Objective 4: Apply ethical guidelines to violations in practice and analyze consequences of ethical negligence or failure in real world scenarios.

Ethical guidelines of our profession are those that are determined to be best practice. Each situation is unique and sometimes the ethically correct choice is not necessarily obvious. Yet, there are rules that govern how we practice, as well as the consequences that occur to both the professional and the client if proper ethics are not practiced.

In the links below, you will find several stories of professionals who were accused of not following the ethical guidelines that have been set in place as a part of our responsibilities as practitioners. For this assignment, you will be exploring real world scenarios of possible ethical failures as well as the consequences that can occur to all parties involved.

• http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/05/dhs_hit_with_35_million_lawsui.html
• http://www.denverpost.com/2012/11/10/abused-childrens-cries-for-help-were-ignored-2/
• http://www.childrensrights.org/press-release/child-welfare-experts-blast-oklahoma-department-of-human-services-in-new-reports-on-kids-safety-in-foster-care/
• http://www.kptv.com/story/31661617/16m-lawsuit-claims-dhs-failed-to-protect-kids-from-months-of-abuse

For this assignment:

• Research and find a story or incident regarding an accused failure in ethics in the human services profession. This can be in any role of your choosing – advocacy, human services, social work, education, even fund raising. Provide 1-2 paragraphs summarizing the incident (who was involved, what occurred, etc.)
• In 1-2 paragraphs, identify a professional organization (example APA, AAMFT, NASW), and discuss at least 2 ethical guidelines that were proposed to be violated in your chosen real world example. Be sure to provide your reasoning as to why guidelines were possibly violated by providing specifics from your case.
• In a concluding paragraph, discuss the consequences (actual or proposed) that occurred as a result of the ethical violation for both the client and professional.