How should Megan balance advocating for her client with issues of societal safety that Glen raised?

Question

While working as a probation officer for the U.S. District Courts, Megan Romanowski, BSW, was given the task of supervising parolee Robert Sanchez. Robert adjusted well to the community setting—he had a stable job and living situation—and even developed a good working relationship with Megan. But when Robert was involved in another robbery, Megan was forced to make a decision about what to recommend to the judge regarding his sentence.

Answer 1

The NASW Code of Ethics (1.01 Commitment to Clients) states: “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.”

In this case, Megan was balancing her commitment to the client with her commitment to the larger society. She must answer the question: Could having her client in society cause potential harm to others? Megan discussed this situation with her supervisor, Glen, who directed her to “Get a warrant for his arrest and send him back to prison for violating parole.” At first, Megan assumed that Glen was playing the devil’s advocate role. She pointed out that Robert had a huge decrease in his criminal thinking and had made greatprogress. He was not testing positive for drug use; he had a stable housing environment, and up to this point, had stable employment. Megan felt that Robert had taken ten steps forward and she did not want to put him all the way back to step one. She suggested to Glen that they get a warrant for his arrest but recommend that he return to the halfway house.
As Glen pointed out in this conversation, Robert was a threat to society and should return to prison. As a social worker, Glen was concerned with the general well-being of society and put this ethical mandate higher than his commitment to Robert as a client. Megan had a very different opinion. She was also concerned for the general well-being of society, but did not consider Robert to be an imminent threat. Megan appeared to be more concerned about her client and promoting his interests.