substantial effect on practitioners' willingness to provide assistance. There is considerable variation in professionals' beliefs about the extent to which clients are themselves responsible for their difficulties, as opposed to factors that are beyond their control. This article examines the philosophical controversy known as the free will-determinism debate, and assesses its implications for the profession of social work.