INTRODUCTION TO PRINCIPLES, VALUES AND ETHICS OF SOCIAL WORK

The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the
basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people
who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. A historic and defining feature of social work is the
profession’s focus on individual well-being in a social context and the well-being of society. Fundamental
to social work is attention to the environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address problems
in living.

Social workers promote social justice and social change with and on behalf of clients. “Clients” is used
inclusively to refer to individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers are
sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversity and strive to end discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other
forms of social injustice. These activities may be in the form of direct practice, community organizing,
supervision, consultation administration, advocacy, social and political action, policy development and
implementation, education, and research and evaluation. Social workers seek to enhance the capacity of
people to address their own needs. Social workers also seek to promote the responsiveness of
organizations, communities, and other social institutions to individuals’ needs and social problems.

The mission of the social work profession is rooted in a set of core values. These core values, embraced
by social workers throughout the profession’s history, are the foundation of social work’s unique
purpose and perspective:

 service

 social justice

 dignity and worth of the person

 importance of human relationships

 integrity

 competence.

This constellation of core values reflects what is unique to the social work profession. Core values, and
the principles that flow from them, must be balanced within the context and complexity of the human
experience.

Purpose of the NASW Code of Ethics

Professional ethics are at the core of social work. The profession has an obligation to articulate its basic
values, ethical principles, and ethical standards. The NASW Code of Ethics sets forth these values,
principles, and standards to guide social workers’ conduct. The Code is relevant to all social workers and
social work students, regardless of their professional functions, the settings in which they work, or the
populations they serve.
The NASW Code of Ethics serves six purposes:

1. The Code identifies core values on which social work’s mission is based.

2. The Code summarizes broad ethical principles that reflect the profession’s core values and
establishes a set of specific ethical standards that should be used to guide social work practice.

3. The Code is designed to help social workers identify relevant considerations when professional
obligations conflict or ethical uncertainties arise.

4. The Code provides ethical standards to which the general public can hold the social work
profession accountable.

5. The Code socializes practitioners new to the field to social work’s mission, values, ethical
principles, and ethical standards.

6. The Code articulates standards that the social work profession itself can use to assess whether
social workers have engaged in unethical conduct. NASW has formal procedures to adjudicate
ethics complaints filed against its members.* In subscribing to this Code, social workers are
required to cooperate in its implementation, participate in NASW adjudication proceedings, and
abide by any NASW disciplinary rulings or sanctions based on it.

The Code offers a set of values, principles, and standards to guide decision making and conduct when
ethical issues arise. It does not provide a set of rules that prescribe how social workers should act in all
situations. Specific applications of the Code must take into account the context in which it is being
considered and the possibility of conflicts among the Code‘s values, principles, and standards. Ethical
responsibilities flow from all human relationships, from the personal and familial to the social and
professional.

Further, the NASW Code of Ethics does not specify which values, principles, and standards are most
important and ought to outweigh others in instances when they conflict. Reasonable differences of
opinion can and do exist among social workers with respect to the ways in which values, ethical
principles, and ethical standards should be rank ordered when they conflict. Ethical decision making in a
given situation must apply the informed judgment of the individual social worker and should also
consider how the issues would be judged in a peer review process where the ethical standards of the
profession would be applied.

Ethical decision making is a process. There are many instances in social work where simple answers are
not available to resolve complex ethical issues. Social workers should take into consideration all the
values, principles, and standards in this Code that are relevant to any situation in which ethical judgment
is warranted. Social workers’ decisions and actions should be consistent with the spirit as well as the
letter of this Code.

In addition to this Code, there are many other sources of information about ethical thinking that may be
useful. Social workers should consider ethical theory and principles generally, social work theory and
research, laws, regulations, agency policies, and other relevant codes of ethics, recognizing that among
codes of ethics social workers should consider the NASW Code of Ethics as their primary source. Social
workers also should be aware of the impact on ethical decision making of their clients’ and their own
personal values and cultural and religious beliefs and practices. They should be aware of any conflicts
between personal and professional values and deal with them responsibly. For additional guidance social
workers should consult the relevant literature on professional ethics and ethical decision making and
seek appropriate consultation when faced with ethical dilemmas. This may involve consultation with an
agency-based or social work organization’s ethics committee, a regulatory body, knowledgeable
colleagues, supervisors, or legal counsel.

Instances may arise when social workers’ ethical obligations conflict with agency policies or relevant laws
or regulations. When such conflicts occur, social workers must make a responsible effort to resolve the
conflict in a manner that is consistent with the values, principles, and standards expressed in this Code. If
a reasonable resolution of the conflict does not appear possible, social workers should seek proper
consultation before making a decision.

The NASW Code of Ethics is to be used by NASW and by individuals, agencies, organizations, and bodies
(such as licensing and regulatory boards, professional liability insurance providers, courts of law, agency
boards of directors, government agencies, and other professional groups) that choose to adopt it or use
it as a frame of reference. Violation of standards in this Code does not automatically imply legal liability
or violation of the law. Such determination can only be made in the context of legal and judicial
proceedings. Alleged violations of the Code would be subject to a peer review process. Such processes
are generally separate from legal or administrative procedures and insulated from legal review or
proceedings to allow the profession to counsel and discipline its own members.

A code of ethics cannot guarantee ethical behavior. Moreover, a code of ethics cannot resolve all ethical
issues or disputes or capture the richness and complexity involved in striving to make responsible
choices within a moral community. Rather, a code of ethics sets forth values, ethical principles, and
ethical standards to which professionals aspire and by which their actions can be judged. Social workers’
ethical behavior should result from their personal commitment to engage in ethical practice. The NASW
Code of Ethics reflects the commitment of all social workers to uphold the profession’s values and to act
ethically. Principles and standards must be applied by individuals of good character who discern moral
questions and, in good faith, seek to make reliable ethical judgments.

Ethical Principles

The following broad ethical principles are based on social work’s core values of service, social justice,
dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. These
principles set forth ideals to which all social workers should aspire.

Value: Service

Ethical Principle: Social workers’ primary goal is to help people in need and to address social problems.
Social workers elevate service to others above self-interest. Social workers draw on their knowledge,
values, and skills to help people in need and to address social problems. Social workers are encouraged
to volunteer some portion of their professional skills with no expectation of significant financial return
(pro bono service).

Value: Social Justice

Ethical Principle: Social workers challenge social injustice.

Social workers pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed
individuals and groups of people. Social workers’ social change efforts are focused primarily on issues of
poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice. These activities seek to
promote sensitivity to and knowledge about oppression and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers
strive to ensure access to needed information, services, and resources; equality of opportunity; and
meaningful participation in decision making for all people.

Value: Dignity and Worth of the Person

Ethical Principle: Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of the person.
Social workers treat each person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual differences and
cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers promote clients’ socially responsible self-determination.
Social workers seek to enhance clients’ capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own
needs. Social workers are cognizant of their dual responsibility to clients and to the broader society. They
seek to resolve conflicts between clients’ interests and the broader society’s interests in a socially
responsible manner consistent with the values, ethical principles, and ethical standards of the
profession.

Value: Importance of Human Relationships

Ethical Principle: Social workers recognize the central importance of human relationships.
Social workers understand that relationships between and among people are an important vehicle for
change. Social workers engage people as partners in the helping process. Social workers seek to
strengthen relationships among people in a purposeful effort to promote, restore, maintain, and
enhance the well-being of individuals, families, social groups, organizations, and communities.

Value: Integrity

Ethical Principle: Social workers behave in a trustworthy manner.

Social workers are continually aware of the profession’s mission, values, ethical principles, and ethical
standards and practice in a manner consistent with them. Social workers act honestly and responsibly
and promote ethical practices on the part of the organizations with which they are affiliated.

Value: Competence

Ethical Principle: Social workers practice within their areas of competence and develop and enhance their
professional expertise.
Social workers continually strive to increase their professional knowledge and skills and to apply them in
practice. Social workers should aspire to contribute to the knowledge base of the profession.

Ethical Standards

The following ethical standards are relevant to the professional activities of all social workers. These
standards concern (1) social workers’ ethical responsibilities to clients, (2) social workers’ ethical
responsibilities to colleagues, (3) social workers’ ethical responsibilities in practice settings, (4) social
workers’ ethical responsibilities as professionals, (5) social workers’ ethical responsibilities to the social
work profession, and (6) social workers’ ethical responsibilities to the broader society.

Some of the standards that follow are enforceable guidelines for professional conduct, and some are
aspirational. The extent to which each standard is enforceable is a matter of professional judgment to be
exercised by those responsible for reviewing alleged violations of ethical standards.

1. SOCIAL WORKERS’ ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES TO CLIENTS

1.01 Commitment to Clients

Social workers’ primary responsibility is to promote the well-being of clients. In general, clients’ interests
are primary. However, social workers’ responsibility to the larger society or specific legal obligations may
on limited occasions supersede the loyalty owed clients, and clients should be so advised. (Examples
include when a social worker is required by law to report that a client has abused a child or has
threatened to harm self or others.)

1.02 Self-Determination

Social workers respect and promote the right of clients to self-determination and assist clients in their
efforts to identify and clarify their goals. Social workers may limit clients’ right to self-determination
when, in the social workers’ professional judgment, clients’ actions or potential actions pose a serious,
foreseeable, and imminent risk to themselves or others.

1.03 Informed Consent

(a) Social workers should provide services to clients only in the context of a professional relationship
based, when appropriate, on valid informed consent. Social workers should use clear and
understandable language to inform clients of the purpose of the services, risks related to the services,
limits to services because of the requirements of a third-party payer, relevant costs, reasonable
alternatives, clients’ right to refuse or withdraw consent, and the time frame covered by the consent.
Social workers should provide clients with an opportunity to ask questions.

(b) In instances when clients are not literate or have difficulty understanding the primary language used
in the practice setting, social workers should take steps to ensure clients’ comprehension. This may
include providing clients with a detailed verbal explanation or arranging for a qualified interpreter or
translator whenever possible.
(c) In instances when clients lack the capacity to provide informed consent, social workers should protect
clients’ interests by seeking permission from an appropriate third party, informing clients consistent with
the clients’ level of understanding. In such instances social workers should seek to ensure that the third
party acts in a manner consistent with clients’ wishes and interests. Social workers should take
reasonable steps to enhance such clients’ ability to give informed consent.

(d) In instances when clients are receiving services involuntarily, social workers should provide
information about the nature and extent of services and about the extent of clients’ right to refuse
service.

(e) Social workers who provide services via electronic media (such as computer, telephone, radio, and
television) should inform recipients of the limitations and risks associated with such services.

(f) Social workers should obtain clients’ informed consent before audiotaping or videotaping clients or
permitting observation of services to clients by a third party.

1.04 Competence

(a) Social workers should provide services and represent themselves as competent only within the
boundaries of their education, training, license, certification, consultation received, supervised
experience, or other relevant professional experience.

(b) Social workers should provide services in substantive areas or use intervention techniques or
approaches that are new to them only after engaging in appropriate study, training, consultation, and
supervision from people who are competent in those interventions or techniques.

(c) When generally recognized standards do not exist with respect to an emerging area of practice, social
workers should exercise careful judgment and take responsible steps (including appropriate education,
research, training, consultation, and supervision) to ensure the competence of their work and to protect
clients from harm.

1.05 Cultural Competence and Social Diversity

(a) Social workers should understand culture and its function in human behavior and society, recognizing
the strengths that exist in all cultures.

(b) Social workers should have a knowledge base of their clients’ cultures and be able to demonstrate
competence in the provision of services that are sensitive to clients’ cultures and to differences among
people and cultural groups.

(c) Social workers should obtain education about and seek to understand the nature of social diversity
and oppression with respect to race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender
identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, and mental or
physical disability.

1.06 Conflicts of Interest

(a) Social workers should be alert to and avoid conflicts of interest that interfere with the exercise of
professional discretion and impartial judgment. Social workers should inform clients when a real or
potential conflict of interest arises and take reasonable steps to resolve the issue in a manner that makes
the clients’ interests primary and protects clients’ interests to the greatest extent possible. In some
cases, protecting clients’ interests may require termination of the professional relationship with proper
referral of the client.

(b) Social workers should not take unfair advantage of any professional relationship or exploit others to
further their personal, religious, political, or business interests.

(c) Social workers should not engage in dual or multiple relationships with clients or former clients in
which there is a risk of exploitation or potential harm to the client. In instances when dual or multiple
relationships are unavoidable, social workers should take steps to protect clients and are responsible for
setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries. (Dual or multiple relationships occur when
social workers relate to clients in more than one relationship, whether professional, social, or business.
Dual or multiple relationships can occur simultaneously or consecutively.)

(d) When social workers provide services to two or more people who have a relationship with each other
(for example, couples, family members), social workers should clarify with all parties which individuals
will be considered clients and the nature of social workers’ professional obligations to the various
individuals who are receiving services. Social workers who anticipate a conflict of interest among the
individuals receiving services or who anticipate having to perform in potentially conflicting roles (for
example, when a social worker is asked to testify in a child custody dispute or divorce proceedings
involving clients) should clarify their role with the parties involved and take appropriate action to
minimize any conflict of interest.

1.07 Privacy and Confidentiality

(a) Social workers should respect clients’ right to privacy. Social workers should not solicit private
information from clients unless it is essential to providing services or conducting social work evaluation
or research. Once private information is shared, standards of confidentiality apply.

(b) Social workers may disclose confidential information when appropriate with valid consent from a
client or a person legally authorized to consent on behalf of a client.

(c) Social workers should protect the confidentiality of all information obtained in the course of
professional service, except for compelling professional reasons. The general expectation that social
workers will keep information confidential does not apply when disclosure is necessary to prevent
serious, foreseeable, and imminent harm to a client or other identifiable person. In all instances, social
workers should disclose the least amount of confidential information necessary to achieve the desired
purpose; only information that is directly relevant to the purpose for which the disclosure is made should
be revealed.

(d) Social workers should inform clients, to the extent possible, about the disclosure of confidential
information and the potential consequences, when feasible before the disclosure is made. This applies
whether social workers disclose confidential information on the basis of a legal requirement or client
consent.

(e) Social workers should discuss with clients and other interested parties the nature of confidentiality
and limitations of clients’ right to confidentiality. Social workers should review with clients circumstances
where confidential information may be requested and where disclosure of confidential information may
be legally required. This discussion should occur as soon as possible in the social worker-client
relationship and as needed throughout the course of the relationship.

(f) When social workers provide counseling services to families, couples, or groups, social workers should
seek agreement among the parties involved concerning each individual’s right to confidentiality and
obligation to preserve the confidentiality of information shared by others. Social workers should inform
participants in family, couples, or group counseling that social workers cannot guarantee that all
participants will honor such agreements.

(g) Social workers should inform clients involved in family, couples, marital, or group counseling of the
social worker’s, employer’s, and agency’s policy concerning the social worker’s disclosure of confidential
information among the parties involved in the counseling.

(h) Social workers should not disclose confidential information to third-party payers unless clients have
authorized such disclosure.

(i) Social workers should not discuss confidential information in any setting unless privacy can be
ensured. Social workers should not discuss confidential information in public or semipublic areas such as
hallways, waiting rooms, elevators, and restaurants.

(j) Social workers should protect the confidentiality of clients during legal proceedings to the extent
permitted by law. When a court of law or other legally authorized body orders social workers to disclose
confidential or privileged information without a client’s consent and such disclosure could cause harm to
the client, social workers should request that the court withdraw the order or limit the order as narrowly
as possible or maintain the records under seal, unavailable for public inspection.

(k) Social workers should protect the confidentiality of clients when responding to requests from
members of the media.

(l) Social workers should protect the confidentiality of clients’ written and electronic records and other
sensitive information. Social workers should take reasonable steps to ensure that clients’ records are
stored in a secure location and that clients’ records are not available to others who are not authorized to
have access.

(m) Social workers should take precautions to ensure and maintain the confidentiality of information
transmitted to other parties through the use of computers, electronic mail, facsimile machines,
telephones and telephone answering machines, and other electronic or computer technology. Disclosure
of identifying information should be avoided whenever possible.
(n) Social workers should transfer or dispose of clients’ records in a manner that protects clients’
confidentiality and is consistent with state statutes governing records and social work licensure.

(o) Social workers should take reasonable precautions to protect client confidentiality in the event of the
social worker’s termination of practice, incapacitation, or death.

(p) Social workers should not disclose identifying information when discussing clients for teaching or
training purposes unless the client has consented to disclosure of confidential information.

(q) Social workers should not disclose identifying information when discussing clients with consultants
unless the client has consented to disclosure of confidential information or there is a compelling need for
such disclosure.

(r) Social workers should protect the confidentiality of deceased clients consistent with the preceding
standards.

1.08 Access to Records

(a) Social workers should provide clients with reasonable access to records concerning the clients. Social
workers who are concerned that clients’ access to their records could cause serious misunderstanding or
harm to the client should provide assistance in interpreting the records and consultation with the client
regarding the records. Social workers should limit clients’ access to their records, or portions of their
records, only in exceptional circumstances when there is compelling evidence that such access would
cause serious harm to the client. Both clients’ requests and the rationale for withholding some or all of
the record should be documented in clients’ files.

(b) When providing clients with access to their records, social workers should take steps to protect the
confidentiality of other individuals identified or discussed in such records.

1.09 Sexual Relationships

(a) Social workers should under no circumstances engage in sexual activities or sexual contact with
current clients, whether such contact is consensual or forced.

(b) Social workers should not engage in sexual activities or sexual contact with clients’ relatives or other
individuals with whom clients maintain a close personal relationship when there is a risk of exploitation
or potential harm to the client. Sexual activity or sexual contact with clients’ relatives or other individuals
with whom clients maintain a personal relationship has the potential to be harmful to the client and may
make it difficult for the social worker and client to maintain appropriate professional boundaries. Social
workers—not their clients, their clients’ relatives, or other individuals with whom the client maintains a
personal relationship—assume the full burden for setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive
boundaries.

(c) Social workers should not engage in sexual activities or sexual contact with former clients because of
the potential for harm to the client. If social workers engage in conduct contrary to this prohibition or
claim that an exception to this prohibition is warranted because of extraordinary circumstances, it is
social workers—not their clients—who assume the full burden of demonstrating that the former client
has not been exploited, coerced, or manipulated, intentionally or unintentionally.

(d) Social workers should not provide clinical services to individuals with whom they have had a prior
sexual relationship. Providing clinical services to a former sexual partner has the potential to be harmful
to the individual and is likely to make it difficult for the social worker and individual to maintain
appropriate professional boundaries.

1.10 Physical Contact

Social workers should not engage in physical contact with clients when there is a possibility of
psychological harm to the client as a result of the contact (such as cradling or caressing clients). Social
workers who engage in appropriate physical contact with clients are responsible for setting clear,
appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries that govern such physical contact.

1.11 Sexual Harassment

Social workers should not sexually harass clients. Sexual harassment includes sexual advances, sexual
solicitation, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

1.12 Derogatory Language

Social workers should not use derogatory language in their written or verbal communications to or about
clients. Social workers should use accurate and respectful language in all communications to and about
clients.

1.13 Payment for Services

(a) When setting fees, social workers should ensure that the fees are fair, reasonable, and commensurate
with the services performed. Consideration should be given to clients’ ability to pay.

(b) Social workers should avoid accepting goods or services from clients as payment for professional
services. Bartering arrangements, particularly involving services, create the potential for conflicts of
interest, exploitation, and inappropriate boundaries in social workers’ relationships with clients. Social
workers should explore and may participate in bartering only in very limited circumstances when it can
be demonstrated that such arrangements are an accepted practice among professionals in the local
community, considered to be essential for the provision of services, negotiated without coercion, and
entered into at the client’s initiative and with the client’s informed consent. Social workers who accept
goods or services from clients as payment for professional services assume the full burden of
demonstrating that this arrangement will not be detrimental to the client or the professional
relationship.

(c) Social workers should not solicit a private fee or other remuneration for providing services to clients
who are entitled to such available services through the social workers’ employer or agency.

1.14 Clients Who Lack Decision-Making Capacity

When social workers act on behalf of clients who lack the capacity to make informed decisions, social
workers should take reasonable steps to safeguard the interests and rights of those clients.

1.15 Interruption of Services

Social workers should make reasonable efforts to ensure continuity of services in the event that services
are interrupted by factors such as unavailability, relocation, illness, disability, or death.

1.16 Termination of Services

(a) Social workers should terminate services to clients and professional relationships with them when
such services and
relationships are no longer required or no longer serve the clients’ needs or interests.

(b) Social workers should take reasonable steps to avoid abandoning clients who are still in need of
services. Social workers should withdraw services precipitously only under unusual circumstances, giving
careful consideration to all factors in the situation and taking care to minimize possible adverse effects.
Social workers should assist in making appropriate arrangements for continuation of services when
necessary.

(c) Social workers in fee-for-service settings may terminate services to clients who are not paying an
overdue balance if the financial contractual arrangements have been made clear to the client, if the
client does not pose an imminent danger to self or others, and if the clinical and other consequences of
the current nonpayment have been addressed and discussed with the client.

(d) Social workers should not terminate services to pursue a social, financial, or sexual relationship with a
client.

(e) Social workers who anticipate the termination or interruption of services to clients should notify
clients promptly and seek the transfer, referral, or continuation of services in relation to the clients’
needs and preferences.

(f) Social workers who are leaving an employment setting should inform clients of appropriate options
for the continuation of services and of the benefits and risks of the options.

2. SOCIAL WORKERS’ ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES TO COLLEAGUES

2.01 Respect

(a) Social workers should treat colleagues with respect and should represent accurately and fairly the
qualifications, views, and obligations of colleagues.

(b) Social workers should avoid unwarranted negative criticism of colleagues in communications with
clients or with other professionals. Unwarranted negative criticism may include demeaning comments
that refer to colleagues’ level of competence or to individuals’ attributes such as race, ethnicity, national
origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief,
religion, immigration status, and mental or physical disability.

(c) Social workers should cooperate with social work colleagues and with colleagues of other professions
when such cooperation serves the well-being of clients.

2.02 Confidentiality

Social workers should respect confidential information shared by colleagues in the course of their
professional relationships and transactions. Social workers should ensure that such colleagues
understand social workers’ obligation to respect confidentiality and any exceptions related to it.

2.03 Interdisciplinary Collaboration

(a) Social workers who are members of an interdisciplinary team should participate in and contribute to
decisions that affect the well-being of clients by drawing on the perspectives, values, and experiences of
the social work profession. Professional and ethical obligations of the interdisciplinary team as a whole
and of its individual members should be clearly established.

(b) Social workers for whom a team decision raises ethical concerns should attempt to resolve the
disagreement through appropriate channels. If the disagreement cannot be resolved, social workers
should pursue other avenues to address their concerns consistent with client well-being.

2.04 Disputes Involving Colleagues

(a) Social workers should not take advantage of a dispute between a colleague and an employer to
obtain a position or otherwise advance the social workers’ own interests.

(b) Social workers should not exploit clients in disputes with colleagues or engage clients in any
inappropriate discussion of conflicts between social workers and their colleagues.

2.05 Consultation

(a) Social workers should seek the advice and counsel of colleagues whenever such consultation is in the
best interests of clients.

(b) Social workers should keep themselves informed about colleagues’ areas of expertise and
competencies. Social workers should seek consultation only from colleagues who have demonstrated
knowledge, expertise, and competence related to the subject of the consultation.

(c) When consulting with colleagues about clients, social workers should disclose the least amount of
information necessary to achieve the purposes of the consultation.

2.06 Referral for Services

(a) Social workers should refer clients to other professionals when the other professionals’ specialized
knowledge or expertise is needed to serve clients fully or when social workers believe that they are not
being effective or making reasonable progress with clients and that additional service is required.

(b) Social workers who refer clients to other professionals should take appropriate steps to facilitate an
orderly transfer of responsibility. Social workers who refer clients to other professionals should disclose,
with clients’ consent, all pertinent information to the new service providers.

(c) Social workers are prohibited from giving or receiving payment for a referral when no professional
service is provided by the referring social worker.

2.07 Sexual Relationships

(a) Social workers who function as supervisors or educators should not engage in sexual activities or
contact with supervisees, students, trainees, or other colleagues over whom they exercise professional
authority.

(b) Social workers should avoid engaging in sexual relationships with colleagues when there is potential
for a conflict of interest. Social workers who become involved in, or anticipate becoming involved in, a
sexual relationship with a colleague have a duty to transfer professional responsibilities, when necessary,
to avoid a conflict of interest.