Within social work, social workers have to meet certain standards and be able to practice lawfully, safely and effectively. One standard social workers have to meet, is being able to practice within the legal and ethical boundaries of their profession (Health and care professions council, 2017). Social work as a profession has an obligation to articulate its basic values, ethical principles and ethical standards. These standards and principles are set out by the PCF (professional capabilities framework) which is now managed and delivered by the BASW (The code of Ethics for social work).
The Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF) is an overarching professional standards framework. It sets out consistent expectations of social workers at
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These values include: Human rights, social justice and professional integrity. These values, all have different principles in each section, which provides information outlining the general ethical principles. The human rights value says social work is based on respect for inherent work and dignity of all people. One of the principles, associated with this value is, upholding and promoting human dignity and well-being. This principle states that social workers should respect, uphold and defend each person’s physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual integrity and well-being. They should work towards promoting the best interests of individuals and groups in society and the avoidance of harm, (BASW, 2012). This principle highlights the credibility of Ethics and values in social work, as it confirms the purpose of what social work is about. For example, social workers are responsible for helping individuals, families and groups of people to cope with problems they’re facing to improve their quality of life. This principle supports this, as without working towards the best interests of the individual or group, social workers wouldn’t be doing their job in helping and improving that individual’s life. So overall, all these values and principles relating to Ethics support the development of good practice and without these the profession wouldn’t be the