The Ethics of Practicing Forensic Social Work

Social work ethical codes help to define our profession as well as to provide guidelines for resolving challenging social work dilemmas. Forensic social work is a specialty area that is broadly defined as social work activities involving criminal or civil court proceedings, criminal offenders, victims of crime, or other systems of justice. Forensic social workers are most often involved with adversarial court proceedings and emotionally charged civil cases that require special attention to ethics. The National Organization of Forensic Social Workers (NOFSW) has maintained a Code of Ethics for its members since 1987. As the field continues to evolve a discussion of current ethical dilemmas and a revision of the code of ethics are needed. This article reviews the major ethical challenges faced by forensic social workers, discusses key considerations for practice, and presents a revised edition of the NOFSW Code of Ethics.