As global society begins recovering from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it becomes clear to scholars and social workers that the legacy of the year 2020 will be long-standing economic inequality. The disease amplified the disparity based on race, income, occupation, and nationality. Therefore, there is a challenge that social workers must overcome in the shortest time possible to help underserved populations surviving the pandemic get the support their need to sustain their living. It is imperative to understand the application of core ethical values of social work that are relevant to the identified problem of inequality and explore the challenge from the standpoint of professional standards that can either support or limit the work of professionals in this area.
The core values of social work developed by NASW represent the philosophical framework on which the profession is based. Working with groups that have been economically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential for professionals to share such core values as social justice, respect for the worth and dignity of individuals, and integrity all come into play (Banks et al., 2020). Social justice is imperative to consider as it is necessary for promoting fairness and equity within society. It becomes crucial that the economic challenges that populations have faced are addressed with social justice in mind. It is necessary for social workers to raise awareness of promoting equal economic and workplace opportunities to help the populations affected sustain their living effectively (Davis & Reber, 2016). In doing so, social work professionals should show respect for the inherent worth of individuals and their dignity, thus treating others in a respectful and caring fashion and being considerate of personal differences and characteristics of diversity. Along with respect for dignity, social workers are expected to exhibit integrity, which entails not only having the right intentions but also meeting the responsibilities of the profession.
When working with the individuals that were significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, specific ethical standards, such as commitment to clients, self-determination, and cultural competence, are the most relevant. Commitment to clients is a moral responsibility of promoting the well-being of clients, which ensures placing the emphasis on the needs of clients. Thus, social workers should be dedicated to promoting the well-being of populations that suffered the most from the impact of the pandemic and remain loyal to their issues. Another ethical responsibility entails promoting clients’ right to determine themselves (self-determination) and assisting them in their attempts to identify their goals and clarify them if necessary. Social workers should encourage their clients that suffer economically from the effects of the pandemic to work together when appealing to social services and governmental institutions to be heard and understood (Redondo-Sama et al., 2020). Thus, it is the responsibility of social workers to discuss strategies for unifying the groups the most that require immediate support and help them stay strong during times of adversity.
Finally, cultural competence in social work is essential as it helps professionals in the field understand the cultural characteristics that define human behavior in society, thus recognizing and emphasizing the traits that exist in all cultures. Since the issue of economic inequality resulting from the pandemic is closely related to issues of race, with African-Americans representing the largest ethnic group affected by the crisis, it is imperative for social workers to demonstrate cultural humility and awareness to be effective in addressing the challenge. As suggested by Hardy and Logan (2020), Black Americans had been experiencing economic inequality before the pandemic, and the healthcare crisis exacerbated the problem. Because of this, social workers tasked with dealing with the issue should understand the minutia of Black issues to be effective advocates.
When it comes to the standards that present the most significant ethical challenges, privacy and confidentiality, and access to records should be considered. In social work, privacy and confidentiality entail the absence of solicitation of private data from or about clients apart for reasonable professional reasons. However, in the age of social media, when many people are willing to share their stories online, it becomes impossible for social workers to preserve their clients’ confidentiality. A gray area associated with the challenge entails the need to raise the public’s awareness of financial inequality among underserved and low-income groups as a result of the healthcare crisis. This is a grey area because the stories of real people with ‘real names and real faces’ can be highly impactful to the general population and policymakers. To address this challenge, it is necessary for social workers to obtain informed consent from workers before any private information is released to the public. Nevertheless, as long as individuals with whom social workers interact are open to sharing information about themselves on a broader scale, there are no issues using personal accounts and records for the purposes of the public good.
Overall, the personal ethical values align with those presented in the NASW Code of Ethics. However, I have placed significant attention on issues of social justice and culturally competent care because of the severe impact of the pandemic on the population. In my opinion, social workers should be more educated in cultural competence because some of them fail to acknowledge their own privilege before providing support to populations in need. Besides, cultural competence entails a commitment to ongoing learning because populations get exposed to challenges of inequality throughout their lifetime.
For the state of Arizona, there are no specific guidelines that help professionals in social work adhere to the ethical limitations of their practice. Georgia Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage & Family Therapists uses the framework established by the NASW Code of Ethics, which covers Responsibility to Clients, Integrity, and Confidentiality, which means that several ethical standards are omitted. Therefore, the board should revise the established code to include more principles to help professionals get a comprehensive understanding of the way in which they should interact with their clients.
The laws found relevant to social work in the state of Georgia apply predominantly to such issues as fees, professional counseling, supervision of clients, the appointment of Board members by the state’s Governor, and so on. There is mentioning of ethics in law 43-10A-5 “Requirement of oath; quorum; powers and duties of board; ethics; reimbursement of members; meetings” (Title 43. Professions and businesses chapter 10a, n.d.). It says that the board is responsible for adopting a code of ethics for governing professionals’ behavior. However, the law is limited and requires expansion, which shows that social work is an area that does not get enough attention from the state’s legislators. In turn, this may lead to further challenges on the part of social workers who deal with populations experiencing financial inequality in Georgia, as there is limited guidance offered by the state.
References
Banks, S., Cai, T., de Jonge, E., Shears, J., Shum, M., Sobočan, A., … Weinberg, M. (2020). Practicing ethically during COVID-19: Social work challenges and responses. International Social Work, 63(5), 569-583.
Davis, A., & Reber, D. (2016). Advancing human rights and social and economic justice: Developing competence in field education. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, 1, 143-153.
Hardy, B., & Logan, T. (2020). Racial economic inequality amid the COVID-19 crisis. Web.
Redondo-Sama, G., Matulic, V., Munté-Pascual, A., & de Vicente, I. (2020). Social work during the COVID-19 crisis: Responding to urgent social needs. Sustainability, 2020(12), 1-16.
Title 43. Professions and businesses chapter 10a. Professional counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists. (n.d.). Web.