The Career Development Association of Alberta Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Ethical Conduct flow from the Mission Statement, Beliefs and Values, with the intent of assisting members to provide services in accordance with the highest standards of ethical behaviour. Purpose:
The following Code of Ethics will provide the highest standards of service delivery:
Ethical Decision Making ModelRead to the end of this document for a 5-step model to assist in making ethical decisions. Guidelines for Ethical ConductARTICLESArticle #1 PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY The first responsibility of career development professionals is to act in the best interest of the client*. Other responsibilities are to themselves, others and society at large. Commentary * The Client is defined as 'an individual or group that has requested and agreed to the provision of career development services'. The career development process is interpersonal, ongoing and involves professional relationships. Honesty, sincerity, acceptance, and understanding are required. Degrees of caring and genuiness affect the relationship and outcomes. Practitioners must be:
Career development professionals learn from each other while valuing respectful interpersonal relationships (e.g. crediting sources or authors) and acting with integrity and professionalism at all times. Article #2 INFORMED OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELLING Career development professionals shall explore clients' needs as they relate to the goals, processes/techniques and policies under which they may receive services at or before a client/career development professional relationship is entered. Commentary Career development professionals in the early stages of service provision must inform clients of the process to be undertaken. A written statement may be prepared containing information on the anticipated nature of services, length, follow-up recommended, confidentiality, client rights, and the career development professional's qualifications. Article #3 LIMITED CONFIDENTIALITY Information received during career development interventions/service provision is confidential. Career development professionals do not voluntarily divulge information without the client's prior (written) consent, unless under specific circumstances as listed below. Commentary Confidentiality protects clients from unauthorized disclosures and is crucial to relationship development and maintenance. With confidentiality, career development professionals are protecting clients' ability to control their own lives and are respectful of all human relationships. Confidentiality is, nevertheless, not absolute. Some exceptions to confidentiality include:
In organizations and private practice, career development professionals must know related legislation, institutional policies and obligatory reporting lines which may take precedence over confidentiality should they feel the client, others, or themselves to be in danger. They must be knowledgeable of confidentiality and the ethics and application of laws affecting client/career development professional relationships. Career development professionals must inform clients of the limited confidentiality inherent in subpoenas and court orders. In dangerous situations "Reporting Law' supercedes a Code of Ethics. Article #4 IMPARTIALITY Career development professionals will be aware of their personal values and issues, and will strive to remain impartial when assisting clients in a career decision making or problem solving process. They will strive to avoid all types of stereotyping and discrimination. Commentary The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom disallows discrimination and guards the rights of all Canadians. Article #5 REFERRALS Career development professionals recognize personal boundaries of competence and only provide those services and use only those processes/techniques for which they are qualified by training or experience. Therefore, appropriate referrals are made when the available professional services cannot adequately meet the client's needs. Career development professionals are knowledgeable about referral resources and make referrals with the knowledge and consent of the client. Commentary If the career development professional cannot be of specific professional help in the career development area, service provision should not be initiated and a referral should immediately be made to a professional with expertise in the area. This reaffirms the need for career practitioners to be current and knowledgeable about referral resources. Article #6 ASSESSMENT and EVALUATION Career development professionals must explain the nature, purpose and results of career development tools in language understandable to the client and others involved, adhering to established standards and selection of specific tools, as well as their use, timing, administration and interpretation. Assessment and evaluation tools are utilized in conjunction with other relevant information. Ethnic, cultural and socio-economic factors are acknowledged. Commentary Certification and/or supervision are required for some assessment tools. Career development professionals understand the pros and cons, variables and limitations of specific assessment tools. The client must display informed consent, understanding assessment and evaluation are to be used within a career exploration process relevant to the client's decision-making. Testing and assessment instruments are chosen based on the client characteristics (e.g. norms) and needs (interests). Article #7 RESEARCH (This article may also apply to marketing/publicity/promotion activities.) All research subjects are provided with pertinent information regarding any research activity or study. Participation must be voluntary. The researcher is responsible for the welfare of the client, disguising the identity of the client, obtaining consent, and accurately reporting results. Commentary Ethical and legal liability may ensue should the above measure not be taken. Questions for researchers to consider before disclosing information may include:
Article #8 PROGRAMS & SERVICES Career development professionals may have responsibility for program development, implementation and evaluation and must ensure these are responsive to client needs. Commentary Programs and services should provide career, education and employment planning, training linkages and labour market information in a manner relevant to the client. This may require a variety of formats including self-directed, group or individual, or technically assisted services. Programs and services should also consider the current needs of industry and the labour market dynamic. Article #9 GROUP WORK In-group scenarios, career development professionals clearly identify the goals, objectives and techniques used. Participants are carefully screened to ensure appropriateness and to avoid the potential for causing harm or psychological trauma as a result of group interactions. Commentary Careful screening of group participants by career development professionals is essential, particularly if group activities encourage self-disclosure resulting from self-awareness. It is made clear at the beginning of a group that participants have the right not to disclose personal information. Career development professionals ensure other professional resources are available to any participant needing intervention during, or closely following, a group activity. Group participants are informed of their options and responsibilities prior to or upon entering a group. Facilitators establish ground rules as the group convenes. Professional assistance is available to those needing help with issues arising from the group and further referrals should be made to ensure continuity when appropriate. Article #10 DUALITY When career development professionals find themselves in a conflict of simultaneous roles with a client (e.g. as a facilitator and a counselor), the client should be referred to another career development professional for one of the roles. Commentary A situation may arise in which a client needs to share highly personal information that impacts his/her career decision. Such information could potentially affect the counselor/client and facilitator/client relationship. In such cases it is advisable to have highly personal information handled by a career development professional who is not also acting in a second role with the client. Article #11 RECORD KEEPING Records of career development professionals/client relationships are maintained to the completion of service. Records may include interview notes, assessment and evaluation data, progress notes, academic achievement records, consent forms, correspondence, tapes, discs, videos, financial information, referrals and other documents. Records may be used by assigned career development professionals in order to assure continuity and adherence to an established plan. Such notes are kept for the length of time designated by current legal guidelines. Records are disposed of in a secure manner that will not breach the confidentiality of the client's personal information. Commentary Career development professionals should be aware that others might access client notes/records through the legal process or the Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPP). Article #12 COMPUTER USE When computers are used in career exploration/matching, career development professionals must ensure that the client understands their application and limitations, that the application is appropriate to the client's needs and that computer-stored data is limited and accessible to appropriate personnel only. FOIPP guidelines apply. Commentary Computer applications are to be used in conjunction with other techniques, tools and instruments during the career development process (i.e. technological applications are not used in isolation). Career development professionals must ensure follow-up career development service is available. Article #13 PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS Career development professionals strive to abide by the Mission, Beliefs, Values, Ethics and Guidelines for Ethical Conduct of the CDAA. They strive for professional competence by assessing their knowledge, skills and attitudes in career development competencies and taking advantage of professional development opportunities. They provide only those services for which they are qualified. Commentary Career development professionals are individuals who may be trusted to make sound judgments, to know their limitations, and to know when consultation, training, education, and additional experience are required. Ethical Decision-Making ModelThe Model of Ethical Decision Making complements the Code of Ethics. The Model was developed for the Canadian Standards and Guidelines for Career Practitioners. It offers career development professionals a five-step process that can assist in recognizing ethical situations and resolving ethical dilemmas. Steps in Ethical Decision-Making
AcknowledgmentsThe CDAA wishes to acknowledge the Canadian Standards and Guidelines for Career Practitioners for the Ethical Decision Making Model and the following individuals and organizations that were consulted in developing the CDAA Code of Ethics:
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