This course takes an in-depth look at the values and ethics that helping professionals need to utilize in order to provide safe and effective services without harming clients. It also provides an opportunity to practice applying values and ethics so that by the end of the course, course participants are prepared to begin applying the concepts in a professional setting.

• Reamer, Frederic, G. (2024). Social work values and ethics, sixth edition. Columbia University Press.
• Student’s choice of a code of ethics from a helping profession ie: social work, CFLE, marriage and family therapy, nursing, education, etc…

If you are a social work or pre social work major, it is expected that you use the NASW Code of Ethics for assignments that require use of a Code of Ethics..

At the completion of this course, students will:

1. Identify the 5 ethical principles and explain their relevance in family services.
2. Explain personal values and biases and how they impact individual thought processes and decision making
3. Identify and name principles of ethical practice within family services (and helping professions generally) and demonstrate an ability to apply these principles in practice.
4. Demonstrate an ability to utilize critical thinking skills within the context of values and ethics in family services.
5. Explain the importance of incorporating multiple cultural perspectives into values and ethics.
6. Identify and explain the correlation between burnout and unethical behavior.
7. Identify, evaluate and apply appropriate strategies to ethical issues experienced by individuals and families (NCFR Competency 9).
8. Identify and explain the relevance of ethical practice to micro, mezzo, and macro work.

Grading Scale:
A 94% - 100% B- 80% - 82% D+ 67% - 69%
A- 90% - 92% C+ 77% - 79% D 63% - 66%
B+ 87% - 89% C 73% - 76% D- 60% - 62%
B 83% - 86% C- 70% - 72% F 59% and below

All percentages will be rounded to the nearest whole number.

• Please note that as a social work major, you must earn a B- or better in this course, or you will be required to repeat the course

• 6. Artificial intelligence tools, including chatbots and internet agents, are developing quickly, and employers are increasingly utilizing them. Being able to use these tools will be useful to you as you enter the workforce. For that reason, I encourage you to explore the AI tools available to you and to use them to enrich your learning experience in this class. It is expected that all work you turn in is created and developed by you. If you use AI, the expectation for this course is that you use it as a resource and not a robot. You must properly cite it if you use it. If it is discovered that you are using AI without properly citing it or you use AI to generate work that you turn in as your own, SUU Policy 6.33 for Academic Integrity will be followed.

• 7. All documentation must be done in APA 7th Edition format. For this course, abstracts, cover pages and headings are not necessary. You will not be docked for using these. When required to use outside sources, students are expected to use credible sources; wikipedia and similar sources are not allowed for use as a reference in this course. OWL at Purdue is a great resource! If you are going to pursue your education in the social sciences field, you may find it useful to purchase an APA manual. Do not rely on automatic formatting tools as they are often incorrect.

• 8. All papers must be typed in either Arial or Times New Roman with a 12 point font, 1 inch margins, and double spaced.

• 9. Grammar and following instructions matters! Your grade will be affected by these things. Please pay attention to page requirements - both minimums and limitations. You will lose points if the page minimum is not reached (headings don’t count). Once the page limit is reached, I will stop reading and any information included after that point will not be considered in your grade. While you will be docked points according to assignment rubrics for incorrect grammar and poor writing mechanics, because of the amount of time it takes to do so, I will not be editing your papers as I grade them.

• 10. Grading: Because I want your focus to be on learning and not on how skilled you are or aren’t at earning high grades, the grading in this class is intended to be reflective of that. Your participation, effort, and learning are more important than your skill at earning a specific grade.

All assignments, excluding quizzes and the final exam, turned in on time, or within 3 days of the due date (maximum of 3 assignments), and completed according to the assignment instructions as outlined in both the assignment instructions in Canvas and the grading rubric will receive full credit. All assignments turned in on time, or within 3 days of the due date (maximum of 3 assignments), for which all or part of the assignment is insufficient for meeting assignment expectations as outlined in both Canvas and the grading rubric will receive ½ credit. In order to receive ANY credit on the group presentation, it must be recorded.

If you earn ½ credit on an assignment, you may revise and resubmit (excluding quizzes/final exam) for full credit as long as you do so within 7 days of when the assignment is graded and your revisions are highlighted. You may revise and resubmit as many times as you want/need to in order to earn the grade you want on each assignment. The instructor will not regrade any assignments that do not have revisions clearly highlighted. Any assignments due the last week of the semester will not have this flexibility; while you will be given the opportunity to revise and resubmit these assignments, it must be done within the time frame outlined in comments left by the instructor/grader at the time it is graded.

1. 11. Syllabus Quiz (25 points) - Please review the syllabus. After you have done so, please take the syllabus quiz which also counts as your commenced attendance assignment. Completion of the syllabus quiz acts as a contract that you have read and understand the syllabus. Please see Canvas for due date.

2. 12. Introduction Video (15 points): In order to make this online class as personal as possible, please record an introduction of yourself that you will upload to a discussion board. Then, respond to at least 5 of your peers’ videos and submit your responses to your peers on the form provided. Instructions on how to do this are included in the assignment shell. Please see Canvas for the due date.

3. 13. Participation Points/Padlet Discussion Boards (225 points total) - There are several Padlet discussion boards throughout this course that are intended to be a place to engage in the content with your peers and for the exchange of ideas which is a critical component of the learning process. Specific instructions for each discussion are included in Canvas. Each discussion is worth 15 points each. If you participate in the discussion as instructed, you will earn full credit. If you do not, you will earn ½ - 0 credit. In order to receive full credit, it must be clear to the grader that you have put some thought and effort into what you write. Missing one or two posts won’t affect your grade much; missing several will. Participating in all Padlet discussions is a good way to buffer your grade. Please refer to Canvas as well as the Syllabus Course Schedule for due dates

4. 14. Ecological Model for Myself (25 points) - Please complete an Ecological Model for yourself in order to deepen your understanding of an Ecological Model. Please see Canvas for specific instructions and due date.

5. 15. Critical Thinking Activities (75 points total) - Throughout the semester, please choose any 3 activities to attend/participate in that challenge your comfort level. After each activity, please spend some time reflecting on how this particular activity was uncomfortable and then write a 1-2 page reflection about how participating in this activity helped you challenge your biases and increase your critical thinking skills. For 1 of these activities/assignments, please intentionally approach/confront an issue that you disagree with and/or makes you uncomfortable. The due date for these assignments is listed as the last day of the semester so that you have the entire semester to complete the assignment. If you wait until the last day (or week) of the semester to begin these assignments, you will not likely be able to complete them. Please see Canvas for specific instructions.

6. 16. Burnout Prevention Plan (50 points) - For this assignment, you will identify and discuss a minimum of 5 warning signs of burnout focusing on how you know you are approaching burnout. Identify the 2 that will be the most problematic for you and explain why they will be problematic. Create a detailed burnout prevention plan that includes identifying and avoiding risk factors (when possible) and utilizing protective factors and self-care. Be specific. You must use at least 2 outside sources, one of which should be an academic source. Please include a reference page for this assignment. There is no minimum page number; please keep it under 5 pages. Please see Canvas for the due date.

7. 17. Values & Bias Paper (50 points) - For this assignment, you will be exploring your personal values and biases. Then, you will write a 4-6 page paper about your personal values and biases. Please refer to the assignment shell in Canvas for additional details and the due date for this paper.

8. 18. Code of Ethics Summary (25 points) - For this assignment, you will find a code of ethics relevant to your professional goals and write a summary about what stood out to you about it. In the summary, please address what the guiding principles are, what is included to protect both clients and professionals and what is important to remember as you move forward in this field. If you have either been accepted into or intend to apply for the BSW program at SUU, please use the NASW Code of Ethics for this assignment. Please see Canvas for the due date.

9. 19. Reading Summaries (25 points) - For each week that reading is assigned, you will submit a summary of what you learned from the reading and how you are synthesizing it with the modules and outside content and/or experiences. Check Canvas for due dates.

10. 20. Ethics in the News (25 points) - For this assignment, you will find an article or news story of some kind highlighting an ethical issue, related to social work or family services, in the news. For full credit, you will need to write a brief summary, present the dilemma to the class and begin a discussion in class about the issue and its relevance to ethics. Please see Canvas for specific instructions and the due date.

11. 21. Case Study Analysis (50 points) - This is a group assignment that will be completed towards the end of the semester. The specific dates will be communicated well in advance. This assignment will allow you the opportunity to practice recognizing an ethical dilemma, consulting with your peers about the dilemma, and establishing a resolution to the ethical dilemma. There is an important learning process with completing this as a group. If you absolutely cannot complete this with a group, exceptions will be made on a case by case basis and must be approved at least 2 weeks before the assignment is due. Alternate assignments will be expected to be equivalent to this assignment. Additional details will be provided at least one week prior to the due date.

12. 22. Group Presentation (250 points possible) - For this assignment, you will:

    • work in groups of 3 - 5
    • choose 1 ethical concept discussed in class (any topic listed in the syllabus
    • research and explore:
      • how your chosen topic could be and/or is complicated across at least 2 clearly identified diverse cultures
      • implications for professional practice based on these complications
      • utilize at least 5 sources, 2 of which must be academic sources (textbook or peer-reviewed academic journal)
    • Present your findings/information to the class in a recorded presentation posted to a Padlet discussion board. In order to receive ANY credit for this assignment, your presentation must be recorded.

    You may choose to take a strict research approach, combine research with personal interviews of individuals from diverse populations, or take an entirely different approach. Please remember 1 or 2 individuals from a diverse population does not represent the entire population. As long as you include sources as previously outlined, there is no limit and/or expectation for how the information is presented as long as it is done with empathy and critical thinking.

    The only written work to be handed in will be an outline, reference page and evaluation of your group members. While everyone needs to turn in an evaluation of your group members, it is only necessary for one group member to turn in the outline and reference page; please be sure all the names of individuals within the group are included with the outline/reference page that is turned in for the group. There is no minimum length for the presentation; instead, please focus on comprehensively covering the content as outlined in the assignment instructions. Please refer to Canvas for additional details and the due date. You are expected to watch your peers’ presentations.

13. 23. Final Exam (75 points) - There will be a comprehensive final exam that will be completed in the testing center during the last week of class. It will be application based, meaning the focus will be on information you need to know in order to be an ethical practitioner. A study guide will be provided at least one week prior to the exam. You will be allowed one page of notes in the testing center. If you attend and are engaged in class throughout the semester, you will do well on the exam. Additional details will be provided as the date gets closer. Please see Canvas for due date.

• 2. Emotional Safety - Due to the emotionally and psychologically vulnerable content that will be discussed throughout this course, it is essential that all participants contribute to an environment of emotional safety. In the event of a student participating in emotionally unsafe comments/behavior, the instructor will provide feedback which will serve as a warning. At that time, the student will be invited to converse with the instructor about what made their comments/behavior emotionally unsafe. If the behavior is repeated, students will be referred to campus services. If you find you are emotionally overwhelmed by content in this or any other course, the University Counseling and Psychological Services Center (CAPS) is a resource available to you. The phone number for CAPS is: 435.865.8621.

• 3. As a student in this course, you are responsible for the content presented in this course and for your own learning. If you need help, please ask. If you have questions about the material that you are interested in or curious about that is not addressed in the course, please ask. If you do not understand a concept being taught/discussed, please ask. The instructor is a resource to you; however, if you do not communicate that you need help, the instructor cannot help you.

• 4. All assignments are due at midnight on the due date unless otherwise noted.

• 5. Assignments may be turned in early. You may turn in up to 3 assignments up to 3 days late without questions or penalty. Any late work beyond this will only be accepted if you have formal accommodations in place through the Disability Resource Center, or if you are receiving support through the Office of Student Outreach and Support. This applies to all assignments that will receive a grade. Please do not rely on Canvas to remind you of when assignments are due; please be proactive and know when assignments are due. All assignments for the semester are already entered into Canvas. The exception to this is the final exam which will not be accepted late.

Please pay attention to Canvas Announcements as this instructor uses Canvas Announcements to communicate with students about important information.