Legal Question in Legal Ethics in California
I work in a social service agency and am told that we are less liable if we move a youth who is in an unapproved non-relative home, despite the fact that we know she will run to the streets as this is the only place she will stay. I'm wondering if there is any case law that supports doing what social workers believe is ethically correct vs. legally safe.
3 Answers from Attorneys
I take it you have been on the job a very short time -- you still have time to find an occupation that doesn't involve hurting children and families. Your sense of ethics is admirable but quaint. If you stay in your position for very long you will learn to do the expedient thing, you won't bother asking questions like these, and you will lose your soul. Maybe you will become an alcoholic and retire after 20 years.
This is not an area of law that I practice in, but Mr. Stone's answer was so unhelpful and offensive I am compelled to respond. I suggest you seek some assistance from the California Social Worker's association.http://www.naswca.org/ Perhaps they can point you in the right direction or recommend a lawyer who specializes in this area.
Regards,
Bryan Becker
877-201-8728
This follow-up answer is in response to attorney Becker's remark that he found my answer "unhelpful and offensive."
Somewhere there may be a child welfare agency at which decisions are made according to the best interests of the children, and not according to what decision minimizes the agency's liability, or what decision maximizes the agency's funding. Unlike Mr. Becker I do practice in this area of law, and I have yet to find such an agency.
It is far less likely than you imagine that you, or your agency, would be successfully sued. Follow your sense of ethics.
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