Preamble to NASW Code of Ethics (1996)

The primary mission of the social work profession is to:

• enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people.

• with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.

A historic and defining feature of social work is the profession's focus:

• on individual well-being in a social context.

• and (also) the well-being of society.

• Fundamental to social work is attention to the environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address problems in living.

Social workers promote social justice and social change with and on behalf of clients.

• "Clients" is used inclusively to refer to individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

• Social workers are sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversity and strive to end discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other forms of social injustice.

Social workers seek to enhance the capacity of people to address their own needs.

• Social workers also seek to promote the responsiveness of organizations, communities, and other social institutions to individuals' needs.

• and (to) social problems.

The mission of the social work profession is rooted in a set of core values. These core values, . . . are the foundation of social work's unique purpose and perspective:

• service

• social justice

• dignity and worth of the person

• importance of human relationships

• integrity

• competence

Core values, and the principles that flow from them, must be balanced within the context and complexity of the human experience.

Kreider SW 710