Client Management: Ethical and Legal Obligations for Social Workers

This report delves into the ethical and legal obligations inherent in client management within the realm of social work. It begins by outlining the core principles and guidelines set forth by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), emphasizing the paramount importance of client well-being and the commitment to ethical practice. The report examines key areas such as confidentiality, ethical boundaries, and the client's right to self-determination, highlighting the potential for ethical dilemmas and the need for careful consideration. It also explores the importance of ongoing professional development to stay abreast of industry changes and maintain ethical accounting practices. Furthermore, the report underscores the social worker's responsibility to advocate for social justice and address systemic inequalities. It emphasizes the role of social workers in promoting public welfare and actively working to eliminate discrimination and barriers to inclusion. The report also references relevant literature, including works by Beckett, Maynard, and Jordan (2017), and Westbrook (2015), to support its arguments and provide a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.

Running head: CLIENT MANAGEMENT
Client Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

1CLIENT MANAGEMENT
What are your legal and ethical obligations, when responding to crisis situations as a
community social worker?
Throughout their jobs social workers face the number of ethical and legal obligations. They have
to make tough choices about care issues, establish professional boundaries and build interest
conflict awareness (Westbrook 2015). The National Association of Social Workers' Code of
Ethics offers the social workers with ethical and legal guidelines in the fields of clients, specific
professionals, clinical settings, the society and the other professionals.
The commitment of the social workers is first and foremost with their clients. Notwithstanding
her best intentions, during the work with the clients, the social worker can come up against
particular ethical and legal obligations. Some of the popular obligations, which can occur include
confidentiality, ethical boundaries, respect for the right to the self-determination of the customer
and knowledge of conflicts of the interest.
Ethical considerations may sometimes seem complicated in practice environments and may be
open to the interpretation (Beckett, Maynard and Jordan 2017). It is a large field of focus
addressing a number of practical issues. In work environments, certain ethical and legal concerns
may include concurrent relationships between managers and superiors, staying up-to-date with
field changes through engaging in daily professional development courses, and ensuring ethical
accounting practices like avoiding only billing or double billing for the provided services.
The social workers are also committed to society as whole. They should work for promoting
the public welfare and social justice, and must not be active in practices fostering injustice and
discrimination. The social workers should be engaged in the political and social action which
finally leads to the removal of barriers and promotes the betterment and social inclusion.

2CLIENT MANAGEMENT
References
Beckett, C., Maynard, A. and Jordan, P., 2017. Values and ethics in social work. Sage.
Westbrook, L., 2015. “I’m not a social worker”: An information service model for working with
patrons in crisis. The Library Quarterly, 85(1), pp.6-25.