Differentiation between Codes, Policies, and the Law
As a human services professional, it is critical to understand various laws, codes, and policies that are supposed to direct and inform behavior. Ethics codes are developed by an organization or a field to help its members to distinguish between wrong and right. Ethics codes aid in the decision-making processes of human services professionals. Standards of practice offer direction about ‘how-to’ perform various duties and tasks that are expected of the human services professionals. Employer policies are specific policies that are developed by an employer to regulate or inform the behavior that is expected of the members of the workforce. The law refers to regulations and legislation that are applicable within a given country or jurisdiction. Laws are holistic in nature and apply to everyone regardless of their position in society.
In the field of human services, ethical guidelines are provided by the NOHS. The standards were developed to ensure regulation of the profession while at the same time ensuring that clients served by human services professionals are protected from any form of misconduct by human services professionals (Sommers-Flanagan, 2015). I believe the function of the code is also to protect human services professionals through allowing them to understand the standards of care that they have to abide by. The code thereby protects human services professionals from liability. I believe the code also helps ensure that professional conduct is showcased by individuals as they dispense various services within the profession.
The assigned case presents several ethical issues in regards to a domestic assault charge that has been filed against the client. The ethical issue revolves around domestic assault where Clint slapped her daughter so hard that he left marks on her face. As a human services professional, it is critical that Clint is advised against such behavior in the future since it could lead him to jail
Reference
Sommers-Flanagan, R. (2015). Becoming an ethical helping professional: Cultural and
philosophical foundations. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.