References

Garthwait, C. (2019). The social work practicum (8th ed.). USA: Pearson Education, INC.

Code of Ethics Site Link: https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

Review the Case Study Jill’s Dilemma file.

NON-RESIDENTIAL EDUCATION

1.3 Case Study: Jill’s Dilemma

As a social worker in a family counseling agency, Jill has had the opportunity to gain experience
and enhance her clinical skills. The family counseling agency is located in a college town, and
serves clients with co-occurring substance use and mental health needs. Rose, Jill’s supervisor,
has given Jill a new client file to review.

After a long, busy day, Jill remembers the new case that
Rose assigned her. Jill is in a hurry, but she takes a
moment to review the file and notes that her client,
Michael, has indicated he thinks he may be transgender.
He prefers to be recognized as Michelle. He has received
counseling before at this agency without incident. The
file also states that this client is very depressed, has
suicidal thoughts, and is lonely without a support system.

Jill is surprised that an individual in this community would be transgender, since she has not
had any personal relationships with anyone who identifies as transgender (to her knowledge).
She does not accept that Michelle is right about how she feels, and Jill can’t accept the idea of a
man wanting to be a woman. Jill heads home, but has already begun an internal debate about
whether she can work with this client because of her own religious beliefs. How should she
handle this? Typically, the agency does not turn clients away because of beliefs or values. The
agency policy is determined in line with the NASW Code of Ethics.

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After considering this situation, go to the 1.3 Discussion forum and respond to the questions
about this case study.

Your discussion posts should demonstrate a high level of scholarship by connecting your ideas to
course materials and citing scholarly sources using proper citation and references to support
your thinking.

After a restless night, Jill has made a decision and plans to speak to Rose.

Code of Ethics:

The NASW Code of Ethics plays a very valuable lesson in this ethical dilemma. Due to Jill working for a family counseling agency, she is required to provide services to all who are in need. One ethical principle I believe that applies to this dilemma would be; Dignity and Worth of the Person.

I.) As a social worker, Jill should be knowledgeable enough to consider that not everyone will share the exact same beliefs and personal values as she does. For that matter, she should  respect Michelle’s values enough to still provide services without there being any conflict. Dignity and worth of the person means respecting and treating each individual with the care and being being mindful of their cultural, ethnic, and sex differences.

II.)  By the client already having previous history with this agency, turning down Michelle would be a total disgrace to the agency due to the fact that Jill doesn’t believe in the same beliefs and values as the client. Jill and the agency’s responsibilities fall under the ethical standard: Cultural awareness and social diversity (1.05c). In this situation, Jill and the agency should seek to understand the nature of social diversity and oppression with respect to race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. Many more responsibilities could be covered as well.

Obligations:

In this scenario, when assigned the case Jill should have reviewed the portfolio on time and actually give herself a chance to process her thoughts and actions rather than reacting out of frustration. Overall when faced with this dilemma, Jill should have addressed the situation with her supervisor so that someone else in their agency could be given the case without any conflict. The NASW Code of Ethics plays a very valuable role in this dilemma because this scenario expresses the importance of showing all clients respect and treating them equally. Also as a social worker, it shows the importance of working in diverse communities.

Ethical Decision Making Guidelines:

Taking Diversity and cultural differences into account  Jill must understand that she has to adapt to the diversity and cultural differences in today’s society. Just because she doesn’t agree with Michelle’s decisions and feelings that does not mean deny services.  Identify any legal issues that must be resolved and any laws that must be obeyed means by failing to accept Michelle’s personal beliefs and values, this could lead to a discrimination case toward Jill and the agency. This issue could be seen as a hate crime considering the fact that Jill is denying services because of her own beliefs. Deciding a course of action and implement a plan should have taken place when Jill noticed that she did not feel comfortable with taking on the case, her immediate reaction should have consisted of calling her supervisor Rose to create a plan or for the case to be given to someone else. Meanwhile Jill should receive training on diversity and cultural differences. Evaluating impact and anticipating consequences would allow for Jill and the agency to prepare trainings for such situations to come and play out in the case of an event as such happening.

Garthwait, Cynthia L. The Social Work Practicum: Preparation for Practice. Pearson, 2021.

“National Association of Social Workers (NASW).” NASW – National Associacion of Social Workers, 

www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English.