You are a supervisor in a child welfare agency. Recently one of your employees has been depressed following separation from his wife of 10 years. You feel that his personal problems have not detrimentally affected his work, but you notice that your supervisory sessions have been more focused on issues regarding the separation, i.e. stormy battles with his ex-wife, plans for joint custody of the children, and his search for a new apartment. He has also shared with you that this separation is particularly traumatic for him as it reminds him of when his parents separated when he was 10. You have had several lunches with him to discuss his problems.
Microwaves are on sale at a local department store.
You are thinking about buying one for him and visiting him in his new apartment, as you know in his new bachelor state he could use a microwave. Both of these case examples relate to the revised 1994 NASW Code of Ethics . The social worker is responsible for setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries. The first case example asks whether a social worker can enter a social relationship with a client after a therapeutic relationship has been terminated. The current Code of Ethics as well as previous Codes are explicit about avoiding sexual relationships with clients.