Just like any other professional in the human services sector, Robert is expected to deliver his services in an ethical manner. Although confidentiality and privacy are vital in the profession, some federal, state, and local laws may provide various exceptional circumstances under which the information can be disclosed to another party, other than the active human service professional, his seniors, and the client (Woodside & McClam, 2014). Therefore, Robert should ensure that he is conversant with New Harbor’s local, state, and federal laws influencing his professional service delivery. On the other hand, he should familiarize himself with New Harbor’s cultures and beliefs as well as those held by the Syrian immigrants. With such crucial information, he can assess whether the local, state or federal laws conflict with the rights of the individuals from the two communities or the relevant ethical guidelines.
The step that Robert takes to find out if some of the youths visiting the co-curricular center are homeless/facing domestic instability or not is a responsibility bestowed on human service professionals by National Organization for Human Services (n.d). The thirteenth standards state that human service specialists should always be notified regarding matters currently influencing their clients and societies and, if appropriate, share the information with clients, groups, and communities. Therefore, Robert’s intention to involve other members of his team and the community, in general, to strategize on how to assist the affected individuals once he completes his investigation should also be within the scope of his professional responsibilities. In conclusion, the information that the clients give Robert should be treated with utmost confidentiality and privacy, as stated under the third ethical standard. He ought to make the clients aware of the bounds of discretion of the information before starting to develop the helping affiliation.
References
NOHS. (n.d.). Ethical standards for human service professionals. Web.
Woodside, M. R., & McClam, T. (2014). An introduction to human services. Massachusetts: Cengage Learning.