In Week 4, we are finishing our discussion of the history of social work. There is much more to the story of the origins of this profession, but I hope you have a better understanding of its foundations. We will explore the story of the orphan trains. There are also forums about the code of ethics and how it has evolved through a couple of different view points. Finally, I have a short lecture video where I share some of my experiences in South America. The agenda of the video is:

• Review week four content
• Experiences working at an orphanage

Learning objectives this week

• Be exposed to child welfare from an international perspective.
• Describe the history of the orphan trains, including why children were placed on them and how receiving families were chosen.
• Trace how social work ethics has changed over time, from the profession’s early focus on the morality of clients to today’s digital period.
• Identify significant changes in recent revisions of the NASW Code of Ethics, including the 2017 and 2021 updates, and areas where it may still need to grow.
• Begin to consider the ethical challenges technology creates for practice, such as consent, confidentiality, and boundaries.