Preamble
The core mission of Family Promise of Puget Sound is to to empower families experiencing housing insecurity in Puget Sound through intervention, prevention,and stabilization services. We enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of families experiencing homelessness in the Puget Sound area. A defining feature of our work is our dual focus on the individual well-being of each family member within their social context, and the broader well-being of the community. Fundamental to our approach is attention to the environmental forces that create, contribute to, and can help address the challenges families face.
Family Promise of Puget Sound promotes social justice and social change with and on behalf of the families we serve. “Individuals” or “families” are used inclusively to refer to individuals, families, and groups within our programs. Our team is sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversity and strives to end discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other forms of social injustice. Our activities encompass direct service, program coordination, administration, advocacy, community engagement, policy development, education, and evaluation. We seek to enhance the capacity of families to address their own needs and achieve self-sufficiency. We also seek to promote the responsiveness of organizations, communities, and other social institutions to the needs of individuals and to broader social problems.
Our mission is rooted in a set of core values. These core values, embraced by Family Promise of Puget Sound, are the foundation of our 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 Family Promise of Puget Sound’s commitment to supporting families experiencing homelessness. These core values, and the principles that flow from them, must be balanced within the context and complexity of the human experience.
Purpose of the Family Promise of Puget Sound Code of Ethics
Ethical conduct is at the core of Family Promise of Puget Sound’s mission. As an organization committed to professional and compassionate service, we have an obligation to articulate our basic values, ethical principles, and ethical standards. This Family Promise of Puget Sound Code of Ethics sets forth these values, principles, and standards to guide the conduct of all our staff and volunteers. This Code is relevant to everyone involved with Family Promise of Puget Sound, regardless of their specific role, the settings in which they work, or the populations they serve.
This Family Promise of Puget Sound Code of Ethics serves several key purposes:
1. Identifies Core Values: It identifies the core values on which Family Promise of Puget Sound’s mission is based.
2. Summarizes Ethical Principles and Standards: It summarizes broad ethical principles that reflect our core values and establishes a set of specific ethical standards that should be used to guide our practice.
3. Guides Ethical Decision-Making: It is designed to help our staff and volunteers identify relevant considerations when professional obligations conflict or ethical uncertainties arise.
4. Promotes Accountability: It provides ethical standards to which the general public can hold Family Promise of Puget Sound accountable.
5. Fosters Professional Growth: It socializes new team members to Family Promise of Puget Sound’s mission, values, ethical principles, and ethical standards, and encourages all staff and volunteers to engage in self-care, ongoing education, and other activities to ensure their commitment to these core features of our organization.
6. Articulates Standards for Conduct Review: It articulates standards that Family Promise of Puget Sound can use to assess whether staff or volunteers have engaged in unethical conduct. Our internal grievance and disciplinary policies outline the procedures for addressing alleged violations of ethical standards.
This Code offers a set of values, principles, and standards to guide decision-making and conduct when ethical issues arise. It does not provide a rigid set of rules that prescribe how our team 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.
Furthermore, this 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 our team members with respect to the ways in which values, ethical principles, and ethical standards should be prioritized when they conflict. Ethical decision-making in a given situation must apply the informed judgment of the individual, and should also consider how the issues would be judged in a peer review process where the ethical standards of the organization would be applied.
Ethical decision-making is a process. In situations when conflicting obligations arise, our team members may be faced with complex ethical dilemmas that have no simple answers. We 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. Our 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. Our team should consider ethical theory and principles generally, relevant social work theory and research (as Family Promise of Puget Sound endorses the NASW Code of Ethics as a primary reference), laws, regulations, agency policies, and other relevant codes of ethics. We should also be aware of the impact on ethical decision-making of our individuals’ and our own personal values and cultural and religious beliefs and practices. We should be aware of any conflicts between personal and professional values and deal with them responsibly. For additional guidance, our team should consult relevant literature on professional ethics and ethical decision-making and seek appropriate consultation when faced with ethical dilemmas. This may involve consultation with a supervisor, knowledgeable colleagues, the CEO, or legal counsel when necessary.
Instances may arise when our ethical obligations conflict with agency policies or relevant laws or regulations. When such conflicts occur, our team members 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, we should seek proper consultation before making a decision.
This Code of Ethics is to be used by Family Promise of Puget Sound and by individuals, agencies, organizations, and bodies that choose to 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 this Code would be subject to our internal grievance and disciplinary review processes.
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. Our ethical behavior should result from our personal commitment to engage in ethical practice. This Family Promise of Puget Sound Code of Ethics reflects the commitment of all our staff and volunteers to uphold our organization’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.
With growth in the use of communication technology in various aspects of our practice, our team needs to be aware of the unique challenges that may arise in relation to the maintenance of confidentiality, informed consent, professional boundaries, professional competence, record keeping, and other ethical considerations. In general, all ethical standards in this Code of Ethics are applicable to interactions, relationships, or communications, whether they occur in person or with the use of technology. For the purposes of this Code, “technology-assisted services” include any services that involve the use of computers, mobile or landline telephones, tablets, video technology, or other electronic or digital technologies; this includes the use of various electronic or digital platforms, such as the Internet, online social media, chat rooms, text messaging, e-mail and emerging digital applications. Technology-assisted services encompass all aspects of our practice, including direct support, community organization, administration, advocacy, mediation, education, supervision, research, and evaluation. Our team should keep apprised of emerging technological developments that may be used in our practice and how various ethical standards apply to them.
Professional self-care is paramount for competent and ethical practice at Family Promise of Puget Sound. Professional demands, challenging workplace climates, and exposure to trauma warrant that our staff and volunteers maintain personal and professional health, safety, and integrity. Family Promise of Puget Sound encourages and promotes organizational policies, practices, and materials to support our team’s self-care.
Ethical Principles
The following broad ethical principles are based on Family Promise of Puget Sound’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 Family Promise of Puget Sound staff and volunteers should aspire.
Value: Service
Ethical Principle: Family Promise of Puget Sound’s primary goal is to help families in need and to address the social problem of homelessness.
Our team elevates service to others above self-interest. We draw on our knowledge, values, and skills to help families in need and to address the challenges of homelessness. We are encouraged to volunteer some portion of our professional skills with no expectation of significant financial return (pro bono service).
Value: Social Justice
Ethical Principle: Family Promise of Puget Sound challenges social injustice.
Our team pursues social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people experiencing homelessness. Our social change efforts are focused primarily on issues of poverty, housing insecurity, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice. These activities seek to promote sensitivity to and knowledge about oppression and cultural and ethnic diversity. We 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: Family Promise of Puget Sound respects the inherent dignity and worth of every person.
Our team treats each person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual differences and cultural and ethnic diversity. We promote individuals’ socially responsible self-determination. We seek to enhance individuals’ capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own needs. We are cognizant of our dual responsibility to individuals and to the broader society. We seek to resolve conflicts between individuals’ interests and the broader society’s interests in a socially responsible manner consistent with the values, ethical principles, and ethical standards of our organization.
Value: Importance of Human Relationships
Ethical Principle: Family Promise of Puget Sound recognizes the central importance of human relationships.
Our team understands that relationships between and among people are an important vehicle for change. We engage families as partners in the helping process. We 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: Family Promise of Puget Sound staff and volunteers behave in a trustworthy manner.
Our team is continually aware of Family Promise of Puget Sound’s mission, values, ethical principles, and ethical standards and practices in a manner consistent with them. We should take measures to care for ourselves professionally and personally. We act honestly and responsibly and promote ethical practices on the part of the organizations with which we are affiliated.
Value: Competence
Ethical Principle: Family Promise of Puget Sound staff and volunteers practice within their areas of competence and develop and enhance their professional expertise.
Our team continually strives to increase our professional knowledge and skills and to apply them in practice. We aspire to contribute to the knowledge base of the profession and to the effectiveness of our services.
Ethical Standards
The following ethical standards are relevant to the professional activities of all Family Promise of Puget Sound staff and volunteers. These standards concern: (1) our ethical responsibilities to individuals, (2) our ethical responsibilities to colleagues, (3) our ethical responsibilities in practice settings, (4) our ethical responsibilities as professionals, (5) our ethical responsibilities to Family Promise of Puget Sound, and (6) our 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 through our internal grievance and disciplinary processes.