Clients Act Helps to Maintain Ethical Practice
The idea of the welfare state is taking care of everyone. This idea has a moral basis. Those who benefit of development, must take part in repairing those disadvantages that development has caused. Altough there are always different attitudes towards helping people in social branch, social workers can proudly say, that they are the visible agents for the human society moral. Ethical orders and standards in social branch include as well duty to do right things as love for ones neighbours. In our time these principles are more important to keep in mind and take in the public discussion than ever.
The Act on the Status and Rights of Social Welfare Clients came into force in Finland 2001. The Act clarifies the implications of fundamental rights in social welfare. The aim of the Act is to foster a client-oriented approach and to promote client’s rights to high-quality social welfare and good, nondiscriminatory treatment. Social welfare must respect every client’s human dignity, right to self-determination, belifies and privacy. According to the new Act the social welfare ombudsman is in charge of informing on client’s rights, following up the development of client’s rights and situation and make an annual report to the municipal executive board. In addition the ombudsman has to be impartial and independent.
The legistlator intended that the Act should promote the constitutional values to all levels of action in social branch. With a three year experience as a social welfare ombudsman, I’m convinced that this act has made clients more conscious about their rights for good social service and treatment. For the social workers it has given the opportunity and empowerment to carry the duties morally and ethically the right way. Thanks to this system the silent knowledge of social work can be brought into consciousness of the decision makers. Thefore it’s of vital importance that the ombudsman takes an active role in public discussion and in the annual report points out the shortcomings in social branch and makes reform proposals. In this way the ethical practice can be maintained and promoted in social work practice also in future.