Core

Competency 2
Stephanie Brooke Wall

Core Competency 2
Apply social work ethical principles to
guide professional practice.

Practice Behavior 2.1

Recognize and manage personal values in a way that allows
professional values to guide practice.

Social Workers have to remember to leave their personal

values at the door, and to think with their professional
values.
I had to do this when I went on a home visit. When I pulled
up I saw a young child running around outside with no
supervision. The young child was home with his other
brother who in my opinion was to young to be home alone
with a child. However, by law as long as the child knows
what to do in case of a fire the are aloud to stay home alone.

Practice Behavior 2.2

Make ethical decisions by applying standards of the NASW Code
of Ethics and, as applicable, of the International Federation of
Social Workers/ International Association of School Social Work
Ethics in Social Work, Statement of Principles.
It is important to remember the NASW Code of Ethics along
with the other principles, because they help guide the
decisions that are made in each case.
I had a meeting with a student and his stepfather and I had to
have respect and really explain the importance of human
relationships. The student had just recently lost his mother
and introducing him to a few teachers and counselors to help
him understand there are people who care about his education
and who are empathic in what he is having to deal with.

Practice Behavior 2.3

Tolerate ambiguity in resolving ethical conflicts
Going back on the student who has just lost his
mother. It was important for my supervisor to
use this practice behavior and we might have
to use it in the future. The student made it very
clear that if someone says something about his
mother or attempts to pick on him, he will
fight. As a social worker it is part of the job to
maintain peace and educate others on the
different ethics and how to respect others.

Practice Behavior 2.4

Apply strategies of ethical reasoning to arrive at
principled decisions
As a social worker it is important to stick with our
Ethical values and principles. We also have to apply
these ethics to better assist the client.
For example our first ethical value is service. We have to
use our knowledge of local programing to help serve our
community. My supervisor spoke with a mother who
needed counseling for her children and she helped her
by setting up those services and she picked an
affordable place that would come to the school if they
needed to.