LMSW LMSW Professional Values and Ethics Questions and Answers 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A social worker learns that a 16-year-old client is sexually active with a 17-year-old peer, both consenting. The MOST appropriate response is:
- Report to child protective services immediately
- Discuss safety and contraception without mandatory reporting (Correct answer)
- Inform the client's parents without consent
- Terminate services due to illegal behavior
Correct answer: Discuss safety and contraception without mandatory reporting
Consensual sexual activity between teens close in age is generally not reportable; the worker should focus on safety and education.
Question 2: An LMSW is subpoenaed for a client's records. The client does NOT consent to disclosure. The social worker should FIRST:
- Comply fully with the subpoena to avoid legal penalties
- Consult an attorney and seek a protective order or quash the subpoena (Correct answer)
- Destroy the records to prevent disclosure
- Release only a summary rather than the full record
Correct answer: Consult an attorney and seek a protective order or quash the subpoena
A subpoena is not a court order; the worker should consult legal counsel and attempt to protect confidentiality before complying.
Question 3: The concept of 'informed consent' in social work practice means that clients must be told:
- Only the treatment plan goals
- The nature, risks, benefits, alternatives, and their right to refuse services (Correct answer)
- Information on a need-to-know basis determined by the worker
- Their diagnosis in full clinical terminology
Correct answer: The nature, risks, benefits, alternatives, and their right to refuse services
Informed consent requires full disclosure of nature, risks, benefits, alternatives, and the right to refuse so clients can make autonomous decisions.
Question 4: A social worker who is recovering from substance use disorder begins working in an addiction treatment program. Which is TRUE regarding ethical practice?
- Personal history of addiction disqualifies a worker from this field
- The worker may practice if competent and the history does not impair practice (Correct answer)
- The worker must disclose their history to all clients
- Self-disclosure of recovery status is always required for rapport
Correct answer: The worker may practice if competent and the history does not impair practice
Personal history does not bar practice; what matters is whether the worker can perform duties competently and without impairment.
Question 5: A client in a rural area asks to connect with their social worker on social media. The MOST ethical response is to:
- Accept to avoid seeming rude in a small community
- Decline and explain the professional boundary rationale (Correct answer)
- Ignore the request without explanation
- Create a separate personal account to connect with clients
Correct answer: Decline and explain the professional boundary rationale
Social media connections blur professional boundaries and can compromise therapeutic neutrality, regardless of community size.
Question 6: Which situation represents an appropriate use of self-disclosure by a social worker?
- Sharing extensive personal trauma history to build rapport
- Briefly disclosing relevant experience to normalize a client's struggle (Correct answer)
- Discussing personal relationship problems to model vulnerability
- Revealing political beliefs to align with a client's values
Correct answer: Briefly disclosing relevant experience to normalize a client's struggle
Appropriate self-disclosure is purposeful, brief, and clinically beneficial to the client rather than meeting the worker's own needs.
Question 7: A social worker suspects a colleague is impaired by alcohol during work hours. According to NASW ethics, the worker should:
- Report directly to licensing authorities without speaking to the colleague
- Address the concern with the colleague and consult supervisors if needed (Correct answer)
- Cover for the colleague until formal complaints are filed
- Refuse all future collaboration with the colleague
Correct answer: Address the concern with the colleague and consult supervisors if needed
NASW Code of Ethics calls for addressing impaired colleague behavior through direct communication and appropriate supervisory channels to protect clients.
LMSW LMSW Professional Values and Ethics Questions and Answers 4
A social worker learns that a 16-year-old client is sexually active with a 17-year-old peer, both consenting.
The MOST appropriate response is: