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ADDRESSING ETHICAL DILEMMAS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES IN ORGANIZATIONS

As an advanced human services professional practitioner, it is important to be aware of the broader context in which human services organizations operate. Current events, such as police brutality against people of color, global pandemics, and changes to immigration policies, can pose unique ethical dilemmas and social justice issues that human services administrators must be prepared to address. For example, stricter immigration policies may prevent undocumented immigrants from seeking needed services due to fear of deportation. Often, current events, like stricter immigration policies, are widely covered in the news media and generate strong public opinions, which add to the pressure of human services administrators who must respond.

In this Discussion, you will examine how a recent current event might have affected a human services organization in terms of posing an ethical dilemma or social justice issue. You will also consider how a human services administrator should respond and how public opinion about the dilemma or issue might affect the administrator’s response.

RESOURCES

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources. 

WEEKLY RESOURCES

TO PREPARE

· Review your Course Announcements for possible information related to this week’s Discussion and Assignment.

· Review the Learning Resources on current events, ethical dilemmas, and social justice issues. Think about how current events, such as police brutality against people of color, global pandemics, and environmental crises, pose ethical dilemmas and social justice issues for human services organizations.

· Review the 
Ethical Standards for Human Services Professionals. Consider how human services administrators can address such ethical dilemmas and social justice issues, using ethical standards and social justice strategies and approaches discussed in the Learning Resources.

· Identify a current event that occurred within the past 5 years. Think about how the current event might have affected a human services organization with which you are familiar, in terms of posing an ethical dilemma or social justice issue.

· Consider how human services administrators should have addressed the ethical dilemma or social justice issue. In addition, think about how public opinion about the dilemma or issue could have influenced the administrators’ actions

· Find one article from an academically appropriate source that focuses on how human service administrators address ethical dilemmas or social justice issues. Academically appropriate sources include research articles found in the Walden University Library, papers or articles from reputable agencies or organizations, or government publications. Incorporate the article into your response.

BY DAY 4

Post an explanation of how a current event that occurred within the past five years might have affected a human services organization in terms of posing an ethical dilemma or social justice issue. Then, explain how human services administrators should have addressed the ethical dilemma or social justice issue. Finally, explain how the media has influenced public opinion about the dilemma or issue and how public opinion could have influenced the administrators’ actions.

Support your post with specific NOHS ethical standards and at least one article from an academically appropriate source that you found in your own search.

BY DA

RESOURCES

· National Organization for Human Services. (2015). 

Ethical standards for human services professionalsLinks to an external site.
. https://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethical-standards-for-hs-professionals

· Hailemariam, M., Felton, J. W., Key, K., Greer, D., Jefferson, B. L., Muhammad, J., Miller, R., Richie, F., Robinson, D., Saddler, S., Spencer, B., Summers, M., White, J. M. C., & Johnson, J. E. (2020). 

Intersectionality, special populations, needs and suggestions: The Flint Women’s StudyLinks to an external site.
. 
International Journal for Equity in Health, 
19(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-020-1133-9

Links to an external site.

· Moore, S. E., Robinson, M. A., Adedoyin, A. C., Brooks, M., Harmon, D. K., & Boamah, D. (2016). 

Hands up—don’t shoot: Police shooting of young Black males: Implications for social work and human servicesLinks to an external site.
. 
Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 26(3–4), 254–266.

Links to an external site.

· Mor Barak, M. E. (2019). 

Social good science and practice: A new framework for organizational and managerial research in human service organizationsLinks to an external site.
. 
Human Services Organizations: Management, Leadership and Governance, 43(4), 314–325. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23303131.2019.1669759

Links to an external site.

· Santiago, A. M., & Smith, R. J. (2020). 

Community practice, social action, and the politics of pandemicsLinks to an external site.
. 
Journal of Community Practice, 28(2), 89–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2020.1763744