Quick Quiz: Ethics Fill-in-the-Blanks V

One more fill-in-the-blanks quiz from the NASW Code of Ethics. You don't have to have the Code memorized--not even close. But it's ideal to understand the gist of what each section of the Code is getting at. That's where these quizzes come in. How well do you understand social work ethics?

Give this a try. The Payment for Services section. Fill in the blanks.


(a) When setting fees, social workers should ensure that the fees are _________________ and commensurate with the services performed. Consideration should be given to clients' ability _________.

(b) Social workers should ____________ accepting goods or services from clients as payment for professional services. Bartering arrangements, particularly involving services, create the potential ______________________________________ in social workers' relationships with clients. Social workers should explore and may participate in bartering only in very limited circumstances when it can be demonstrated that such arrangements are _____________________________________________________________________________ [5 conditions for bartering] . Social workers who accept goods or services from clients as payment for professional services assume the full burden of demonstrating that this arrangement will not be _______________ to the client or the professional relationship.

(c) Social workers should not solicit a private fee or other remuneration for providing services to clients who are entitled to such available services through _______________________________.

How'd you do?

These aren't easy! How many of those conditions for bartering were you able to think up from memory and common sense? If you got three, that's amazing--hope you'll give yourself a pat on the back or some other show of "nice job" to yourself.

On the real ASWB exam, there are no fill-in-the-blanks questions. Most questions are fairly complicated vignettes. But remember that lots of them lean on the Code of Ethics. Knowing this section and other will help you speed through ethics questions on the exam. That leaves more time for other test questions. Or maybe you can just get out early and start celebrating your new license.

Good luck.

Answers? They're below. Scroll down...………….

a1) fair, reasonable,

a2) to pay

b1) avoid 

b2) for conflicts of interest, exploitation, and inappropriate boundaries

b3) an accepted practice among professionals in the local community, considered to be essential for the provision of services, negotiated without coercion, and entered into at the client's initiative and with the client's informed consent

b4) detrimental

c) the social workers' employer or agency

Quick Quiz: Ethics Fill-in-the-Blanks IV

Next up, let's take on the Conflicts of Interest section of the NASW Code of Ethics. How well do you know it? Well, let's see. Fill in the blanks!

Remember, this isn't what the ASWB exam looks like. For those, check out practice tests (linked nearby). But this is ASWB exam content. It's material to review again and again. And though you shouldn't expect yourself to be able to answer verbatim what goes in the blanks below, challenge yourself to guess at the gist of what belongs in the emptied spaces.

Ready? Action!

(a) Social workers should be ______________________ conflicts of interest that interfere with the exercise of professional discretion and impartial judgment. Social workers should inform clients when a real or potential conflict of interest arises and __________________________ the issue in a manner that makes the clients' interests primary and protects clients' interests to the greatest extent possible. In some cases, protecting clients' interests may require ______________________________ with proper referral of the client.

(b) Social workers should not take unfair advantage of any professional relationship or exploit others to further their ____________________________ interests.

(c) Social workers should not engage in _____________________________ with clients or former clients in which there is a risk of exploitation or potential harm to the client. In instances when ____________________________ are unavoidable, social workers should take steps to protect clients and are responsible for setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries.

(d) When social workers provide services to two or more people who have a relationship with each other (for example, couples, family members), social workers should ________________________________ and the nature of social workers' professional obligations to the various individuals who are receiving services.

(e) Social workers should ___________ communication with clients using technology (such as social networking sites, online chat, e-mail, text messages, telephone, and video) for personal or non-work-related purposes.

(f) Social workers should be aware that posting personal information on professional Web sites or other media might cause ___________________________________________ to clients.

(g) Social workers should be aware that personal affiliations may increase the likelihood that clients may discover the social worker’s presence on Web sites, social media, and other forms of technology. Social workers should be aware that involvement in electronic communication with groups based on race, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, mental or physical ability, religion, immigration status, and other personal affiliations may affect their ability to work effectively with particular clients.

(h) Social workers should ________ accepting requests from or engaging in personal relationships with clients on social networking sites or other electronic media to prevent boundary confusion, inappropriate dual relationships, or harm to clients.

How's you do? Scroll down for answers...……


























a1) alert to and avoid

a2) take reasonable steps to resolve

a3) termination of the professional relationship

b) personal, religious, political, or business 

c1)  dual or multiple relationships

c2) dual or multiple relationships

d)  clarify with all parties which individuals will be considered clients

e) avoid 

f) boundary confusion, inappropriate dual relationships, or harm

h) avoid

Quick Quiz: Ethics Fill-in-the-Blanks III

Next up in our tour through quizzified sections of the NASW Code of Ethics, 1.03, Informed Consent. Your task: summon, through memory and common sense deduction, the missing phrases from each paragraph. Aka, fill in the blank!

(a) Social workers should provide services to clients only in the context of a professional relationship based, when appropriate, on valid informed consent. Social workers should use clear and understandable language to inform clients of the___________ of the services, ___________related to the services, limits to services because of the requirements of a third-party payer, relevant costs, reasonable alternatives, clients' right to refuse or withdraw consent, and the time frame covered by the consent. Social workers should provide clients with an opportunity to ask questions. 

(b) In instances when clients are not literate or have difficulty understanding the primary language used in the practice setting, social workers should take steps to _____________________. This may include providing clients with a detailed verbal explanation or arranging for a qualified interpreter or translator whenever possible. 

(c) In instances when clients lack the capacity to provide informed consent, social workers should protect clients' interests by ________________________________________, informing clients consistent with the clients' level of understanding. In such instances social workers should seek to ensure that the third party acts in a manner consistent with clients' wishes and interests. Social workers should take reasonable steps to enhance such clients' ability to give informed consent. 

(d) In instances when clients are receiving services involuntarily, social workers should provide information about the nature and extent of services and about the extent of clients' right to _______________. 


This is not easy. Don't beat yourself up for not getting these. Instead, give yourself a pat on the back for attempting them. You've just reviewed the first part of the Informed Consent section of the Code of Ethics, material that is very likely to show up somewhere in the 170 questions on your social work licensing exam. Nice work!

For the answers, scroll down...………….

































a1) purpose
a2) risks
b) ensure clients' comprehension
c) seeking permission from an appropriate third party
d) refuse service

Quick Quiz: Ethics Fill-in-the-Blanks II

How well do you know the NASW Code of Ethics? Let's test your knowledge.

Here's the bulk of section 1.09, Sexual Relationships. Minus the blanks. Your task: fill them.


(a) Social workers should ___________________ [when] engage in sexual activities, inappropriate sexual communications through the use of technology or in person, or sexual contact with current clients, whether such contact is consensual or forced.

(b) Social workers should not engage in sexual activities or sexual contact with clients' relatives or other individuals with whom clients maintain a close personal relationship when there is a risk of __________________________ [consequence]. 

(c) Social workers should not engage in ________________________ [behavior] with former clients because of the potential for harm to the client. If social workers engage in conduct contrary to this prohibition or claim that an exception to this prohibition is warranted because of extraordinary circumstances, it is social workers--not their clients--who assume the full burden of demonstrating that the former client has not been exploited, coerced, or manipulated, intentionally or unintentionally.

(d) Social workers should not provide ______________ to individuals with whom they have had a prior sexual relationship. Providing _______________ to a former sexual partner has the potential to be harmful to the individual and is likely to make it difficult for the social worker and individual to maintain appropriate professional boundaries.

What do you think?

It's not really your job to have every line of the Code of Ethics memorized. The idea here is to get you to think that little bit extra about what's in the Code and be that much more ready to pass the ASWB exam because of it. Done!

Scroll down for answers....





























A. under no circumstances

B. exploitation or potential harm to the client

C. sexual activities or sexual contact

D. clinical services

Quick Quiz: Code of Ethics Fill-in-the-Blank

Here are the first four paragraphs of the Privacy and Confidentiality section of the NASW Code of Ethics, but with some crucial parts excised. Your task: Fill in the blanks. Don't expect to get exact phrasing--only those with photographic memories would come close. Just aim for the basic gist of each missing phrase.

(a) Social workers should respect clients' right to privacy. Social workers should not solicit private information from or about clients except for ________________________. Once private information is shared, standards of confidentiality apply.

(b) Social workers may disclose confidential information when appropriate with valid consent from ____________________________________________________________.

(c) Social workers should protect the confidentiality of all information obtained in the course of professional service, except for compelling professional reasons. The general expectation that social workers will keep information confidential does not apply when disclosure is necessary to prevent _______________________________________. In all instances, social workers should disclose the _______ amount of confidential information necessary to achieve the desired purpose; only information that is directly relevant to the purpose for which the disclosure is made should be revealed.

(d) Social workers should inform clients, to the extent possible, about the disclosure of confidential information and the potential consequences, when feasible _________ [time frame] the disclosure is made. This applies whether social workers disclose confidential information on the basis of a legal requirement or client consent.

How'd you do?

Find out by scrolling down for answers...

Will this be on the exam? The material, yes. But not in this form. Expect vignette questions that draw on crucial areas throughout the NASW Code of Ethics.




















a) compelling professional reasons

b) a client or a person legally authorized to consent on behalf of a client

c1) serious, foreseeable, and imminent harm to a client or others

c2) least

d) before

Social and Political Action (and Exam Prep Savings)

You probably know this section by the NASW Code of Ethics by now. It's been widely posted and reposted. (And, unless you're nodding off before getting to the last of the code, you've read it a time or two as part of your ASWB exam prep.)

6.04 Social and Political Action

(a) Social workers should engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources, employment, services, and opportunities they require to meet their basic human needs and to develop fully. Social workers should be aware of the impact of the political arena on practice and should advocate for changes in policy and legislation to improve social conditions in order to meet basic human needs and promote social justice.

(b) Social workers should act to expand choice and opportunity for all people, with special regard for vulnerable, disadvantaged, oppressed, and exploited people and groups.

(c) Social workers should promote conditions that encourage respect for cultural and social diversity within the United States and globally. Social workers should promote policies and practices that demonstrate respect for difference, support the expansion of cultural knowledge and resources, advocate for programs and institutions that demonstrate cultural competence, and promote policies that safeguard the rights of and confirm equity and social justice for all people.

(d) Social workers should act to prevent and eliminate domination of, exploitation of, and discrimination against any person, group, or class on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, or mental or physical ability.

Maybe you've already been engagin in social and political action that the code calls for? If not, here's extra incentive: SWTP is offering an off-the-charts 50% coupon if you send them something that shows you engaging in political action. What type? Any type--it's  pretty loosely defined. The details of the offer are in this blog post. The company has also run specials on Election Days in the past (an "I Voted" picture for a discount). 

The general idea: when social workers take action, good things happen! Can't disagree!

Building Your Own Social Work Exam Practice Questions

One inexpensive way to prepare for the ASWB exam is to read through the Eye on Ethics columns in Social Work Today. Most contain just the kind of tricky social work rock-and-a-hard-place situation that you'll see on the licensing exam. No, they're not practice questions. But they could be practice questions. It wouldn't be a huge surprise to learn that exam writers were turning to the column for ideas about what to put on the test.

Take, for example, this recent column, Treating Colleagues with Respect in the Digital Age. The opening paragraphs are like a social work exam vignette without the question mark:

Last week I received an unusual telephone call from an administrator of a state social work licensing board. She explained that the board had received a complaint filed by one social worker against another. "This certainly is a novel complaint," the caller said. "We've never seen one like this before. I'm calling you to find out if you've heard of similar cases and know of any guidelines that might be relevant.

"Here's what apparently happened," the caller continued. "The complainant and respondent work at the same mental health center. The complainant is the respondent's supervisor. The respondent became quite angry with her supervisor after the supervisor included some negative comments in the respondent's annual review. According to the complaint filed with us by the supervisor, the respondent 'posted a handful of horribly nasty comments about me on her Facebook site. She accused me publicly of being incompetent and unethical. I don't think she realized that I had access to her Facebook postings.'"

I learned that the complaint the supervisor filed with the social work licensing board included verbatim excerpts from the Facebook postings. They are not pretty.

It doesn't take much imagination to flip things around into question form. An administrator receives a complaint... and so on about a social worker's bad-mouthing a supervisor on social media. What is the BEST course for the administrator to take?

Coming up with distractors is the trickier part of this exercise. Maybe something like...

A) Demand that the social worker remove the social media posts.

B) Refer the defamation to the state licensing board.

C) Reassign the social worker to a different supervisor.

D) Set a meeting for the social worker and supervisor to discuss the incident.

What answer do you like best? A probably doesn't take things far enough. B takes them too far--or jumps ahead in the process. C avoids the conflict altogether and doesn't address the issues at hand. That leaves D as the best of the offered choices. Maybe it's not the actual BEST course, but it's what you've got to work with here. If this were on the exam, that'd be a good pick. Then move on to the next...

Want more reading on the topic? Here's everything you need: the NASW Code of Ethics. 

Quick Quiz: Social Workers Ethical Responsibilities

We've posted a bunch of DSM-based quizzes lately. Let's try something different. Here's a quiz based upon the other text that shows up again and again on the ASWB exam, the NASW Code of Ethics.

A section that--for some reason!--keeps coming to mind lately is the one titled "Social Workers Ethical Responsibilities to the Broader Society." Here's some of the text, with some crucial words pulled out. Your job: fill in the blanks.

Social workers __________ (should/should not) promote the general welfare of society, from local to global levels, and the development of people, their communities, and their environments. Social workers ____________ (should/should not) advocate for living conditions conducive to the fulfillment of basic human needs and __________ (should/should not) promote social, economic, political, and cultural values and institutions that are compatible with the realization of social justice.

Social workers __________ (should/should not) engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources, employment, services, and opportunities they require to meet their basic human needs and to develop fully. Social workers __________ (should/should not) be aware of the impact of the political arena on practice and should advocate for changes in policy and legislation to improve social conditions in order to meet basic human needs and promote social justice.

What do you think? Hint: All the answers are the same.

This is, of course, not what the licensing exam really looks like. Expect vignettes portraying complicated front-line social work situations. Some of those questions will involve a question about how much a social worker should get involved in advocating for clients. You've studied the relevant section here. You're going to know the answer. You're even readier than you were a moment ago.

Good luck on the exam. Now, about that social action...

Free ASWB Exam Practice Question

Missed us? We're back. Here's a quick practice question based upon new material in the 2018 NASW Code of Ethics. With enough practice, you'll be ready to pass the ASWB exam faster than you may think! So answer this:

A client tells a social worker that she's being stalked online by an ex-boyfriend and asks the social worker to add her on Facebook so the social worker can see for herself. How should the social worker proceed?

A. Temporarily add the client on Facebook for the time it takes to witness the harassment.

B. Explain to the client that it's not ethical for social workers to collect collateral information on clients via social media. 

C. Refuse the Facebook request, and instead ask the client to print out evidence of harassment.

D. Politely refuse the Facebook friend request and ask the client to describe the harassment in detail. 

What do you think?

Scroll down for our answer.





















The updated code has some guidance here. This is from the Conflicts of Interest section:

(h) Social workers should avoid accepting requests from or engaging in personal relationships with clients on social networking sites or other electronic media to prevent boundary confusion, inappropriate dual relationships, or harm to clients.

Given that, let's take the answers one at a time:

A. Temporarily add the client on Facebook for the time it takes to witness the harassment.

Adding the client on Facebook, even temporarily and for clinically defensible reasons, risks changing the nature of the social worker-client relationship--it's also unnecessary here.

B. Explain to the client that it's not ethical for social workers to collect collateral information on clients via social media. 

The Code of Ethics states:

Social workers should avoid searching or gathering client information electronically unless there are compelling professional reasons, and when appropriate, with the client’s informed consent.

Avoid mean avoid; it doesn't mean never, ever do it. It is ethical in some cases to collect collateral information about clients on the net.

C. Refuse the Facebook request, and instead ask the client to print out evidence of harassment.

This is an old-fashioned solution. Why not just ask the client to show the social worker on her phone (assuming she has one)? But old-fashioned or not, it's the best of the offered answers here. C is correct.

D. Politely refuse the Facebook friend request and ask the client to describe the harassment in detail. 

For whatever reason, it is important to the client for the social worker to see the harassment, not just hear about it. Refusing the Facebook request and refusing to look at the harassment altogether is unnecessary and risks rupturing the client-social worker relationship.

How'd you do? We'll have more practice here in the future. And, of course, there's lots and lots (and lots) of practice available elsewhere (check out SWTP).

Good luck with the exam!