Deck 5: Client Rights and Professional Expertise

Question 1

The "client" is always the person/agency who is paying for the social worker's services.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Three types of ambiguity and uncertainty make for ethical problems in social work practice.Which of the following is not an ambiguity/uncertainty?

A)Uncertainty about scientific knowledge and about the facts relevant to any specific situation
B)Uncertainty about goals and values
C)Uncertainty about society's expectations
D)Uncertainty about consequences of the intervention

Answer 2

C

Question 3

A professional should consider whether:

A)Her personal investment in the situation is clear and not motivating her actions.
B)There is no conflict between her best interests and those of the client.
C)Her intentions are in the best interest of the client.
D)All of the above
E)None of the above

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Ethical dilemmas abound in child welfare because there are few or no clear definitions of acceptable or unacceptable risk.

Question 5

Control and manipulation are acceptable professional methods when the social worker is using them to move the client toward needed life changes.

Question 6

The more essential and valuable the services received, the greater the client's feelings of dependency on the worker and the less likely it is that he will choose an option that he believes his social worker will disapprove of.

Question 7

Ambiguities result from incorrect or incomplete information about a situation being confronted.

Question 8

Research has found that social workers who have been working in the field for many years are more likely than new social workers to accept clients' self-determination, even when their expertise tells them that the client is making the wrong decision.

Question 9

According to Hartman, true self-determination requires access to all of the following EXCEPT:

A)Resources
B)Opportunity
C)Power
D)Role models

Question 10

The social worker has no mandate to interfere, as long as the client can make informed decisions, UNLESS:

A)There is a serious danger to others (duty to warn).
B)The client is elderly.
C)The client has no family to assist in making decisions.
D)The client is illiterate.

Question 11

Unsuccessful outcomes are frequently the result of factors over which the social worker had no control.

Question 12

Sally Jones was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder six years ago.When she is not hospitalized, she does not take her medicine the way she is supposed to.Since she was diagnosed, Sally has made three serious suicide attempts while in the depressive phase of her illness.She is currently off her medication and is showing signs of depression.Her social worker has talked to Sally about readmission to the hospital but Sally refuses to go.The worker must abide by Sally's decision, as she has the right to self-determination.

Question 13

When the same intervention is used in seemingly identical or very similar problem situations, the outcome is always the same.

Question 14

The right to self-determination is a core belief of the social work profession.

Question 15

Adult protective social workers have to deal with the ethical dilemma which results from the elderly person's right to refuse services and the worker's duty to protect.

Question 16

Self-determination is a fundamental right that is protected by the U.S.Constitution.

Question 17

What issue does NOT interfere with a client's ability to be self-determining?

A)Lack of resources
B)Poor self-esteem
C)Level of education
D)Stigma

Question 18

Based on stereotypes, which of the following groups is often deemed incapable of making autonomous decisions?

A)The elderly
B)The poor
C)Females
D)Minorities
E)All of the above

Question 19

Ethical dilemmas have become more frequent because:

A)Decisions which involve technical considerations are beyond the comprehension of most people.
B)Reliance on professionals has become more acceptable.
C)There are new mandates and demands in relation to persons with disabilities and others who are vulnerable.
D)All of the above

Question 20

Participants in the social work process include the client, the target, the beneficiary and the applicant.

Question 21

Using Figure 5.1 provided on page 93, have the class divide into 4 groups and using exemplars 5.1-5.4, identify the applicant, client, target and beneficiary of each exemplar.

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT a reason why ambiguity may be a more critical problem for social workers than for many other professionals?

A)Clients frequently do not really know what their problem is.
B)Clients are set upon a particular course of action and refuse to consider change.
C)Family, friends, and others who are involved in the situation have different ideas about what can and should be done.
D)The social worker can't totally control the outcome of whatever intervention is tried.

Question 23

Have the class read exemplars 5.1 and 5.2 on page 92 and discuss who the client is.

Question 24

Discuss the ethical dilemma that arises out of the two sometimes contradictory professional principles: 1) the principle to provide professional help when needed in order to assure that person's welfare, and 2) the principle not to interfere with a person's freedom.
Discussion Topics:

Question 25

Have the class create a list of what they feel should constitute client rights.Then see where they fit in the Ethical Principles Screen, Figure 4.4 on page 80.

Question 26

Describe the three different types of ambiguity and uncertainty and how they increase the possibility of ethical dilemmas occurring in social work practice.

Question 27

A pregnant woman receives positive indications of a genetically defective fetus.She and her partner have no desire to terminate the pregnancy, despite the doctor's expectation that they should.As the social worker expected to persuade the mother to abort, how would your decision be affected by your own values and religious beliefs?

Question 28

Discuss ways in which you can combine client self-determination with the social workers use of professional knowledge and skill.

Question 29

Define the concept of autonomy and explain the conditions that must be present for a client to be truly autonomous.

Question 30

Is it ethical as a social worker to implement the more effective strategy when the client prefers another approach which you know is going to be less effective?

Question 31

Discuss the concept of client self-determination, what it involves, who it involves, and why it is important in social work practice.

Question 32

Given the following vignette, discuss who the client is.
Daniel has been working in juvenile justice for twenty years.He was just given a case of a 10-year-old Caucasian female named Lilly.Lilly was sexually abused by her uncle, Lenny, from age two to eight.A suspicion of abuse was reported to CPS by Lilly's Kindergarten Teacher at the age of 5 and by her first grade teacher at the age of 6.The teachers reported Lilly to be obese, in dirty clothing, not bathed, having greasy hair, strong body odor, and isolating herself from everyone.Each time CPS went to the home it was clean and there was no substantiation of any form of abuse.Lilly refused to answer teacher and CPS questions.By age 8 Lilly was running away from home and steeling food from the lunches of her peer group.She became a part of the Juvenile Justice System when she ran away from home missing 50 days of school her third grade year.She was found by police doing drugs in a crack house.If you were Daniel, who would you identify as the client? Why?

Question 33

Ask the class to volunteer times in their placements when they felt uncertain about a decision they made.What were the consequences of their decision, if any?
Class Exercises: