School of Social Work
Office of Field Instruction V O L U M E
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Power or Privacy:
CONTENTS: Power or Privacy: The Ethical Dilemma of Social
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FIELD NOTES
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The Ethical Dilemma of Social Networking By Libby Cochran
Networking National Placements
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From the Director’s Desk
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E-Portfolios Q & A
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Freud Fellows Team
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Guidelines for Ethical Social Media Use
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SPECIAL SECTION:
Veterans & Military Families Serving Those Who Serve
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Student Spotlight: Jessica Bailey
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Student Spotlight: Sarah Sebaly
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Intern Spotlight: Sandra Holt
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Mandatory Reporting Fact Box
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Agency Spotlight: Blavin Scholars Program
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Map of Field Placements
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Thoughts on Diversity
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An Angel in the Attic
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Announcements
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OFI Contact Information
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An important part of a social work education is learning how to make ethical decisions in professional practice; but what about the gray areas? Sometimes you can't look to a specific line in the Code of Ethics for an answer to an ethical question. There are always some ethical choices that need to be made without the benefit of a hard-and-fast rule or even a general consensus among social workers. Students often confront some of these questions at their field placements well
before they become licensed social workers. In the brave new world of social work on the digital frontier, many of these unan-
Social networking has tremendous power to promote engagement, access to resources, and empowerment if used wisely. swered ethical questions surround the use of social networking. Because anything posted on the internet is public and can never be completely removed, something posted on impulse can
National Placements The University of Michigan School of Social Work (SSW) has a long history of placing students in national placements such as Washington D.C., which is viewed as a hub for social change. Placements also exist in locations such as California and Chicago. The idea behind national placements is to allow students to receive training that they could not receive here in Michigan. The SSW’s sixteen-month educational track allows students to have the rich experience of a national placement in Washington D.C. during their spring/summer term. To be eligible for national placements, students are required to apply by October. The SSW Board of Governors has devel-
cause irreparable harm to your clients, your field agency and your own professional reputation. However, social networking also has tremendous power to promote engagement, access to resources, and empowerment if used wisely. Some uses of social networking are more clearly unethical than others. Posting information which might infringe on a clients' right to confidentiality and privacy is a comfortingly obvious example. Using your personal social networking accounts to friend or Continued on page 5
By Kathy Bolton oped a fund that assists students with some of the expenses they will incur while in a national placement, such as housing. The SSW Career Center and Development Offices identified approximately 300 U-M SSW alumni in the greater Washington area, many of whom are working at the macro level. As a result of their efforts to build relationships with these alumni of the MSW program, many alumni have agreed to host MSW students in summer placements at their Washington-based agencies. Among these placements are Generations United, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, and Wider Continued on page 10