Spring 2026 SOWK 531 Week 12 - Ethics and Ethical Dilemmas in Practice with Organizations and Communities

Spring 2026 SOWK 531 Week 12 - Ethics and Ethical Dilemmas in Practice with Organizations and Communities

title: Spring 2026 SOWK 531 Week 12 - Ethics and Ethical Dilemmas in Practice with Organizations and Communities date: 2026-04-10 17:38:49 location: Heritage University tags:

• Heritage University
• MSW Program
• SOWK 531 presentation_video: > “” description: >

Week 12 is synchronous, with class taking place on Saturday (4/11). Students read from Kirst-Ashman and Hull (2018) on ethical decision-making and the application of ethics to macro practice. There are forums for students to engage with textbook content and consider the code of ethics. During class we will exploring some of the methods we engage in for considering ethical dilemmas. The agenda includes:

• Steps to think through ethical problems
• Ethical principles screen
• Ethical dilemma practice
• Planning for A-03b, the community impact project presentation

Learning objectives this week include:

• Apply an eight-step ethical decision-making framework to analyze and resolve ethical dilemmas encountered in macro social work practice.
• Use the Ethical Principles Screen to prioritize competing ethical principles in hierarchical order and justify decision-making.
• Analyze the NASW Code of Ethics and apply relevant standards to organizational and community-level practice scenarios.
• Describe the process of deinstitutionalization and identify the ethical dilemmas it presents for social workers, communities, and vulnerable populations.
• Examine ethical dilemmas specific to macro practice contexts.

Plan for Week 12

Agenda

• Steps to think through ethical problems
• Ethical principles screen
• Ethical dilemma practice
• Planning for A-03b, the community impact project presentation

Session Learning Objectives

• Apply an eight-step ethical decision-making framework to analyze and resolve ethical dilemmas encountered in macro social work practice.
• Use the Ethical Principles Screen to prioritize competing ethical principles in hierarchical order and justify decision-making.

Steps to Think Through Ethical Problem

I want have us start with considering the steps we use to think through ethical problems. Note that the authors have updated the flow of these steps since the 2015 version cited in your textbook. I also found it interesting when I went to go look for it, but Husband/Wife/Daughter, Corey^3.

1. Identify the problem or dilemma — Gather information, clarify whether it’s ethical, legal, clinical, cultural, or some combination, and begin consulting with your client.
2. Identify the potential issues involved — Evaluate rights, responsibilities, welfare, cultural context, and apply the six moral principles (autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, fidelity, veracity).
3. Review the relevant ethics codes — Check professional guidelines, consider whether your values align or conflict, and document your reasoning.
4. Know the applicable laws and regulations — Stay current on state/federal laws and agency rules, especially around confidentiality, mandated reporting, and duty to warn.
5. Obtain consultation — Seek diverse perspectives from trusted colleagues, legal counsel, or cultural experts, and document the consultation.
6. Consider possible and probable courses of action — Brainstorm multiple options, including creative or unorthodox ones, and discuss them with your client.
7. Enumerate and consider the consequences — Weigh risks and benefits of each option using the six moral principles, collaborating with your client.
8. Choose the best course of action — Decide, implement, follow up, evaluate outcomes, and document the entire process.

Accessed through Cengage Website and summary help with Claude AI.

(Corey et al., 2024, pp. 22-25)

Ethical Reasoning Case Study

Case study taken from Kirst-Ashman and Hull (2018) and their MindTap Course tools.

[Small Group Activity] Review case study and apply the steps to thinking through an ethical problem

The family services agency where you counsel survivors of domestic violence is undergoing significant budget cuts. The agency’s administration has indicated that it will need to eliminate some services in order to stay afloat. Programs that may be targeted include day-care for working parents, sex education and contraception counseling for teens, or the thriving but expensive foreign adoptions program. The agency’s other alternatives include elimination of the domestic violence counseling program, decreasing staff for all programs, or significantly cutting workers’ salaries across the board.

The community has depended on your agency and its various services for many years, as adequate alternate services do not exist in.

[Whole Group Activity] Review steps considered as a class

The following is a review organized by Claude:

Your family services agency faces major budget cuts and must eliminate some services. Options include cutting day-care, teen sex education, foreign adoptions, your domestic violence program, reducing staff, or cutting salaries. No adequate alternative services exist in the community.

Applying the Steps

1. Identify the problem or dilemma. The agency can’t fund everything, and any cut will harm people who depend on these services. This is an ethical, organizational, and financial dilemma. You also have a personal stake since your own program could be eliminated. You start by finding out the actual budget numbers, how many people each program serves, and the timeline for the decision.

2. Identify the potential issues involved. Every option hurts someone. Nonmaleficence is key — cutting domestic violence services creates physical safety risks. Justice asks which clients are most vulnerable and have the fewest alternatives. Beneficence asks where the agency does the most irreplaceable good. You also need to honestly acknowledge your own bias as the domestic violence counselor.

3. Review the relevant ethics codes. The NASW Code of Ethics calls for commitment to clients (1.01), continuity of services (1.15), advocating for adequate resources (3.07), and promoting social welfare (6.01). The Code doesn’t tell you which program to cut, but it prioritizes client welfare and social justice.

4. Know the applicable laws and regulations. Are any programs legally mandated or tied to specific grants? Domestic violence services may have VAWA funding requirements. The foreign adoptions program has Hague Convention obligations. Are there families mid-process with legal protections? These constraints may narrow what can actually be cut.

5. Obtain consultation. You talk with your supervisor, colleagues at other agencies who might absorb clients, a nonprofit administration expert, and community members who would be affected. You document the input you receive.

6. Consider possible and probable courses of action. Options include eliminating the most expensive/least-used program, across-the-board salary cuts, reducing staff in all programs, launching emergency fundraising, partnering with other organizations to share services, or a phased combination of several approaches.

7. Enumerate and consider the consequences. Cutting domestic violence services poses the greatest immediate safety risk. Cutting day-care could destabilize working families. Ending sex education could increase teen pregnancies, but schools might partially fill the gap. The foreign adoptions program is costly and serves the fewest clients, but mid-process families face real harm. Salary cuts preserve everything but risk losing good staff over time.

8. Choose the best course of action. You advocate for a combined approach — pursue emergency fundraising first, phase out the costliest program with the fewest clients (foreign adoptions) while transitioning those families to another agency, and implement modest leadership salary reductions. You argue for preserving domestic violence services given the safety risks, acknowledge your conflict of interest, and document everything. You plan to reassess in 60 days.

Self-Assessment: An Inventory of Your Attitudes and Beliefs About Ethical and Professional Issues

Create an interactive exercise by asking students to bring their completed inventories to class to compare their views. Such a comparison can stimulate debate and help the class understand the complexities in this kind of decision making. Ask students to circle the items they felt most strongly about, and ask others how they responded to these items in particular. Toward the end of the course, ask students about any shifts in their thinking that resulted from their reading and discussions in class.

(Corey et al., 2024)

Ethical Principle Screen (1 of 2) Key Ethical Assessment Tool

Kirst-Ashman and Hull (2018) include two hierarchical formats for making decisions about competing principles and making ethical decisions.

Reamer (2006a as cited in Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2018)

1. Rules about basic survival supersede rules governing lesser actions
2. One person’s right to well-being supersedes another person’s right to self-determination
3. One person’s right to self-determination supersedes that same person’s right to well-being
4. Obeying rules you have agreed to support supersedes the right to freely break these rules
5. People’s right to well-being supersedes adherence to rules you have agreed to support
6. Preventing harm and fulfilling basic needs supersedes withholding your own property

The one I am more familiar with is Dolgoff and his colleagues (2012) these items are ranked and often appear in a triangle to demonstrate hierarchy.

1. Protection of Life
2. Social Justice
3. Self Determination, Autonomy, and Freedom
4. Least Harm
5. Quality of Life
6. Privacy and Confidentiality
7. Truthfulness and Full Disclosure

• The first ethical principle would be the protection of human life. It takes precedence over every other obligation
• The second ethical principle of social justice (which was updated in this 2012 rethinking of the EPS) suggests that people in the same circumstances should be treated similarly. Each of us should treat people in similar circumstances in a consistent manner. Checking in on personal biases is essential in assessing equity present in practice.
• The third ethical principle is to foster a person’s self-determination, autonomy, and freedom. Each person has the right and ability to make their own decisions that don’t impact others. The client should be respected in the decisions that they make.
• The fourth ethical principle is to work to cause the least harm. We have to weigh the potential outcomes of the decisions. The social worker should attempt to choose the least harmful of all alternatives. The fifth ethical principle states that social workers should promote a better quality of life for the client. The social worker should provide the best quality of life under the circumstances assessed. The sixth ethical principle is every person’s right to privacy and confidentiality. This principle should be respected unless harm or unsafe conditions will result.
• The seventh ethical principle is that we should provide full disclosure and be truthful to all clients. At the onset, the practitioner should lay out the ground rules and let the client know the boundaries and abilities that their services provide

(Dolgoff et al., 2012)

Ethical Principle Screen (2 of 2) How We Conceptualize The EPS

Dilemma involves multiple principles -> a higher-order principle takes precedence over the satisfaction of a lower-order principle.

Consider example Is the protection of life of concern? - -> Other principles become less important

Considerations Before Taking Action:

• Impartiality (would we do it same with somebody else) - correcting partiality and self-interest
• Generalization (Would I do the same thing for myself?) - think beyond the short-term
• Justifiability (Can you explain and justify to others?) - Consider options purposely

Ethical Dilemmas in Macro Social Work Practice

Lets come and apply the learning today to some other examples:

[Small Group Activity] Ethical Dilemmas in Macro Social Work Practice

1. Four groups, each one will review one of the four ethical dilemmas.
   • The Anti-Immigrant Coalition
   • The Mayor’s Backdoor Deal
   • The Speaker’s Secret
   • The Board Chair’s Ultimatum
2. Consider the steps to think through an ethical problem and or the ethical principle screen
3. Share back with the group the example and your groups thinking process

Assignment 03b: Community Impact Project Presentation

Problem with timing. Vote and options around either virtual presentation and will find what other content to share that week.

15 people 90 minutes of class time 6 minutes

Assignment 03: Community Impact Project

The community impact project is divided into two parts. During the macro intervention, students will plan, implement, and assess a community project that they facilitate. This will take place at the students’ practicum placement or other community setting. Basic project plans will be shared and approved by the professor before proposals are submitted and should likewise be discussed with the student’s faculty practicum liaison and supervisor. Projects constitute a new or additional service to the agency or its clientele. Examples might include offering an educational training, an outreach event, fundraising/collecting donations to meet a need, or providing a service. The two assignments include, first, the project proposal, in which students will assess their setting to identify a need and develop a plan to implement their project. Second, after the project is completed, a presentation will be held to showcase the results.

Meta: Points 100 pts (20% of final grade); Deadline Saturday 04/25/26 during class Completion via in class presentation; Locations: MyHeritage Assignment Detail, Assignment Description and Rubric.

Purpose: Students will develop and deliver a presentation that demonstrates their ability to implement, evaluate, and critically analyze a macro-level community project. This assignment assesses Competencies Eight and Nine by requiring students to apply culturally responsive, evidence-informed interventions and to evaluate their outcomes across individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

Task: Students will create a 15–20-minute presentation discussing the results of their community impact project. The evaluation of their project should demonstrate the culturally responsive methods used to evaluate it, and the critical analysis of the outcomes improves practice for individuals, groups, families, organizations, and communities. In this presentation, discuss the assessment you conducted, the proposed interventions, and the outcomes of those interventions. Be sure to explain how your intervention was culturally responsive and evidence-informed, and describe how you negotiated, mediated, or advocated with and on behalf of the target system. Include artifacts from the implementation of your proposal (i.e., photos from the event, flyers, letters, etc.). Students will also reflect on the experience and the learning they gained, including how evaluation findings will inform future practice at multiple system levels.

Success: This assignment is graded using the Appendix B Community Impact Project Presentation and Competencies Eight and Nine Rubric. A successful presentation clearly articulates the project’s assessment, implementation, and outcomes while demonstrating culturally responsive interventions and evaluation methods. The student presents a thoughtful, critical analysis of outcomes across all system levels and communicates with professionalism, clarity, and strong engagement.

Appendix B. Community Impact Project Presentation and Competencies Eight and Nine Rubric

The Community Impact Project Presentation and Competencies Eight and Nine Rubric evaluates students’ ability to clearly communicate the outcomes of their Community Impact Project through a professional, well-structured presentation. It measures how effectively students demonstrate culturally responsive intervention strategies, advocacy and negotiation skills, and macro-level evaluation practices. Additionally, it assesses organization, clarity, and adherence to assignment expectations, including the integration of artifacts and reflection on learning.

Competency 8: Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
a. Engage with clients and constituencies to critically choose and implement culturally responsive, evidence-informed interventions to achieve client and constituency goals; and
b. Incorporate culturally responsive methods to negotiate, mediate, and advocate with and on behalf of clients and constituencies.

Description	Initial	Emerging	Developed	Highly Developed
The presentation documents culturally responsive and evidence-based interventions.	The presentation does not appear to use culturally responsive interventions and lacks evidence informed basis.	The presentation includes limited discussion regarding culturally responsive practices. There is a limited discussion of the evidence base.	The presentation discusses culturally responsive practices but lacks specific details. The overall presentation includes a discussion of evidence base.	The presentation explains a fully developed, culturally responsive set of interventions, with a clear description of the adaptations made to respond to the target system’s needs. Scholarship related to the intervention is detailed.
The presentation incorporates culturally responsive methods to negotiate, mediate, and advocate with and on behalf of clients and constituencies.	The presentation does not include a discussion of culturally responsive methods or advocacy at all levels of engagement.	The presentation discusses culturally responsive methods but lacks specific implementation at all levels of engagement.	The presentation discusses culturally responsive practices and how they are implemented at all levels, but some of the descriptions are not directly tied to all levels of engagement.	The presentation demonstrates a high degree of understanding of cultural identities and contexts. They explain how they facilitated and incorporated negotiation, mediation, or advocacy at all service levels (e.g., individual, family, group, organization, and community).

Competency 9: Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
a. Select and use culturally responsive methods for evaluation of outcomes.
b. Critically analyze outcomes and apply evaluation findings to improve practice effectiveness with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

Description	Initial	Emerging	Developed	Highly Developed
The presentation describes the culturally responsive methods used in the evaluation.	The presentations do not directly address culturally responsive practices in evaluating their project.	The presentation provides minimal insight into culturally responsive practices in evaluating their project.	The presentation is developed and includes a discussion of culturally responsive practices, but it does not provide specific, detailed descriptions.	The presentation includes a specific discussion of culturally responsive practices, such as learning about the population service and their needs. Outcomes from the project are identified and linked to the needs identified in the assessment.
The presentation details the critical analysis of the outcomes.	The presentation provided a minimal description of the evaluation and was not tied to each service level.	The presentation did not include all levels of practice, but the areas for improvement and descriptions were adequate for those discussed.	The presentation included an adequate description of how they conducted the evaluation and briefly considered most of the service levels.	The presentation will provide a detailed description of how they evaluated practice effectiveness at each service level (individual, family, group, organization, and community), and it will include specific areas of improvement for each level.

General Assignment requirements

Description	Initial	Emerging	Developed	Highly Developed
The presentation is professionally delivered.	The presentation is unclear or highly disorganized.	The presentation has some problems with organization, clarity, and delivery.	The presentation is organized and clear, but lacks smooth flow and engagement.	The presentation is professionally delivered, clearly conveys the plan’s details, and uses strong presentation skills.
The presentation closely follows the assignment description.	Does not follow the assignment description.	Somewhat follows the assignment description, but significant errors exist.	Follows the assignment description and requirements but has minor errors.	Closely follows the assignment description and requirements.