1st Edition

Social Work, Law and Ethics

By Jonathan Dickens Copyright 2013
208 Pages
by Routledge

208 Pages
by Routledge

208 Pages
by Routledge

Law and ethics are two vital aspects of social work – all social workers need to practise according to the law and their codes of ethics and conduct. However, the relationship between the law and social work values and ethics is not without its tensions and this book takes a problem-based approach to explore the dilemmas and challenges that can arise. The first part of the book sets out... Read more

Introduction  Part 1: Principles and Frameworks  1. Key Concepts  2. Fairness  3. The Legal Framework  4. The Ethical Framework  5. Freedom and Society  Summary of Part 1  Part 2: Questions and Cases  6. End of Life Decisions  7. Choices, Capacity and Competence  8. Responsibility and Circumstances  9. Responsibility and Blame  10. Crime, Punishment and Protection  11. Culture and Difference  12. Confidentiality, Information-sharing and Openness  13. Organisations and Individuals

Biography

Jonathan Dickens is Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of East Anglia, UK. He is the author of another book in the Routledge Student Social Work series, Social Work and Social Policy: An introduction.

‘Knowledge of law and ethics are both central to social work practice. This book explores the interaction and inter-relationship between the two, discusses the inevitable tension and conflict, and explains how they link to contemporary practice. It tackles head on a number of pertinent issues for social work emerging from law and ethics, including: freedom, choice, responsibility and protection. Jonathan Dickens brings many years of social work practice and academic experience to this subject and this is evident in the manner in which he capably engages with the issues. I highly recommend this text to social work students undertaking their qualifying training and for qualified social workers wishing to explore in more detail the relationship between ethics, law and social work practice.’ – Christine Cocker, Principal Lecturer in Social Work, Middlesex University, UK.