Introduction: ethics and value perspectives in social work

In social work moral dilemmas are the rule rather than the exception. Social workers often agonize over moral dilemmas. Not only is the subject matter of social work ethics hard to grasp but, more importantly, the practical realities of reaching moral judgements are challenging and extremely complex. Learning about social work ethics requires not only high standards of scholarship but also makes demands on one's experiential and emotional resources. Social workers often have to choose to do either one thing or another. Because of the way practice and the organizational context are arranged, he or she cannot do both in relation to clients. Front-line practitioners face situations where there is often a moral conflict between what seems to be the right course of action