Dwight Hymans, LCSW, ACSW
Executive VP
The New Regulatory
Standards for Technology
and Social Work Practice
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Creation of the Task Force
• ASWB Board of Directors meeting, Nov. 2012
▫ Initial motion to move forward & create the task
force
• Task Force appointments approved by BOD,
April 2013
• Four virtual meetings held 2013-2014
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Charge from ASWB Board
• To create the model technology standards for social
work
• To explore the role of social media in both the
professional practice and personal lives of social
workers throughout the world creating model social
media standards
• To explore all possible professional regulatory
implications on the use of technology and social
media in social work practice and education creating
model practice standards to be incorporated into the
ASWB Model Social Work Practice Act
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Task Force participants
Association of Social Work Boards
• Frederic Reamer, Ph.D., Professor, School of Social
Work, Rhode Island College , chair
• M. Jenise Comer, MSW, LCSW, ACSW, Secretary,
ASWB Board of Directors; Board liaison
• Steven Pharris, MSW, J.D., LMSW-TN, LCSW-AR,
Tennessee Board of Social Workers
• Mary Jo Monahan, MSW, LCSW, Chief Executive
Officer
• Dwight Hymans, MSW, LCSW, Executive Vice
President
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Task Force participants
Canadian Association of Social Workers
• Annette Johns, Associate Director of Policy and
Practice for the Newfoundland and Labrador Association
of Social Workers (NLASW)
Canadian Council of Social Work Regulators
• Rachel Birnbaum, Ph.D., RSW, LL.M., Past President
(2012-2014)
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Task Force participants
Council on Social Work Education
• Paul Freddolino, Ph.D., Professor, Michigan State
University
• Jo Ann Regan, Ph.D., MSW, Director, Office of Social
Work Accreditation
National Association of Social Workers
• Dawn Hobdy, MSW, Director, Office of Ethics and
Professional Review
• Mirean Coleman , MSW, LICSW, CT, Senior Practice
Associate, Division of Social Work Practice
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Task Force participants
Ireland
• Gloria Kirwan, Assistant Professor of Social Work,
Trinity College, Dublin
New Zealand Social Workers Registration Board
• Sean McKinley, Chief Executive/Registrar, Social
Workers Registration Board
Wales
• Rhian Huws Williams, Chief Executive, Care Council
of Wales
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Some phenomena of technology
• Phone counseling
• Video Counseling /Skype - free to practitioners but
there is sponsorship and advertising
• Online Therapy
• Cyber therapy – see each other but use avatars
instead
• Facebook – social networking as a therapeutic tool
• Web based technology – online assessments
• Email Counseling – offered as a package of a
number of sessions
• Text therapy & messaging – building text messaging
into their therapy ie: including text messaging
reminders Etc.
• Self-guided protocols – Offering web based selfhelp with a distant link to practitioners
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Conceptual questions considered
• What we mean by relationship – Has electronic
services changed how we view relationship?
• Who we serve – Who has access to internet and
electronic services?
• How we serve – What’s appropriate & what is not?
• Boundary issues – Elastic boundaries between client
and social worker
• Informed consent – What does this mean in an
electronic environment?
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Some definitions
Digital and other electronic technology
refers to the use of
▫ computers (including the Internet, social media,
online chat, text, and email)
▫ and other electronic means (such as smartphones,
landline telephones, and video technology)
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Electronic social work services
Use of digital and other electronic means to;
• (a) provide information to the public,
• (b) deliver services to clients,
• (c) communicate with clients,
• (d) manage confidential information and case
records,
• (e) store and access information about clients,
• (f) arrange payment for professional services
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Intent of the standards
Audience
▫ Social Work Regulatory Community
 ASWB members
▫ Governmental Regulatory Bodies responsible for
ensuring the safe, competent, and ethical
practice of social workers using digital and other
electronic technology
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Safe, competent, ethical practice
• intended to serve as guidance as regulators
think through amending rules and regulations
related to the growing and evolving practice of
providing electronic social work services.
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What they are not;
• Enforceable legal standards
▫ Up to each jurisdiction to determine laws/regs and
implement
• “Best practice” standards –
▫ 2005 Technology Practice Standards will be
updated using these standards as a guide
 NASW Task Force already in place
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Seven sections
• Section I. Practitioner Competence and
Compliance with Ethical Standards
• Section II. Informed Consent
• Section III. Privacy and Confidentiality
• Section IV. Boundaries, Dual Relationships, and
Conflicts of Interest
• Section V. Records and Documentation
• Section VI. Collegial Relationships
• Section VII. Electronic Practice Across
Jurisdictional Boundaries
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Section I. Practitioner Competence
and Compliance with Ethical
Standards
• Knowledge about electronic social work service
• Cultural differences among clients and in clients’
use of digital and other electronic technology
• Unique communication challenges associated
with electronic social work services
• Assess whether clients’ needs can be met using
electronic social work services
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Section II. Informed Consent
• Capacity to provide informed consent
• Policies about the nature of available
(electronic) services
▫ benefits and risks,
▫ alternative ways of receiving assistance,
▫ fees,
▫ involvement of and sharing information with third
parties,
▫ limits of confidentiality
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Section II. Informed Consent
• Questions and answers about electronic social
work services
• Verify the identity and location of clients
• policies on the use of Internet-based search
engines to gather information
• Client’s suitability and capacity for online and
remote services
• Need for initial in-person, videoconference, or
telephone consultation
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Section III. Privacy and Confidentiality
• risks associated with disclosure of confidential
information on the Internet
• proper safeguards, including secure firewalls,
encryption software, and password protection
• statutes and regulations regarding the secure
use of digital and other electronic technology
• Consent when using electronic search engines
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Section III. Privacy and Confidentiality
• disclosure or posting of digital or other
electronic communications
▫ Risks of noncompliance by others
• confidentiality of all information obtained by, or
stored using, digital and other electronic
technology
• Limits of security and protection of confidential
information with third party services
• develop and disclose policies and procedures for
notifying when breach occurs
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Section IV. Boundaries, Dual Relationships,
and Conflicts of Interest
• policies concerning digital and other electronic
communication between scheduled
appointments, during emergencies
• access to social workers’ personal social
networking sites
• SW’s personal information on professional
websites, blogs, or other forms of social media
• avoid conflicts of interest and inappropriate
dual relationships based on their personal
interests and online presence
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Section IV. Boundaries, Dual
Relationships, and Conflicts of Interest
• providing supervision or consultation remotely
▫ unique issues telecommunication technologies
pose
▫ adhere to the regulatory requirements of the
jurisdiction where the supervised practitioner is
regulated
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Section V. Records and
Documentation
• digital and electronic communications included
in client records
• mechanisms used to secure and back up records
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Section VI. Collegial Relationships
• cyberbullying, harassment, or derogatory or
defamatory comments
• private, confidential, or sensitive information
about the work or personal life of any colleague
• If a colleague who provides electronic social
work services is
▫ behaving unethically,
▫ not using safeguards such as firewalls or
encryption,
▫ allowing unauthorized access to digitally or
electronically stored information
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Section VII. Electronic Practice
Across Jurisdictional Boundaries
• Comply with the laws and regulations that
govern electronic social work services within the
jurisdictions in which the social worker is located
and in which the client is located.
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Is it any different than face to face?
The standards of care that have historically protected
social work clients in the context of in-person
relationships apply to electronic social work services.
Social workers who choose to use digital and other
electronic technology in their professional capacity
have an obligation to do so in a way that:
▫ honors their commitment to client well-being and to
social work’s commitment to assist people in need,
including those who have limited access to digital and
other electronic technology
▫ adheres to prevailing ethical standards in social work
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Available at;
www.aswb.org – members section
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• Questions…..comments