CBHCM Professional Development and Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A behavioral health case manager discovers a colleague is billing for services not rendered. What is the MOST appropriate first action?
- Ignore it to preserve the working relationship
- Report the concern through the organization's compliance or ethics reporting process (Correct answer)
- Confront the colleague publicly in a team meeting
- Notify the client directly about the billing error
Correct answer: Report the concern through the organization's compliance or ethics reporting process
Ethical standards require case managers to report suspected fraud or misconduct through established organizational compliance channels.
Question 2: Which principle of professional ethics requires a case manager to act in the best interest of the client even when it may conflict with the interests of the organization?
- Autonomy
- Non-maleficence
- Fidelity
- Beneficence (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Beneficence
Beneficence obligates professionals to actively promote the client's well-being, even when organizational pressures exist.
Question 3: A CBHCM candidate is unsure whether a particular intervention falls within their scope of practice. What should they do?
- Proceed if the client requests it
- Consult with a supervisor or review certification standards before proceeding (Correct answer)
- Delegate the task to a less qualified staff member
- Attempt the intervention and document the outcome
Correct answer: Consult with a supervisor or review certification standards before proceeding
When scope of practice is unclear, consulting a supervisor or reviewing professional standards is the ethically appropriate step.
Question 4: What does 'cultural humility' require of a behavioral health case manager compared to 'cultural competence'?
- Completing a one-time cultural training module
- Maintaining a static knowledge base of cultural facts about populations served
- Engaging in ongoing self-reflection and recognizing the limits of one's cultural knowledge (Correct answer)
- Assigning clients only to case managers who share their cultural background
Correct answer: Engaging in ongoing self-reflection and recognizing the limits of one's cultural knowledge
Cultural humility involves lifelong learning and self-critique, whereas cultural competence implies a fixed endpoint of knowledge.
Question 5: A case manager maintains a personal relationship with a former client who transitioned out of services six months ago. This situation MOST likely represents:
- Acceptable practice since services have ended
- A dual relationship that may compromise professional objectivity (Correct answer)
- Required follow-up under continuity-of-care standards
- An appropriate networking opportunity
Correct answer: A dual relationship that may compromise professional objectivity
Dual relationships with former clients can compromise professional boundaries and are generally discouraged in behavioral health ethics codes.
Question 6: Which type of continuing education activity BEST supports a case manager's professional development in evidence-based practice?
- Reviewing marketing materials from pharmaceutical companies
- Participating in peer-reviewed journal clubs focused on behavioral health research (Correct answer)
- Attending vendor-sponsored product demonstrations only
- Reviewing only their organization's internal policy updates
Correct answer: Participating in peer-reviewed journal clubs focused on behavioral health research
Peer-reviewed journal clubs build critical appraisal skills and keep practitioners current with evidence-based research.
Question 7: Under the NASW Code of Ethics, social workers and case managers are obligated to address impairment in colleagues when:
- The impairment only affects the colleague personally, not clients
- The colleague's impairment interferes with their professional duties or harms clients (Correct answer)
- A supervisor has already been notified, making further action unnecessary
- The colleague has fewer than five years of professional experience
Correct answer: The colleague's impairment interferes with their professional duties or harms clients
Ethical codes require professionals to take action when a colleague's impairment poses risk to client safety or professional integrity.
CBHCM Professional Development and Ethics 2
A behavioral health case manager discovers a colleague is billing for services not rendered.
What is the MOST appropriate first action?