Chapter Committees on Inquiry

Adherence to appropriate behavior depends on socialization to professional-ly responsible conduct, but socialization is not sufficient. Controls established by each profession also are necessary. Thus the social work profession's Code of Ethics institutionalizes a system of in-dispensable controls. The ethical code has many important functions: It im-parts knowledge of the profession's stan-dards of behavior to the laity and to clients, helps socialize aspirants to the profession, clarifies the demarcation be-tween social work and other professions, helps define the social worker-client relationship, supports clients ' rights and interests, and provides the basis for evaluating whether a violation of ethical conduct has occurred. The code's avowed purposes, then, address the pro-motion of ethical behavior and the con-trol of ethical infractions by prescribing parameters of professional conduct