Assignment:
Interoffice Memo
Imagine that it is 1976, and you are an administrator in a human services organization. You have just learned of the ruling in the case, Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California.
Create a 350- to 500-word summary in which you create an interoffice memo for all employees that explains this legislation. In your memo, also include the following information:
• How the Tarasoff case has affected ethical decision making for human service professionals
• How the case affects the human services code of ethics.
You must Format your summary consistent with APA guidelines.
In the past decade, increased public awareness of professional behavior, coupled with the passage of federal and state legislation controlling the helping professions, has underscored the importance of ethical concerns in service delivery. The
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, state legislation requiring the reporting of child abuse, and Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California (1976), which imposed a duty to warn potential victims, are examples of government action that directly affects the ethics of service provision. A more recent example is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) that went into effect in 2003 and has greatly impacted informed consent practices.
The human service professional must both obey the law and also be cognizant of the implications of the law. An exploration of codes of ethics or statements of standards of behavior as guides for professional behavior begins the next section. Some major areas of ethical concern for the human service professional follow. Then, we describe an ethical decision-making model that can be applied to dilemmas for which there is no relevant guideline. Vignettes are used to illustrate the range of dilemmas that may arise.