Ethical Dilemma Paper Final 12.7

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1 Ethical Dilemma Paper Justine Weir Simmons University SWO 411: Human Behavior in the Social Environment Prof. Amelia Finney December 6 th 2022

2 1 Introduction and Personal Identification My name is Justine Weir and I identify as a cisgendered, married white woman. I am able bodied and English speaking of Swedish and English descent. My highest level of education is a bachelor’s degree in Social Work. I was raised in the Midwest where I still reside presently. In terms of religion, I waver between Christianity and Spirituality. I am a lower middle class, late twenties mother to three kids. Identifying as a white, cisgendered middle class member offers me privileges that other folks may not have. While I am lower middle class, I have the privilege to not be in the poverty level and need state assistance. I also do not have to worry about being ridiculed for my sexual orientation/identity or my race. Regarding personal values, I have many that are important to me and align with each other. Spontaneity yet dependability is important to me. I enjoy going on adventures but want those around me to know they can depend on me. I am very independent although I struggle with confidence at times. To be the best sister, mother, wife, and friend I can is important to me, and I remain loyal to those I care about. Honesty is important to me, but I find it can be important at times to refrain from speaking the truth or what I feel is the truth especially if it could cause harm. I believe it’s important to be authentic and try to often encourage the people I encounter. While patience isn’t my strongest suit, I have been working to grow it with my ability to communicate especially regarding feelings. When I think of how I can best be ‘Justine’, each of these virtues feel important. I have been frequently let down or lied to in my life by people who told me they cared about me which has led me not to want to do the same to others. I also want to be a person that I could be proud of but also to be someone other people are proud to know and have around them as well. I especially want to make sure that I’m a good role model for my

3 1 children so that they can become people they’re proud of and can contribute to this world positively. Ethical Dilemma Scenarios Scenario A: In this first scenario, I am a county department of social services case worker where my client, Dora, lets me know that she has been receiving payments for babysitting neighborhood kids while she is on public assistance. Due to my client being on assistance, all income needs to be reported but by doing so, it could lead to decreased benefits. Dora’s struggling to get by with what benefits she’s currently getting. It also risks losing her trust. Under the NASW, this challenges the code of ethics of ‘integrity’ (NASW, 2021) . By not reporting, it could be seen as not acting with integrity and properly doing my job. On the other hand, it also challenges the ethic of ‘importance of human relationships’ and ‘dignity and worth of a person’ ( NASW,2021 ). Dora mentioned the information because she clearly has a level of trust with her case worker that she did not feel the need to hide the information as well as being proud of herself. For this scenario, I feel as though there is information missing that would be important to know. I would need to understand what my exact role and responsibility as her social worker was. When searching for the job description of what a county case worker, every job description states, ‘completes or directs the preparation of necessary records and reports.’ (Iowa Department of Administrative Services, 2015) This makes it seem that it is possible that I would be responsible with helping with the forms in regard to receiving her benefits. Unfortunately, I could not find clarification if I would be in the role of assigning benefits or if I am a therapist or support person in the process.

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4 1 Per the NASW code of ethics 1.07 (NASW,2021, 1.07) , it would be important to respect the patient’s privacy and I would find it crucial to get her permission to disclose the information. It should also be taken into consideration how soon she will be do with her job training and starting full time employment. Dora is already struggling to make ends meet with what assistance she is currently getting so to get even less could end up hurting her even more and affecting her overall well-being. On top of that, the babysitting money is not guaranteed. She could possibly only be getting it here or there and one day could end up not being available at all. She could also be doing it just for when the neighborhoods’ daycare options are closed and just filling in for the time being. According to the Internal Revenue Service, a 1099 form for cash income when it hits a threshold of at least $600. (2022) If the amount is not very much or she was not doing the work long, it is likely she would be under the limit of $600 to be able to file taxes for it. Since money would not be considered taxable, and it does not provide security for Dora, there could be more harm than good done by reporting it. Therefore, I wouldn’t be comfortable reporting it. On the other hand, Dora should be informed about the requirements of reporting and the consequences of not doing so. Scenario B: In Scenario B, I am a social worker at a local mental health clinic where a male, Jack, comes in due to his inability to keep a job longer than a few weeks. Jack is separated from his wife and their two kids. Jack had attendance issues at his last job. While he is soft spoken, has outburst of anger and has strong racist opinions. The ethical dilemma for this scenario is between promoting social justice while respecting the ‘dignity and worth of a person’ as well as practicing within our area of competence. ( NASW, 2021) It’s important to find the underlying issues for Jack and help him work through it. He could need help learning how to cope with his

5 1 anger and frustration as well as how to handle the divorce and lack of time with his children. On top of treating Jack and his possible emotional and mental struggles, it would be important to address the racist opinions. Per the NASW ( NASW, 2021, 6.04), Social workers should act to prevent and eliminate domination of, exploitation of, and discrimination against any person, group, or class on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, or mental or physical ability. According to U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, discrimination on any basis is forbidden in any form of employment ( U.S. EEOC, n.d. ). By addressing Jack’s racial opinions, it could possibly help him to keep a job longer. If Jack were able to keep a job longer, he may be able to get more time with his children and it could help his mental and emotional state. While addressing his racial opinions may seem ‘nonconstructive’, it could be part of the underlying issue for why he is unable to keep a job for long and in turn effecting his mental health. Scenario C: In Scenario C, I am a social worker at a mental health center that provides individual and group counseling for a variety of problems and issues. My 14-year-old client, Cheyenne, is depressed and potentially suicidal. She recently stated that she is sexually active and would kill herself if she got pregnant with her current boyfriend. She asks for help getting contraceptives due to her boyfriend refusing to wear a condom. She is afraid to talk to her very religious parents as they are against premarital sex and wouldn’t consent to contraceptives. This ethical dilemma brings into focus ‘integrity’, ‘service’ and ‘social justice’. ( NASW, 2021) The priority lies in first

6 1 gauging her suicidal ideations and ensuring that she is safe. If Cheyenne is experiencing suicidal ideations and has a plan to do so, it would result in breaking confidentiality with her to inform her parents and report it to the authorities or to have her admitted to a psychiatric hospital. By doing so, it would likely result in losing our client’s trust. Per the Social Work Reference Guide, ”In the United States, all social workers, mental health clinicians, and healthcare professionals are bound by the ‘ duty to warn,’ which requires them to inform the proper authorities if a person is found to be a danger to him- or herself or others’” ( Wagstaff & Gale, 2021) By not documenting and/or reporting Cheyanne’s voicing of feeling suicidal, it puts me at risk for not working competently as well as not doing her justice. It would also be crucial to inform Cheyenne that by her boyfriend not willing to wear a condom while having sexual intercourse is a form of sexual assault especially if she has asked him to wear a condom previously and he has refused. ( National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2020) I would also encourage her that while she may not be interested or willing to break up with her significant other, that it would be beneficial to get on birth control. From one article that I found, ‘Adolescents can keep contraceptive services confidential from their parents and others under Medicaid rules and under Title X of the Public Health Service Act’. ( Levy, 2018 ) This would allow Cheyenne to legally be able to get contraceptives without her parents’ consent to protect herself from an unwanted pregnancy. By having the legal backing to support my practical decisions, it helps to ensure that I am acting ethically as well to protect Cheyenne and me both. Reflection Overall, this experience was both hard and easy. To say it was just one or the other, would be oversimplifying it. For each scenario, I felt like I ‘knew’ what I would want to do in

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7 1 the situation. I thought it was easy to know the right way to approach each situation but to find the support and explanation of ‘why’ was hard at times. We are expected to adhere to the code of ethics but when multiple ethics are placed in a dilemma, you have to decide which of them takes precedence. We’re not told that one ethical standard is more important than others but, in these scenarios, we were challenged on that. It made me wonder that while what I feel is ‘right’ for the scenarios, is it actually right or is my understanding wrong and I need to challenge my viewpoint?

8 1 References Code of Ethics . (n.d.). https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of- Ethics-English Forms and Associated Taxes for Independent Contractors | Internal Revenue Service . (2022, June 29). Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/forms-and-associated- taxes-for-independent-contractors Iowa Department of Administrative Services. (2015). Social Worker 3. Iowa Department of Administrative Services . https://das.iowa.gov/sites/default/files/hr/documents/class_and_pay/ JobClassDescriptions/SocialWorker3-03016-23016.pdf Levy. (2018). Legal Issues. . .Maintaining Confidentiality: Minors. CINAHL Nursing Guide . https://ezproxy.simmons.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=nup&AN=T706122&site=eds-live&scope=site National Sexual Violence Resource Center. (2020). About Sexual Assault . Retrieved December 7, 2022, from https://www.nsvrc.org/about-sexual-assault Race/Color Discrimination . (n.d.). US EEOC. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://www.eeoc.gov/racecolor-discrimination Wagstaff, & Gale. (2021). Suicide. Social Work Reference Guide . https://ezproxy.simmons.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=swrc&AN=T709319&site=eds-live&scope=site

Ethical Dilemma Paper Final 12.7

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