Essay On Confidentiality In Health And Social Care

Concerns have been raised at times about the oversight of victim services and the degree to which they adhere to a common set of ethical principles and professional standards. Parents should have the right to choose services that meet their needs and to refuse service, even if such refusal may increase the risk of danger. For instance, an abusive parent may refuse to have their children sent to a foster home. Social workers should provide information relating not only the rights of the abused children and services available but also information about the limits of confidentiality. Also they should be able to provide both physically and psychologically safe spaces while safeguarding the identity of the individuals from the public and media as …show more content…
According to the National Association of Social Workers (2006), "A common legal and ethical issue that arises for social workers who are part of a legal team whether they are mandated to report child abuse or whether the attorney-client privilege limits the fulfillment of this obligation" (par. 1). The social workers feel that because of the states mandatory reporting laws, it is ethically preferable to tell the age of the children, teens and parents rather the limits of confidentiality prior to taking a report. The social workers may find themselves in difficult situations in terms of having to commit to their clients' interests and their responsibility to the general public when faced with the possibility of reporting child abuse to the authorities. Historical records show that it has always been required for the social workers to disclose confidential information, sometimes against a client's will, to comply with mandatory reporting laws on child