SWK 220 Social Work Issues in Client Services

Instructor Contact Information

Instructor Name:  Sheri Narin

Office Phone:  (336) 599 - 1181 ext. 424, Office Location: L130 on the Person County Campus.  Office Hours are posted by door.  Virtual office hour is announced in the weekly announcement.

Email Address:  narins@piedmontcc.edu

Fax:  (336) 598 – 0453

Secretary Phone: Nancy Watts, (336) 599-1181 ext. 437

Faculty Website Address: http://www2.piedmontcc.edu/faculty/narins

Course Information

Course Description:  This course introduces the professional standards, values and issues in social services. Topics include confidentiality, assessment of personal values, professional responsibilities, competencies and ethics. Upon completion, student should be able to understand and discuss multiple ethical issues applicable to social work and apply various decision-making models to current issues. This course is a unique concentration requirement of the Social Services concentration in the Human Services Technology program.

Course Objectives:

1. Student will be able to describe the general ethical standards of the field of social work.
2. Student will be able to contrast the ethical guidelines of the National Association of Social Workers and the National Organization of Human Service Education, as well as other ethical guidelines.
3. Student will be able to recite the ETHIC method for addressing ethical dilemmas.
4. Student will be able to apply the ETHIC method to specific and general ethical dilemmas.
5. Student will identify their own ethical beliefs and describe conflicts that may arise for them in applying professional ethical standards.
6. Student will be able to describe ethical issues that arise in specific areas, including mental health, child welfare, health care, group and family work, aging, professional settings, HIV and AIDS, and supervision and management.

Prerequisites and Co-requisites: None
 

Course Topics: The course will cover the following topics in the order below:
Part I. Social Work and General Ethical Concepts

• Introduction and Overview (Chapter One-Congress text)
• The NASW Code of Ethics (Chapter Two-Congress text)
• Values and Social Work Principles (Chapter Three-Congress text)
• Social Work Dilemmas and the ETHIC Decision-Making Model (Chapter Four-Congress text)
• Ethical decision making in human services (Chapter One-Kenyon text)
• Exploring your own values (Chapter Two-Kenyon text)
• Ethical standards of human services professionals (Chapter Three-Kenyon text)

Part II. Ethical Concerns within Specific Populations or issues

• Ethical Dilemmas in Mental Health (Chapter Five-Congress text)
• Ethical Dilemmas in Child Welfare (Chapter Six-Congress text)
• Ethical Dilemmas in Health Care (Chapter Seven-Congress text)
• Ethical Dilemmas in Group and Family Work (Chapter Eight-Congress text)
• Ethical Dilemmas in Aging (Chapter Nine-Congress text)
• Ethical Dilemmas for the Professional Social Worker: Dual Relationships and Impaired Colleagues (Chapter Ten-Congress text)
• Ethical Dilemmas in Interdisciplinary Collaboration (Chapter Eleven-Congress text)
• Ethical Dilemmas relating to HIV and AIDS (Chapter Twelve-Congress text)
• Welfare reform impacts a student: A case study (Chapter Four-Kenyon text)
• Ethical issues for students in the academic environment (Chapter Five-Kenyon text)
• Personal issues and relationships (Chapter Six-Kenyon text)
• The field practicum: Creating and maintaining a learning environment (Chapter Seven-Kenyon text)
• Confidentiality (Chapter eight-Kenyon text)
• Client rights and needs, agency policy and law (Chapters Nine and Ten – Kenyon text)
• Dual relationships and self-disclosure (Chapter Eleven-Kenyon text)

 Part III. Professional Concerns

• Ethical Dilemmas in Supervising and Managing (Chapter Thirteen-Congress text)
• The Future of Social Work Ethics (Chapter Fourteen-Congress text)
• Relationships with colleagues and supervisors in the work setting (Chapter Twelve-Kenyon text)
• Professionals, agencies, and other entities (Chapter Thirteen-Kenyon text)
• Applying ethical thinking in your own experience (Chapter Fourteen-Kenyon text)

Specific Course Requirements: In addition to the requirements for any distance learning course (see: http://www2.piedmont.cc.nc.us/DL/hardware.htm for further information), you will need access to Microsoft word for submitting assignments.


 

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Required Textbooks: 1) Congress, E. P. (1999). Social Work Values and Ethics: Identifying and Resolving Professional Dilemmas. Chicago: Nelson-Hall Publishers. ISBN:  0-8304-1492-4;  2) Kenyon, P. (1999). What would you do? An ethical case workbook for human service professionals. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.  ISBN:  0-534-34938-2.

Supplementary Materials: None

Course Website address:
http://courses.piedmontcc.edu, then login and click on SWK 220 Social Work Issues in Client Services

Hardware Requirements: Please follow the hardware recommendations mentioned at : http://www2.piedmont.cc.nc.us/DL/hardware.htm, with the addition of access to Microsoft Word.

Software Requirements: You may need Acrobat Reader for some assignments.  You can get information on downloading it through http://www2.piedmont.cc.nc.us/DL/plugins.htm.  You will need JAVA to access the virtual classroom. There is no cost for the downloads.

Assessment and Grading

Testing Procedures:

Your exams are given through Blackboard and you have two hours to complete the exam.  Once you have started the exam, you will need to complete it at that time. Each exam will become available the Monday morning of the exam week and will become unavailable at midnight on the Sunday of that module.  Missed exams cannot be made up.  Exams consist of questions in the following formats:  Multiple choice, fill in the blank, matching, short essay and true/false. 

Grading Procedure:

Grades are based on the following assignments (subject to change):

Homework Assignments: 40%
Examinations: 20%
Discussion Boards:  25%

Group Project:  15%

 

Major Assignments

Homework

There will be weekly homework assignments, primarily from the What would you do? Textbook, but form other sources as well.  Homework assignments will be submitted via Blackboard and you will be given more specific instructions with the assignments.  Some homework assignments may involve filling out a scale in the textbook; those assignments will be done in a way that does not require submitting the scale. 

Examinations

There will be examinations related to some of the modules, related to the chapters that are read. 

Discussion Board

There will be weekly discussion board questions or activities.  You will generally be expected to post an initial response by Wednesday at midnight and complete your responses by Sunday at midnight.

Group Project

The class will be divided into small groups.  Your group will develop a code of ethics for the Piedmont Community College human services students. The code of ethics will cover whatever topics your group believes should be included in the code of ethics.

Your grade on this project will reflect both the final project, assignments that you submit during the process, and your level of participation, as evaluated by other group members.

To complete this assignment, it may be helpful to research other schools that may have developed a student code of ethics. However, remember the rules about plagiarism!

This project will be due in class fifteen and will be presented to the class, as well as submitted in written form.

Grading Scale:
90-100 = A
80-89 points = B
70-79 points = C
60-69 points = D
below 60 points = F  Grading Scale is subject to change!  

Academic Integrity

In addition to good academic performance, students should exhibit honesty and integrity. If there is any question that academic honesty and integrity are not honored, students may be required to redo assignments in the presence of an instructor-selected monitor. Proof of dishonesty, including plagiarism, will make students subject to disciplinary action. Please consult your college catalog for more information.

Piedmont Community College Plagiarism Policy

7.5.1

PLAGIARISM

Whether intentional or unintentional, plagiarism is ?the wrongful act of taking the product of another person's mind and presenting it as one's own" (Alexander Lindey, Plagiarism and Originality, 1952).

The following acts are examples of intentional plagiarism:

Copying material from a published source to avoid having to devise one?s own ideas.

Failing to give clear and proper credit to an idea, phrase, or quotation taken from a source.

Purchasing a pre-written paper.

Having someone other than the stated author complete an assignment, or part of an assignment.

Unintentional Plagiarism occurs when a student provides sources for his or her work, but the sources are cited incorrectly or inadequately. Handbooks with documentation rules for Modern Language Association (MLA) and American Psychology Association (APA), two source documentation styles, are housed in the Caswell County Campus Resource Center and in the Person County Campus Learning Resource Center. Students are also encouraged to speak with their instructors when they are uncertain about documenting their sources in class assignments.

Plagiarism will result in disciplinary action, and repeated offenses will lead to increased penalties that may ultimately result in expulsion from the College, as set out below:

A student who unintentionally plagiarizes will receive a warning and instruction on proper citation, style, and usage for the first offense.

A student who unintentionally plagiarizes a second time in a single course will receive a course grade of F in the course in which the student plagiarized.

A student who intentionally plagiarizes will receive a course grade of F in the course in which the student plagiarized.

If a student receives a course grade of F due to plagiarism, the course instructor will notify the Dean of Student Development using the Plagiarism Incident Report Form.

If a student receives three course grades of F due to plagiarism, as determined by records kept in the office of the Dean of Student Development, he or she will be expelled from the College.

Legal Reference: G.S. 115 D-20

History Note: Effective January 20, 2004

Plagiarism tutorial: http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/plag/whatisplag.php

In furtherance of its Plagiarism Policy, Piedmont Community College has a license agreement with Turnitin.com, a service that helps prevent plagiarism in student assignments.  Students may also be asked to submit assignments through the Blackboard tool, SafeAssign. To encourage original and authentic written work, any written assignment created in this course may be submitted for review to Turnitin.com (http://www.turnitin.com) or SafeAssign and will become a searchable document with the Turnitin-protected and restricted use database or the SafeAssign institutional or global database.

Assignments and Participation

Week One: Monday, August 25, 2008 to Sunday, August 31, 2008

Week Two: Tuesday, September 2, 2008 to Sunday, September 7, 2008

Week Three:  Monday, September 8, 2008 to Sunday, September 14, 2008

Week Four  Monday, September 15, 2008 to Sunday, September 21, 2008

Week Five  Monday, September 22, 2008 to Sunday, September 28, 2008

Week Six  Monday, September 29, 2008 to Sunday, October 5, 2008

Week Seven  Monday, October 6, 2008 to Sunday, October 12, 2008

Week Eight  Wednesday, October 15, 2008 to Sunday, October 19, 2008

Week Nine  Monday, October 20, 2008 to Sunday, October 26, 2008

Week Ten: Monday, October 27, 2008 to Sunday, November 2, 2008

Week Eleven:  Monday, November 3, 2008 to Sunday, November 9, 2008

Week Twelve:  Monday, November 10, 2008 to Sunday, November 16, 2008

Week Thirteen:  Monday, November 17, 2008 to Sunday, November 23, 2008

Week Fourteen: Monday, November 24, 2008 to Wednesday, November 26, 2008 and Monday, December 1, 2008 to Sunday, December 7, 2008

Week Fifteen:  Monday, December 8, 2008 to Sunday, December 14, 2008

Week Sixteen:  Monday, December 15, 2008 to Saturday, December 21, 2008

The last day to withdraw from class with a “W” is October 22, 2008.

Class Participation or Attendance:
From the Piedmont Community College Catalog: 

Regular attendance at all class meetings is necessary for students to learn important concepts.  In this regard, the following class attendance policy is established: 

1. A student is expected to be regular and punctual in meeting all classes.  To receive credit for a course, the student must attend prior to the census point and a minimum of 80 percent of classes, labs and shop hours.  Failure to attend class is an absence, regardless of the reason.  Absences are counted from the first scheduled meeting of the class, not the first day the student attends.  All work missed during absences must be made up to the satisfaction of the instructor.  Failure to complete required assignments will negatively affect the student's final grade.

2. A student who exceeds the 20 percent limit of absences may be dropped by the instructor through the eighth week of the semester.  If a student exceeds the 20 percent limit after the eighth week, the instructor is authorized to award the student the "I" or "F" grade as warranted by the student's performance.

3. Any exceptions to this policy must be authorized by the instructor. 

Punctuality:
Assignments are due at specific dates and times, and information on all assignments is posted on the course website.  Assignments may be completed early when available.  Late discussion board posts will not be graded.  Projects that are late will have 10 points deducted for each day that they are late. The exam for each module may not be taken after midnight on the Sunday of that module.

Course Ground Rules

1)     Please contact your instructor with any problems or concerns!

2)     Participation is required and you are expected to communicate with other students in team project.

3)     You are responsible for learning how to navigate in Blackboard, and for asking for assistance when you are having difficulty. Address technical problems immediately.

4)     Keep abreast of course announcements.  There will be a weekly announcement posted Sunday evening or Monday morning for that week, and other announcement may be made as well.  You should check the Blackboard site at least three times a week for new announcements.

5)     Observe course netiquette at all times, etc.

6)     If you choose to drop the class, you must complete a drop form.  If you do not complete the drop form you will receive an “F” in the class.  Guidfor Communications

Guidelines for Communications

Email:

         Always include a subject line, with your name, the course number and the topic of the email.

         Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.

         Use standard fonts.

         Do not send large attachments without permission.

         Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.

         Respect the privacy of other class members.

Discussion Board:

These online discussions will take the place of discussions you would typically have in the classroom. You should think about the material and submit replies that are intelligent and clear. Use your ability to select important facts and analyze materials to pull your responses from your text reading, course documents, and Internet references. Spend some time thinking about the topics and how they might relate to your own life before you formulate your replies.

You are required to post one response to one of the weekly discussion questions. For the best grade, your response should be at least one substantive paragraph, using correct grammar and spelling. You should also respond to at least two of your classmate's postings each week. Your response should add new information, pro or con, to the information already posted by the student.

1.    Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.

2.    Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.

3.    Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other’ ideas.

4.    Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.

 

Chat:

         Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session.

         Be polite. Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.

         Be concise in responding to others in the chat session.

         Be prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.

         Be constructive in your comments and suggestions.

Web Resources:
Information on References for Electronic Sources

American Psychological Association, Electronic References, 5^th edition of the APA Publication Manual, 2001, Retrieved 21 July 2005 from http://www.apastyle.org/elecgeneral.html

Online Services for Distance Learners

Learning Resources Center, Online Services For Distance Learners, Piedmont Community College, Retrieved July 21, 2005 from

http://www2.piedmont.cc.nc.us/DL/online_services.htm

Blackboard Student Support

The North Carolina Conference of English Instructors offers this site with support information for online learners.

North Carolina Conference of English Instructors, CEI Blackboard Support, North Carolina Conference of English Instructors web site, Retrieved 21 July 2005 from

http://www.nccei.org/blackboard/students.html

Netiquette, Or How to Mind Your Manners When Using E-Mail, Virginia Shea, Netiquette , May 1994, http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html, Netiquette Home Page, Retrieved 21 July 2005 from http://www.albion.com/netiquette/index.html

If you have a disability and would like to request special accommodations to ensure equal access to education at PCC, please see Brian Totten in the Office of Student Development on the main campus, 599-1181, ext. 296. The information that you provide will be kept confidential

Piedmont Community College now offers a comprehensive package of services to assist students with their academic success. The Student Success Center (SSC) is located in Room G-204 on the Person County Campus and in Room K-152 on the Caswell County Campus.  The SSC provides a variety of free learning support services including computer access, tutoring, supplemental instruction, study groups, and other academic services. Visit or call Gloria Bennett, Coordinator of the Student Success Center, at 599-1181, ext. 276 to access this valuable student resource.