Running Head: ADDICTIONS

Week three homework

Susan Buckingham

Campbellsville University

27th October, 2020

ETHICS SECTION

For this assignment I’ve chosen the case 1 from the given scenarios. The case is of Mrs.

Rita who is said to be a single mother and she is supporting her 3 children. Her children are

below the age of 10 years. She is a bus driver by profession. The case further states that she is

seeking treatment for cocaine dependence from a local treatment center where after going

through 2 urine toxicology screens, her reports show that she is still cocaine dependent, although,

Mrs. Rita is attending both individual and group counseling sessions. Her concern is that her case

shouldn’t get reported to the court by her social worker.

The ethical issue in the above-mentioned scenario would be a complex one. The social

worker would have to keep in mind the consequences on both sides. If the social worker decides

to REPORT his/her client to the relevant authorities, he/she should know what impact it would

bring upon the client – both professionally and personally. Judging by the scenario, the client’s

financial position might not be good enough and the social worker would have to take in

consideration that Mrs. Rita’s children will get the engulfed in the wave of impact that will

generate if the social worker goes ahead and takes the decision of reporting her case of cocaine

dependency. On the other hand, if the social worker DOES NOT report the client, the

consequences would be clearly different. The client could resume her intake of cocaine and it

would obviously impact her overall life. At the point when such clashes happen, social workers

must put forth a mindful attempt to determine the contention in a way that is predictable with the

qualities, standards, and norms communicated by the NASW code of morals. On the off chance

that a sensible goal of the contention doesn't seem conceivable, social workers should look for

appropriate meeting before deciding for their client. For this scenario, code 1.07 of Privacy and

Confidentiality or 1.01 Commitment to Clients will be applicable.

CODE 1.07 OF PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

The code states that “Social workers should protect the confidentiality of all information

obtained in the course of professional service, except for compelling professional reasons. The

general expectation that social workers will keep information confidential does not apply

when disclosure is necessary to prevent serious, foreseeable, and imminent harm to a client

or other identifiable person or when laws or regulations require disclosure without a

client’s consent. In all instances, social workers should disclose the least amount of confidential

information necessary to achieve the desired purpose; only information that is directly relevant to

the purpose for which the disclosure is made should be revealed”. Hence, if Mrs. Rita is abusing

cocaine, I will have to disclose this information to the court as it would be unethical not to do so.

CODE 1.01 COMMITMENT TO CLIENTS

The code states that “Social workers’ primary responsibility is to promote the well-being

of clients. In general, clients’ interests are primary. However, social workers’ responsibility to

the larger society or specific legal obligations may on limited occasions supersede the loyalty

owed clients, and clients should be so advised. (Examples include when a social worker is

required by law to report that a client has abused a child or has threatened to harm self or others.”

This code easily could guide me towards taking the decision which would be in the best

interests of my client.

INFORMATION NEEDED TO TAKE A DECISION

In this scenario, I will need to refer and research about the state laws that are governed by

the court of law. For instance, if this scenario took place in New York where the state laws for
the possession and use of cocaine and heroin are very tough. It would be very difficult for me

NOT to report Mrs. Rita’s cocaine usage to the authorities. State laws are very important for a

case that involves SUD. Talking about New York, the laws are very complex and even

convoluted. I will have to take a look at the Rockfeller Drug Laws in order to make my decision.

Apart from this, I can also take this case to a drug crime attorney who will be able to direct me

towards taking the right decision.

CUTURE SECTION

Keeping in reference the section 1.05 cultural competence and social diversity. The

cultural components of any specific group of people really plays an important role for a case.

According to the scenario, I will need to have knowledge about the social group from where my

client (Rita) belongs. I should acquire schooling about and look to comprehend the idea of social

variety and mistreatment concerning race, identity, public cause, shading, sex, sexual direction,

age, conjugal status, political conviction, religion in order to efficiently asses my client’s

situation.

Personally speaking, there would be no historical trauma or oppression that would come

in between my decisions and judgements for this case. I will remain neutral as a social worker

and I will try my best to refrain the client from abuse of cocaine, whether it’s through

counselling, rehab or through punishment by law (Reamer, 2017).

based on the scenario I’ve selected, the only factor that would affect my work with this

client would be the fact that the client has 3 children who are below the age of 10. Their life

would get greatly affected by the decisions that I will take for the well-being of their mother. If
the client gets any punishment or rehab time from the court of law, the children will be left alone

as Mrs. Rita is a single mother as described in the scenario.

to ensure that these are managed in a professionally appropriate manner, I will need to

follow the ethical standards that are relevant to the professional activities of all social workers.

As a social worker, I’m not only obliged to make judgements that are fruitful for my client but

also, I have to keep in mind the broader good of the society. I will need to keep in mind the fact

that taking a wrong decision could ruin the life of my client and thus her children’s life would get

affected too. To overcome the stress caused by this type of cases I clearly would need a self-care

plan. My selfcare plan would consist of the mind and physical exercises that I will perform in

order to overcome the stress caused by the case (Willis, 2019).

POLICY SECTION

Keeping in mind the selected scenario. As Mrs. Rita is a single mother who is unable to

stop her cocaine use even after individual and group counselling, the policy that I will select for

her case refers to the improving of her addiction treatment. If the client really wants to stop her

use of cocaine, I will guide her to improve her treatment that will include an increase in

treatment capacity. The policy will help the client to find quality addiction care. It also includes

an increase availability of medications for addiction treatment. (Hebenstreit, 2017)

 REFERENCE

Hebenstreit, H. (2017). The National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics and Cultural

Competence: What Does Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

Teach Us Today? Health & social work, 42(2), 103-107.

Reamer, F. G. (2017). Eye on ethics: New NASW Code of Ethics standards for the digital age.

Willis, N. G., & Molina, V. (2019). Self-care and the social worker: Taking our place in the

code. Social work, 64(1), 83-86.