An ethical framework for social work

Goal The aim of this research project was to develop an ethical guide for social professionals in times of crisis. The reason for this was the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and its impact on the social domain. Results In the project, together with social professionals, an inventory was made of the various ethical challenges that occur in the social domain and what needs they had for ethical guidance during the Covid-19 pandemic. To this end, we have introduced an ideal-typical distinction into five forms of ethical guidance: substantive, reflective, communicative, procedural and process-based. This design led to greater insight into ethical needs at multiple levels: individual, organizational and societal. This has resulted in ethical guidance for social professionals in crisis situations. This guidance appears to be applicable much more broadly than just for social professionals and only for crisis situations. The guide can also be used for vertical consultation within organizations, for coordination across organizational boundaries and also in more everyday situations that cannot be characterized as a crisis.