Reference no: EM133735905

Ethics and Professional Practice Assignment

Assessment: Open-book, short-answer assessment

Ethical Theory, Values, and Principles. Power and Professional Guidelines in Community Service Work

Question 1: Ethical Theories and Concepts (approx. 400-500 words)

An experienced community organisation providing services designed to assist older people, their families, and carers in a town has been granted additional funding. After a consultation and discussion process with the community and various stakeholders, four proposals have emerged:

Proposal 1: Care Finder Service. The authors of this proposal suggest aligning with the organisation's core aims and values, which were declared upon its establishment - namely, prioritising and assisting the older population who do not have an informal network of support (such as families or friends). This proposal argues for a "care finder service," which will support vulnerable older people who do not have family or friends and cannot arrange services without intensive support. This service provides face-to-face support and referrals to nearby aged care and community services, as well as assisting with My Aged Care assessment applications, if eligible. While this group may not be very numerous, it will address the challenges faced by this group of older people, reaffirming the organisation's commitment to its core mission.

Proposal 2: Education Sessions. The authors of this proposal criticise the previous suggestion. They believe it is not the most pressing issue encountering the people who seek assistance from their organisation. Instead, they propose spending this money on organising education sessions, which will offer a free education programs delivered by experienced staff that provide education sessions to local organisations or community groups in town, such as residential care or home care services. These sessions help to increase awareness about older people's rights, elder abuse, and residential aged and home care services while also improving the capacity of aged care workers to protect and advocate for these rights. It will allow the organisation to extend professional assistance to older people beyond the organisation's clients and also help prevent certain problems in advance.

Proposal 3: Care Finder Service, Education Sessions and Outreach Staff for Migrant Older People. The authors of this proposal agree with both of the above ideas, but suggest allocating only part of the funds to both the care finder service and education sessions. This is because they also suggest using the some of the money to hire an outreach staff member to work with migrant older people who do not speak English or speak English poorly. The number of such people has increased in the area recently, and they have specific needs, such as translator assistance or information about the town's service provision in their languages. Therefore, according to the authors of this report, these can be considered urgent issues that some members of the community face and must be addressed as soon as possible.

Proposal 4: Targeting Older Males. The authors of this proposal suggest spending the money on the town's older male population, encouraging them to use the organisation's resources and services. The proposal's authors showed that 90% of its clients are female. They emphasised that it is important to encourage males who need their support to use their services, too.

Drawing on theoretical framework examined in class and through your readings in Moodle:
Determine which theories and models of justice guide the four proposals.
Select one theory and one model for each proposal.
A theory or model can be applied to more than one proposal, and some theories or models may be irrelevant to certain proposals. Additionally, a hybrid model may be used.

Question 2 AB: Ethical Principles, Values and Power Differential in Community Service Work (approx. 200-300 words)
The client, Gloria, shares with a case worker her plans to enter into an unprotected sexual relationship with her boyfriend, who is living with AIDS. Gloria emphasises her commitment to supporting her boyfriend during his terminal illness as a demonstration of her love. She wishes to share every aspect of his lived experience, being with him in happiness, sorrow, and illness.

Question 2A: Given that AIDS is related to the medical field and sexual activity is a personal choice, should a case worker have ethical concerns about this situation?

Briefly answer the question above, then

Identify ethical principles which may be relevant for explanation the ethical concerns (two more relevant). Consult the ACWA code of ethics and the ACWA Work Practice Guidelines to consider this question. What principle or guideline number in these ACWA documents would you refer as case worker to?

How can the case worker's personal values, beliefs, and interests potentially influence the helping process? Refer to one of the ACWA documents.

Note: You should identify the ethical principles and values and find relevant guidelines in these documents, cite the numbers correctly, and then explain your response in your own words (For example: Guideline 2.3, name of the document and year).

Question 2B: Explain how a power differential is related to this scenario. Using the materials in Moodle, identify three (3) types of power that are relevant to this scenario and two (2) types of power that are less relevant or irrelevant. Clearly show the ethical tensions and implications for this case.