Ethics for
Child Support Caseworkers
Steven Eldred
Chief Deputy Director
Orange County CSS
CSDA Annual Conference,
October 2006
“Ethics is a code of values which
guide our choices and actions and
determine the purpose and course of
our lives.”
— Ayn Rand, RussianAmerican novelist and
philosopher (1905-1982)
“Genuine tragedies in the world are
not conflicts between right and wrong.
They are conflicts
between two rights.”
— Georg Hegel, German
philosopher (1770-1831)
Outline
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Origins of Ethics
Statutory Requirements
Hypotheticals – Discussion
Summary
Ethics - Sources
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Ethics are the principles that society agrees
are the right and proper guideposts for
behavior in a given situation.
Religious Origins
Cultural Origins
Family tradition and teaching
Ethics in Modern Society
 Affected
–
by Mass Media?
Wall Street
 Gordon
–
Gecko – “Greed is Good”
Reality TV
 ‘It’s
not cheating if you don’t get caught’
Why be Ethical?
Why be Ethical?
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Personal satisfaction
Peer approval
Boss’ approval
Religious inspiration
Downsides to Unethical Behavior
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Peer disapproval - Reputation
Career risks
Media attention
Personal virtue
Religious condemnation
Story # 1 Danger, Will Robinson!
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You are working a walk-in interview of a noncustodial parent in your caseload, and review
the work history. You note that the NCP has
been accused by the other parent of being
abusive and violent toward their child. You
sadly shrug, as this is an all-too-common
allegation, and you know that in many cases
it is true.
Story # 1

You continue your review of the file and see
that the NCP is employed at the brand-new
child care center where you have enrolled
your child. Your first impulse is to pull your
child out of the center immediately, but . . .
Story # 1
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Your sister’s kids are also at the center!
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Can you divulge the information?
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–
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To protect her kids?
What about the other kids there?
Isn’t information in the case files confidential?
You can’t even warn the Center Director?
California Family Code 17212(b)(1)
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Except as provided . . . all files, applications,
papers, documents and records established
or maintained by any [IV-D agency] . . . shall
be confidential, and shall not be open to
examination or released for any purpose not
directly connected with the administration of
the [IV-D] program.
Story #2
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The Secret
A Custodial Party comes into the office to
discuss her case. She doesn’t speak English
well, so her 16-year-old daughter assists with
interpreting for you. During the interview,
you notice distinctive bruising on the girls
arms and throat. You watched CSI last night,
and know aggressive hand-mark bruising
when you (or Grissom) see it.
What do you do?
Story # 2

You ask Mom about the bruising – Mom and
daughter sob quietly, look at each other and
say ‘It’s a family matter, you don’t need to be
involved’.
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What do you do?
California Family Code 17212(c)(7)
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To the extent not prohibited by federal law or
regulation, information indicating the
existence or imminent threat of a crime
against a child . . . may be disclosed to any
district attorney, any appropriate law
enforcement agency . . . or may be used in
any judicial proceeding to prosecute that
crime or to protect the child.
Story 2 (continued)

You inform Mom that it is your duty to report
suspected child abuse, and you suspect that
someone in the child’s home has assaulted
her. Mom cries harder now, explaining that
she does not qualify for TANF benefits – the
child support was her only hope of survival
for her and the other 4 kids. If Dad goes to
jail, they’ll be homeless….
California Penal Code 11166(a)

. . . a mandated reporter shall make a report
. . . whenever . . . in his or her professional
capacity or within the scope of his or her
employment, [he or she] has knowledge of or
observes a child whom the mandated
reporter knows or reasonably suspects has
been the victim of child abuse . . . and shall
make an initial report . . . within 36 hours…
Story #2 B
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Next interview, a Mother brings in her 15year-old daughter. The daughter is obviously
9 months pregnant, and wants to open a
case. She reports that the father of her child
is a classmate, and you begin to assist with
the case opening process.
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What do you do?
California Penal Code 11166(a)
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(1) . . .”reasonable suspicion” means that it is
objectively reasonable for a person to
entertain a suspicion . . . To suspect child
abuse or neglect. For the purpose of this
article, the pregnancy of a minor does not, in
and of itself, constitute a basis for a
reasonable suspicion of sexual abuse.
Story #2 B

During the interview, it becomes clear that
the ‘classmate’ is not at the high school the
girl attends, but is a classmate at an evening
cooking class the mother and daughter were
taking through the city parks program. He is
29 years old.
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What do you do?
Be True to Your School
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25-year-old female custodial parent comes in
to your office to open a case. She gives you
sketchy information about the NCP – only his
name and that he is ‘younger than she is’.
You ask for his work address and she gives
you an address that you recognize as the
local high school. You ask if he is a teacher
there, and she says ‘not really, he’s my
student assistant’.
What do you do? (SLO v. Nathaniel J, 1996)
Story # 3
Taking Attendance
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The front desk tells you that one of ‘your’ NCP’s is in
the lobby and would like to speak with you about his
case. You call him into the interview room, and
following him into the room is his new wife, the 15
year-old child of the subject case, the 6-year-old
child of the new couple, and the family dog.
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Who stays, and who goes?
Story # 4 The Good Samaritan
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You are present in court while the
Commissioner is finishing the non-IV-D case
calendar. A sad-looking pro-per litigant is in
front of the court, and being told by the
Commissioner that she has not filed the
proper paperwork, properly served the NCP
or provided enough evidence of income for
the court to make a ruling.
Story # 4
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The Commissioner, an affable person who
works well with your agency to solve support
process problems, asks you to please chat
with the woman for a few minutes and
educate her on the child support system, etc.
You are only too happy to chat with her, as
this allows the IV-D calendar to be heard,
and she looks like she could use the help.
Story # 4
The woman tells you a sad story about her
ex, who she suspects may be hiding income.
She had no idea there was a child support
guideline, and asks for your help in
understanding this.
You ask her a few questions in order to assist
her with running a computer calculation, and
she shows you a business invoice with the
NCP’s name on it.
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Story # 4
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You immediately recognize the Ex’s name, a
unique name in your town, and realize that
you had been working on his IV-D case file
that very morning. It becomes obvious that
the woman in front of you, his wife for the
past 10 years and mother of his 8-year-old
daughter, has no idea that he also has a 15year old child in the next town.
Story # 4
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You remember from the morning’s case
review that the NCP’s income is considerably
different than the income this woman is
showing you. If she had the complete
information, this would be a very different
situation.
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What do you do?
Story # 5 Help me, Rhonda…
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You are in court assisting the attorneys with
interviews and preparing paperwork for the
court. A custodial parent, on whose case you
have worked many times, approaches you
and asks for your opinion. Her Ex, a
sporadic payor at best, has offered her 25%
cash payoff if she drops the balance of the
arrears. Mom asks you if she should take
the deal.…
Story # 6 Wouldn’t it be nice?
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Your Director, a parent figure to the office, beloved
by all, who went to your daughter’s wedding and
gave the nicest gift, and is the godparent of several
of the officeworkers’ children, calls a team meeting.
She says that if the office’s performance numbers
don’t improve, the County Board of Supervisors is
going to fire her. She pleads with the caseworkers to
do something, anything, to improve performance.
What do you do?
Story # 6B Just Between Friends
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Your friend, the latest caseworker hired, has
come to you and expressed concerns. She
said the latest round of state and federal
budget cuts have really put pressure on the
Agency to cut costs. If performance doesn’t
improve drastically, the LCSA won’t get the
additional funding they are hoping for.
Story # 6B
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Your friend asks you to consider working with her to
modify some cases a little outside office policy, and
close some cases with a somewhat ‘aggressive’
interpretation of the closing regs. If anyone
complains, she explains, of course you’ll change
them back or re-open the cases. By the way, her
husband was laid off last month, and one of their 3
kids needs surgery…
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What do you do?
Story # 7
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I Get Around…
You believe that a policy recently adopted by
your office is contrary to law but your
arguments have been dismissed by your
supervisors. You consider ‘going public’ and
telling your story to the editor of the local
newspaper. Just before you type the letter,
you pause to think…..
Practical Ethics, an Alternate View

“We Don’t Need Another Hero” Joseph L.
Badarocco, Jr. Harvard Business Review,
September 2001. (Professor of Business
Ethics, Harvard Business School, author of
Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guide to
Doing the Right Thing, Harvard Press, 2002.)
Practical Ethics
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Put Things Off Until Tomorrow
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Pick Your Battles
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Bend the Rules
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Find a Compromise
Christmas-wish stories…
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10-year-old John, separated from his family by
Hurricane Katrina, was living with other foster
children in an emergency shelter in a Houston
suburb, and had but one Christmas wish – to go
home.
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“But there’s no way I’ll get gifts for Christmas. I don’t
even believe in Santa anymore” he was quoted as
saying in the Brazosport Facts newspaper. Local
CPS workers had notified the newspaper about the
sad boy’s story.
Christmas-wish stories…
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The newspaper ran the story on the front
page, and the charity cash started rolling in
to support the foster care program.
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There was only one problem with the story -
Christmas-wish stories…
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“They were just trying to tell stories that would clearly
tug at the heart, capture the emotions of the readers
and inspire them to give more money” said the
reporter. “But they did it in a way that misled the
public”.
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The editor said he did not understand why the CPS
workers fabricated the story, as the foster kids’ real
stories were compelling enough.
Code of Ethics for Child Welfare
Professionals (Illinois DCFS, 1996)

“Child welfare professionals are society’s
representatives in its attempts to meet the
needs of abused and neglected children and
their families. The authority delegated to
them to intervene in the lives of families is
accompanied by the responsibility to act in a
professional manner.”
Code of Ethics for Child Welfare
Professionals (Illinois DCFS, 1996)
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“The Code of Ethics for Child Welfare
Professionals is the public acknowledgement
and acceptance of that responsibility. It sets
forth the values and ethical principles which
form the foundation of the child welfare field
and is intended to guide practice decisions..”
Code of Ethics for Child Welfare
Professionals (Illinois DCFS, 1996)
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“It is also a statement of shared
commitments held by professionals working
to improve the child welfare field and our
promise to our clients and to society that we
are worthy of their trust.”
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Bryan Samuels, Introduction to the Code
Sources:
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‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’, Joseph L. Badarocco, Harvard
Business Review, September 2001.
Institute for Global Ethics, www.globalethics.org, 2006
Making Ethical Decisions, Josephson Institute of Ethics,
www.josephsoninstitute.org, 2006.
Code of Ethics for Child Welfare Professionals, Illinois
Department of Children and Family Services, 2006.
“Christmas Wish Story…”, Pam Easton, Associated Press, as
published in San Diego Union-Tribune, December 10, 2005