ABSTRACT
The entire field of child welfare is rampant with ethical and values issues. Three central and related ethical and value-based concerns can be conceptualized, including the concept of client self-determination, the value of informed consent, and the idea of the social worker’s fiduciary responsibilities. These rise to the level of being central grounding values or principles. Here the idea of client selfdetermination with its intricately related concept of informed consent, the power of due process and normative law, and the need for limited paternalistic behaviors contributes to the development and maintenance of sound fiduciary relationships. This chapter examines these three concepts and related issues.
