Assistant Professor of Social Work Jacksonville State University BIRMINGHAM, Alabama, United States
Overview: The COVER Model of Ethical Decision-Making (Mitchell & Yordy, 2010) was adapted to help social workers analyze ethical dilemmas to foster the use of informed judgement to enhance rights-based decision making. Social workers can adopt a rights-based approach when navigating ethical issues to challenge social injustice across practice levels.Proposal text: Objective 1: Define Human Rights and why these rights are central to social work. Review the Global Definition of Social Work Social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility, and respect for diversities are central to social work. Underpinned by the theories of social work, social sciences, humanities and indigenous knowledges, social work engages people and structures to address life challenges and enhance well-being (IFSW, 2014). Review the universal declaration of human rights. Objective 2: Define a rights-based approach to ethics. The goal of a rights-based approach to ethical decision-making is to increase the social worker’s awareness of the systemic macro issues impacting clients across practice levels. A rights-based approach enhances the social worker’s ability to participate in equitable distribution of resources and power for clients. Objective 3: Identify the core principles of human rights. A human rights-based approach allows the ethical value of social justice to be maintained by reducing attention on client pathology and increasing the social worker’s ability to reorient micro level practice challenges to macro practice level challenges. The five principles of human rights are derived from human rights theory, values, human rights declarations, covenants, conventions, as well as the social work code of ethics (Androff, 2018). Human Dignity Nondiscrimination Participation Transparency Accountability Objective 4: Rights based approach to intra/inter disciplinary collaboration. Community and interdisciplinary collaboration encourage professional and social alliances to form. These alliances negotiate across professional, economic, and community boundaries with the purpose of advancing social and political change. Collaboration means that each social worker need not possess the universe of knowledge and skills. The level of interaction required to bridge micro and macro practice level concerns requires the knowledge, skills and abilities of the entire social work profession. Unity is needed. Objective 5: Offer the adapted three phase COVER model as an ethical decision-making process. First I Ask Some questions to COVER IT! (pneumonic) Steps to Frame Ethical Issues (F)Facts: What are the facts involved in this ethical dilemma? (I)Issue(s): What is/are the ethical issue(s)? (A)Alternatives: Consider the alternatives. (S)Stakeholders: Who all is involved? Decision Making Model Process (C)Codes: Identify and analyze legal and ethical codes to inform the decision (NASW Code) (O)Outcomes: Identify the pros and cons outcomes of each alternative course of action. (V)Values: Review your personal and professional values (human rights core principles, NASW principles, organizational mission statements, etc.) How does each alternative affect these values and principles? (E)Editorial: Analyze the “publicity effect” of your decision. Will you stand by this if your colleagues find out? (R)Rules: Evaluate each alternative as if it were to become the “rule for all others to follow.” Human Rights-Based Analysis (I)Inclusive: Is the selected alternative equitable for all stakeholders? Are you using your privilege and influence to dismantle unjust policies and practices? (T)Thoughtful: Consider the alternative selected reflectively. Are you actively working to unlearn your professional and personal biases?
