SSW Ethical Practice 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student who is 17 years old wants to consent to mental health services without parental involvement. The school social worker should FIRST:
- Automatically deny services without parental consent
- Review state law regarding minor consent, as many states allow minors to consent to mental health services (Correct answer)
- Provide services immediately with no further consideration
- Refer the student to an outside agency only
Correct answer: Review state law regarding minor consent, as many states allow minors to consent to mental health services
Minor consent laws vary by state, and school social workers must know their jurisdiction's statutes regarding adolescent consent to mental health services.
Question 2: When using telehealth or digital platforms to provide school social work services, which ethical concern is most critical?
- Whether the technology is visually appealing
- Ensuring privacy, security, and informed consent about technology-specific risks and limitations (Correct answer)
- Matching the platform used by the school administrator
- Conducting sessions only during school hours
Correct answer: Ensuring privacy, security, and informed consent about technology-specific risks and limitations
Digital practice requires attention to platform security, data privacy protections, and ensuring clients understand the unique risks of electronic communication.
Question 3: A school social worker is asked to serve on an IEP team for a student they have been counseling. To maintain ethical boundaries, the social worker should:
- Refuse all participation to avoid dual roles entirely
- Participate and clearly define their role while managing any potential role conflicts transparently (Correct answer)
- Share all confidential counseling details with the full IEP team
- Withdraw from counseling the student immediately
Correct answer: Participate and clearly define their role while managing any potential role conflicts transparently
Participation on IEP teams is appropriate when the social worker clearly defines their role, manages role boundaries, and shares only information relevant and consented to.
Question 4: An ethical dilemma differs from an ethical problem primarily because:
- Ethical dilemmas have an obvious right answer
- An ethical dilemma involves a conflict between two or more equally compelling ethical principles (Correct answer)
- Ethical dilemmas are resolved through administrative decision-making
- Ethical problems require more documentation than dilemmas
Correct answer: An ethical dilemma involves a conflict between two or more equally compelling ethical principles
True ethical dilemmas arise when two legitimate ethical principles are in conflict, making the 'right' course of action genuinely unclear.
Question 5: A school social worker overhears a colleague making derogatory remarks about a student's family in the staff lounge. The most ethical response is to:
- Ignore the remarks to preserve collegial relationships
- Address the behavior with the colleague directly and/or report to a supervisor (Correct answer)
- Discuss the colleague's behavior with other staff members
- Mention it casually to the student
Correct answer: Address the behavior with the colleague directly and/or report to a supervisor
Social workers have an ethical obligation to challenge colleagues' unethical behavior and protect clients from harm, including discriminatory or demeaning remarks.
Question 6: Which action best demonstrates adherence to the NASW ethical standard of professional competence?
- Providing services in all areas regardless of training
- Seeking supervision, training, and consultation when working beyond areas of expertise (Correct answer)
- Avoiding complex cases to prevent errors
- Relying solely on years of experience without ongoing education
Correct answer: Seeking supervision, training, and consultation when working beyond areas of expertise
Competence requires ongoing professional development, supervision, and knowing when to seek consultation rather than practicing beyond one's demonstrated skills.
Question 7: A student shares information in a group counseling session that another student then discloses outside the group. The school social worker's ethical responsibility includes:
- Taking no action since group confidentiality cannot be legally enforced
- Establishing and reinforcing group confidentiality norms and addressing breaches with the group (Correct answer)
- Immediately terminating the student who disclosed
- Contacting the student's parents about the breach
Correct answer: Establishing and reinforcing group confidentiality norms and addressing breaches with the group
While confidentiality in groups cannot be fully guaranteed, social workers are responsible for clearly establishing norms and addressing violations to protect group members.
SSW Ethical Practice 5
A student who is 17 years old wants to consent to mental health services without parental involvement.
The school social worker should FIRST: