Running head: VALUES PAPER

Values Paper Katie Brogan Wayne State University, Social Work 3010

VALUES PAPER Values Paper

Every day individuals use their values to make decisions that affect themselves and others around them. Values are learned throughout a persons life; some values change with time and other values stand strong, never wavering. Social Workers need to be conscious not to let their values affect their work with clients, keeping an open mind in order to better accept and assist their clients, community and profession. Code of Ethics The Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers states social workers core values are service, social justice, dignity and worth of a person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. (Workers, 2014) These six core values are the foundation for Social Workers, missing one of these values makes the Social Worker incompetent. Social Workers are generalist practitioners that will encounter all different types of struggles from clients from all different walks of life. (Hull & Kirst-Ashman, 2012) The core value of treating people with dignity and worth of a person is very important. This can be witnessed upon the initial contact of meeting a client. The way you treat them can make a world of difference in creating a relationship. This core value is the one that a client or perspective client will notice first and leads the client in wanting to open up to the Social Worker or not. Values that are Congruent The personal values I have developed through my experience are congruent with the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. I exhibit the service value in my volunteer work with the Girl Scouts, Muscular Dystrophy Association, and with the Michigan Sled Dogs. Giving up my time to help promote others lives is important to me. I was raised to give back whenever possible and I continue to teach this value to my own children. I have

VALUES PAPER shown social justice with my volunteer work with Junior Achievement by showing school aged children the value of money, assets, and budgeting for the things we want and need. I have also promoted social justice for my daughter in her education. Following an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) that did not go well, I advocated for her needs to the Director of Special Services to get her the services she deserved. Dignity and Worth of a person I demonstrate through opening doors, using manors, and treating people with respect. Before my elderly neighbor had passed away I would go to his house daily; I changed his diaper, fed him, while providing companionship. Importance of human relationships is a valuable asset. My

daughters Girl Scout troop was in trouble this year due to a lack of leaders, I was the sole leader remaining and we must have a certain number of leaders to function as a troop. I was able to use the relationships I had with my daughters friends parents to persuade three other moms to become leaders so our troop could survive. With the help of the other mothers, our troop is now able to thrive and is even growing. Integrity is an important quality to have; I believe that honesty is the best policy. When you are honest with people, they are more likely to be honest with you allowing more progress to be made. Competence is a skill that is always evolving and I will always continue to work on as the world we live in changes as does the policies and the people we serve change. Conflicting Values In my life I have been faced with challenging situations that would make serving some clients more challenging than others. I was married to an alcoholic for a long time; he would lie to me daily. Having overcome the challenges that I have faced has made me strong and wise. I have learned to trust my gut feelings. I have also learned to not pass judgment and understand everyones situation is different. While sometimes it can be a challenge to not pass judgment, I

VALUES PAPER

know my experience can help others in similar situations. I understand I will have to see past my history and not judge a client. This will be a challenging task, but knowing what bothers me helps me be more cognoscente of my values. The two core values that would help me serve an alcoholic are service and dignity and worth of a person. Everyone deserves and has the right to be treated with dignity and worth, everyone has skeletons in their closet just some can hide them better. It would be wrong of me to assume that because my ex-husband did many wrong things that this individual has too. I would do my best to not be judgmental but if my feelings were affecting my work I would do what was in the best interest of the client, making a referral for services for a new Social Worker. I would tell the client that this other Social Worker can help them more than I can; never blaming the client or making the client feel like I was rejecting them. Conclusion This assignment has reinforced the reality that everyone has values and feelings towards certain populations that do not stand up to the code of Ethics. It is ok to have trouble serving certain populations, as long as you know that you have these feelings. Knowing that I have certain doubts will allow me to assist alcoholics better, knowing how I feel will allow me to put my feelings aside to do what is in the best interest of the client. With the help of the Code of Ethics I will be able to serve all populations without regard of how they differ from my values and feelings.

VALUES PAPER References

Hull, G., & Kirst-Ashman, K. (2012). Understanding Generalist Practice Sixth Edition. Cengage Learning. Workers, N. A. (2014). Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers.