	Ethical Practice

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-ETH 5: Professional Conduct*

The agency conducts business and delivers services in an honest, ethical, objective manner and is guided in making decisions by professional responsibility as opposed to personal interests.

Note: Please see Conflict of Interest_Policy and Procedure Template in the Announcements section of your My COA account for additional assistance with this standard.

PA-ETH 5.01

Personnel know and follow the code of ethics of their respective professions.

PA-ETH 5.02

The agency prohibits:

making or accepting payment or other consideration in exchange for referrals;
steering, directing referrals to, or giving preference to clients easier or less costly to serve for specific agencies and practitioners within the agency;
unfairly steering or directing referrals to, or "creaming" clients for specific network service provider agencies, such as network owners, or individual practitioners within the network, as applicable to networks; and
steering or directing referrals to private practices in which personnel, consultants, or the immediate families of personnel and consultants are engaged.

Interpretation: It is permissible to include on referral lists personnel and consultants with private practices, or family members of personnel and consultants, but the agency may not actively direct service recipients to the practices of these individuals.

PA-ETH 5.03

The agency prohibits preferential treatment of members, community partners, advisory groups, personnel, or consultants in applying for and receiving the agency's services.

PA-ETH 5.04

An agency requires practitioners with a private practice on its premises to provide their clients with a written statement that clarifies the relationship between the private practitioner and the agency.

Interpretation: As an example, the statement would make it known if a practitioner is also an employee of the agency, and clearly indicate that the client is not being served by the agency.

NA Private practice is not permitted on the agency’s premises.

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	PURPOSE: The agency earns and sustains the public trust through honest, truthful, and responsible transactions, partnerships, and relationships with individuals, communities, providers, businesses, donors, and government entities.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	OBJECTIVE A sub-goal stated in operational terms, i.e., a statement that makes clear what expected results are to be measured or assessed.


	PERSONNEL The body of employees and/or volunteers that carries out the organization's tasks under the organization's administration and/or supervision. This definition does not include foster parents who are specifically referenced in relevant standards


	CODE OF ETHICS An explicit, written statement of the values, principles, and operating rules of a profession that regulates the conduct of a profession's members


	REFERRALS Resource suggestions provided to consumers to address problems or needs that are beyond the scope of the organization's mission.


	PRACTICE Established actions or ways of proceeding in the regular performance of organizational duties. Policies and procedures often guide practice.


	CONSULTANT A person who provides specialized or technical advice or services to an organization for specific purposes on a contractual or fee basis, or who provides such services as a volunteer with an agreement to provide services on a pro bono basis.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	SERVICE RECIPIENT The individuals, groups, organizations, or communities that use, receive, or benefit from programs and services. Service recipients can include consumers, patients, family members, legal guardians, advocates, public/private organizations, employers, and purchasers. All are regarded as significant stakeholders served in a variety of agencies and practice settings.


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	CLIENT See service recipient.


	ADVISORY GROUP A group of individuals selected by an organization's governing body or management who possess unique skills and/or knowledge and whose role is to make recommendations, provide information, and/or share input from stakeholders. Advisory groups do not have formal governance authority or responsibilities. Advisory groups can be ongoing or ad hoc.


	EMPLOYEE Paid member of an organization. Foster parents are not considered employees and are specifically referenced in relevant standards.