Social Services Ethics, Overview

Abstract

Social services are social benefits or activities that aim to promote the welfare of individuals and communities. Thus, social services as such imply strong ethical orientation. However, like other professional ethics, social services ethics has to face the moral and ethical pluralism typical for modern societies. Social work ethics is characterized by numerous personal and professional moral values, ethical norms with the aim to provide binding orientation and ethical principles, which are expected to guide action. Social work ethics has a strong commitment to social justice; however, it also must deal with deep-reaching controversies concerning the justification of welfare claims. The ethics of social services has profoundly changed over time from an ethics of welfare and charity to an ethics of human rights. The core norms of the human rights approach are the inclusion of everybody into the protections defined by human dignity and human rights and the universal respect for the human rights demands – not only in a formal way but also by considering the individual needs and living conditions of clients. The right to self-determination, for example, implies not only the general prohibition of paternalistic and patronizing action but also the obligation to provide the assistance and care that makes self-determination of persons in vulnerable situations possible. Social service ethics should give support for the solution of numerous ethical dilemmas, such as conflicts between the respect of the client’s self-determination and the social worker’s duty to help, conflicts between private and professional values, or dilemmas arising out of loyalty conflicts or limited resources.