Ethical Violations in Social Work Practice Strom-Gottfried, K.J. (2000). Ensuring ethical practice: An examination of NASW Code violations, 1986-1997. Social Work, 45(3), 251-261.

Based on the work of Kimberly Strom-Gottfried, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and University Ethics Fellow School of Social Work University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

NASW Code of Ethics vPurposes: Identifies core values OSummarizes broad ethical principles and standards OHelps identify relevant ethical considerations in practice OSocializes practitioners to field OArticulates standards for assessing unethical conduct O

Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

NASW Adjudication... vIs a peer-review process, not legal or regulatory vSeeks to uphold standards contained in the Code of Ethics vApplies to the Association’s members vEvaluates social workers’ actions in context vContains due process protections and appeals procedures Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

NASW Adjudicates... vComplaints against members made by clients, colleagues, surrogates, or others. vComplaints by members against employing organizations for violation of personnel standards or for “professional action” (retaliation against a social worker who was advocating for clients or services). Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

Steps in the NASW Adjudication Process 1. Complaint Filed 2. Complaint Reviewed - Accept or Reject based on five criteria - time, membership, evidence, would be a violation if true, complainant affected personally, pledge confidentiality 3. If Accepted - Hearing is held 4. If Findings- Corrective Actions are applied 5. If Corrective Actions do not result in compliance, Sanctions are applied *Decisions at each level can be appealed by either party Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

Research Method vReviewed all ethics complaints filed with NASW from 7/1/86-12/31/97 vCases in 1997 based on the revised Code were excluded. vSeven cases were unavailable for review v894 of 901 cases were examined vLimited data available in record on the parties. vAppeals, alleged violations and tenets were not recorded. Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

Ethics Complaints Filed Per Calendar Year 120

80 60 40 20 0 *1 98 6 19 87 19 88 19 89 19 90 19 91 19 92 19 93 19 94 19 95 19 96 *1 99 7

Frequency

100

Year Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

Overview - Case Dispositions vComplaint not accepted vClosed vWithdrawn vMediated vTerminated vWent to hearing

215 104 77 18 10 428

24% 11.6% 8.6% 2% 1.1% 47.8%

Resulted in findings

267

29.8%

40

4%

O

vStill in progress

Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

Relationship of Complainants to Resp A ll C a s e s

C a s e s W ith F in d in g s

N

n

363 174

127 28

3 5 .0 1 6 .1

1 9 4 4

1 1 3 1

1 2 7 4

8 0 7 7

.6 .4 .3 .5

2 1 3 7

2 8 0 1

.5 .5 .7 .4

C lie n t E m p lo y e e o r S u p e rv is e e R e la tiv e o f C lie n t C o lle a g u e S u rro g a te E m p lo y e r o r S u p e rv is o r S tu d e n t (S p o u s e ) O th e r R e p re s e n ta tiv e S e lf-R e p o rt

31 27 13 7

7 5 4 5

TO TA L

894

267

02 3 4 0

9 9 4 9

P e rc e n t re s u ltin g in v io la tio n s

s ig n ific a n c e : p = < .0 0 0 1 , c h i s q u a re = 9 1 .7 7 8 6 6 , d f = 9 Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

Work Setting of W ork Setting A ll C ases C ases W ith Respondents Findings N

n

Percent of C ases from Setting w ith Findings of V iolation

A gency, Private N onprofit A gency, T ype N ot K now n Private Practice, N ot Specified N ot K now n Private Practice, Solo A gency, Public Private Practice, G roup C ollege or U niversity A gency, For Profit

179 165 150

49 42 52

27.4 25.5 34.7

127 93 76 51 34 19

25 43 17 29 5 5

19.7 46.2 22.4 56.9 14.7 26.3

TO TA L

894

267

significance = < .0001, chi square = 45.52757, df = 8 Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

Respondent Gender All Cases

Cases w/ Findings

% Found in Viol.

Female

488

128

26.2

Male

345

131

38.0

>1 respondent

61

8

13.1

significance: p1 complainant

71

24

33.8

significance: p20

Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

Violations Within Conflicts of Interest Category With client and his/her family Between client and worker Between organization/worker/client

11 7 4

Total

22

Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

Corrective Actions n A p p lied in W h a t P erc en t Imposed o f C a ses W ith F in d in g s? S eek C lin ic a l S u p erv isio n S eek S u p erv isio n o n E th ic s M isc ella n eo u s L etter o f C en su re C o n tin u in g E d u c a tio n S u sp en d M em b ersh ip N o tify R eg u la to ry B o a rd R ec eiv e T h era p y Issu e A p o lo g y R estric t P ra c tic e S eek G en era l S u p erv isio n W rite a P a p er/P o lic y R efu n d F ees S eek S p ec ified C o n su lta tio n S eek S u p erv isio n o n A d m in istra tiv e Issu es N o tify E m p lo yer P u b lic a tio n o f F in d in g s C o rrec tio n o f R ec o rd

62 62 57 52 44 39 38 36 33 32 30 28 25 22 17 16 11 8

Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

2 3 .2 2 3 .2 2 1 .3 1 9 .5 1 6 .5 1 4 .6 1 4 .2 1 3 .4 1 2 .3 1 1 .9 1 1 .2 1 0 .5 9 .4 8 .2 6 .4 6 .0 4 .1 3 .0

Important Findings vNumber of complaints in decline vMale workers represent significant percentage of complaints and findings vHigh proportion of findings against practitioners in private practice vBSWs are 10% of NASW members; were subject of no complaints Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

Important Findings, continued v73% of findings involved more than one type of violation vOver half of cases involved boundary issues vGeneral ethical violations often accompanied boundary violations vFemales committed non-sexual boundary violations in greater proportion than males Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

Important Findings, continued vSexual violations evenly divided between private and agency practitioners; other boundary violations more prevalent in private practice vOver 1/3 of violations filed by colleagues, often related to supervisory or collegial violations vCases filed by employees or supervisees were least likely to yield findings Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

Important Findings, continued vOf the 428 cases with hearings O O O O

38 respondents refused to participate >70 cases had coexisting civil or legal action >99 had coexisting regulatory action 85 respondents and 29 complainant used attorney for consultation

Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

Important Findings, continued vSupervision was most common form of corrective action v67.7% of cases had multiple corrective actions v39 cases resulted in direct sanctions such as suspension of membership or publication

Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

What Actions Can Minimize Risk of Unethical Conduct... vFor a student? vFor a practitioner? vFor an agency? vFor a private practice?

Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried

References Strom-Gottfried, K.J. (2000). Ensuring ethical practice: An examination of NASW Code violations, 1986-1997. Social Work, 45(3), 251-261. Strom-Gottfried, K.J. (2000). Ethical vulnerability in social work education: An analysis of NASW complaints. Journal of Social Work Education, 36(2), 241-252. Strom-Gottfried, K.J. (1999). Professional boundaries: An analysis of violations by social workers. Families in Society,80, 239-249. Research to Teaching UNC SSW copyright 2002 Strom-Gottfried