Discussion Post: Drug Policies and Ethics
The NASW Code of Ethics provides social workers with guidelines and standards for interacting with clients, colleagues, communities, and society, as a whole. These standards govern interactions and professional behavior of social work practitioners. The NASW has also developed specific standards, which are published in the NASW Standards for Social Work Practice With Clients With Substance Use Disorders. These standards emphasize the importance of the competence of social workers. The standards indicate that social workers should be knowledgeable of evidence-based interventions for substance disorders. The confidentiality standard becomes essential as social workers must be informed and comply with federal, state, and local laws about substance use, as well as third-party payee regulations.
For this Discussion, review this week's resources, including the case Working with Clients with Dual Diagnosis: The Case of Joe,and consider how social policies affect Joe's circumstances as described in the case study. Then, think about any gaps in service you found in Joe's case. Finally, reflect on how you might address these gaps or make changes to the policies that affect Joe.
• Explanation of how drug policies affect Joe's circumstances, as described in the case study.
• Explain any gaps in service you found in Joe's case as a result of the drug policies described in the case study.
• Describe a strategy you might use to address these gaps or make changes to the policies that affect Joe.
• Describe a substance use or drug policy that you believe is unjust or disproportionately affects a certain group or population.
• Describe the ethical obligations of social workers to make changes to substance use policies.
The response should include a reference list. One-inch margins, Using Times New Roman 12 pnt font, double-space and APA style of writing and citations.