Social workers can be put into a predicament within their professing if they do not know there responsibility for the clients privacy and confidentiality. This paper will demonstrate how important privacy and confidentiality to the clients we are serving. The exemplar I chose to use is When does confidentiality end? Is this situation the Clinical Social Worker providing counseling for 2 years? The police are asking for information on the whereabouts of her client that she has not seen or heard of for 3 years. The clinical is faced with an ethical dilemma if she should provide this information to the police? According to the Code of Ethics a persons right to privacy, for example a good and desirable thing is an important value of U.S. society. One of the social work ethical rules deduced from this value states, Social workers should obtain clients informed consent before audio taping or vid
eotaping clients or permitting observation of services to clients by a third party (NASW, 2008, 1.03f) (Dolgott & Harrington. pg. 25). In this circumstance this is the police asking for this information. What are the similarities and differences between law and ethics? Law has an ethical dimension. Thus Albert (1986) insists that it is altogether misleading to say that legal duties have nothing to do with moral duties but there are differences. (Dolgott & Harrington, pg. 31). Yes there is a difference we are told that the confidentiality and privacy is the most important ethical principle we must practice through school and our agency. Now we are faced with the dilemma because we are also mandated reporters. This clinician as not seen this client for 3 years is she required to give the location and treatment data to the police? This paper will identify what is required from the clinicians.