Frederick Community College HS 204–Ethics and Practice Issues in Human Services SPRING 2010
Class begins: Jan. 23	Class ends: May 14	Last Day to Withdraw: April 9

Instructor Information:
Name: Katherine Helfrich	Office: H273
E-mail: khelfrich@frederick.edu	Phone Number: 301-846-2557
Contact Hours: Office hours – M/W 11:00-12:15 PM; TH 2:00-3:30 PM; F 9:30-10:30 AM. Also by app’t.	Campus Mail Box #: 170

Course Information:
Credits: 3
On-campus Meetings: None	On-campus Exams: None
Prerequisites: HS 203	Co-requisites: INTR 102

Course Description:

Integrates a study of ethical and practice issues in the human service field with the student’s experience in the cooperative education practicum. Special attention will be given to the special ethical issues in the addictions field.

Core Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of the course students will:

1. Describe the Federal, State, agency, and professional code of ethics governing his or her work.
2. Describe the client rights and responsibilities.
3. Demonstrate understanding of professional standards and scope of practice.
4. Discuss boundary issues between the client and the counselor.
5. Differentiate the role of the professional counselor and a peer counselor or sponsor.
6. Demonstrate beginning skills in critical writing.
7. Identify appropriate referral sources for the agency in which the student works.
8. Develop several case presentations.
9. Describe the degrees/certification in the human service profession.

Instructional Methods:

1. Papers
2. Class discussion online through “discussion board”.
3. Case presentations through “discussion board”.
4. Quizzes for student’s own assessment

 How is this course organized:

Each week is outlined in your online course with a reading assignment, discussion board question or case, and a quiz for you to take in order to check up on your understanding. In addition to these regular activities, there are four paper assignments. They are as follows:

Ethics Paper: After you have read the first three chapters and the professional guidelines governing your agency, study the way that those ethical guidelines are implemented in the agency in which you are either an intern or employee. Write a 4-6 page paper on the guidelines for work in an agency like the one where you are doing your internship and then describe how those guidelines are actually implemented within the agency. This assignment is worth 100 points.

Case Presentations: Develop two cases for presentation. Discuss the issues that bring the client to the agency, the history, the goals for work with the client, and the progress to date. Include any issues that you as the human service worker might want to keep in mind as you work with this particular client. These two case presentations are each worth 100 points. You will post them for discussion.(You will not use real names or real identifying information. We will talk about how you can do this.)

Self-Reflection Paper: At the end of the course, prepare a 3-5 page paper that is a reflection of your own skills for human service work. What strengths do you have as a human service worker? What areas will need particular work? What is your education and career plan? How does that fit into the specialties within the field and the licensing/credentialing in the field? Where will you go from here? How has the discussion of the ethical issues in this course impacted your work?

Text(s) and Course Materials:

Corey, G. et al, Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions, 7^th edition.

Progress Report:

Students will receive weekly feedback on papers and discussion board participation.

Evaluation Methods:
Tests / Papers / Projects / Participation	Point Value	Final Grade Scale
Ethics paper (4-6 pages) Two case presentations Self-reflection paper Discussion Board participation*	100 200 (100 each) 100 150	495-550 = A 440-494 = B 385-439 = C 330-384 = D Below 330 = F
*We will have a weekly online discussion of either a question that I will post or a case that I will post. Please post at least one response to my question or case and a response to at least two other members of the class. Hopefully, we will get a full discussion going around these very challenging ethical questions. You should have all your discussion board postings completed by midnight on Sunday of each week.

Student Services

A variety of services are available to assist students in succeeding at FCC. Students can learn more about these services by visiting the Student Services web page: http://www.frederick.edu/student_services/index.aspx.

Students with disabilities who are in need of accommodations or who have questions related to disabilities services should contact the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) office at 301-846-2408. Students can learn more about these services by visiting the Services for Students with Disabilities web page: http://www.frederick.edu/student_services/disability.aspx.

Participation Policy:

To maintain the highest quality of academic work, students are expected to participate fully in all course activities.

In case of serious illness, emergency, religious holidays, or participation in official college functions, students remain responsible for completing the requirements of the course. 

Further Instructions: Students are expected to contact the instructor in case of any interruption in course work.

Email Policy:

Email is an instructional tool essential to student-instructor and student-student communication. In the Blackboard environment by default, your email address is available to all students in this course.

However, students are permitted to use email addresses of other students in this course only for the purpose and the duration of this course.

Students who are concerned about the privacy of their personal email address are reminded of commercially available products that allow them to create unique email addresses specifically for the purpose and duration of this course.

The instructor can be expected to respond to regular student email inquiries (grades, posted assignments, and tests excluded) within the time frame of 24 to 48 hours.

Academic Integrity:

Work in this course is subject to the provisions of the FCC Code of Academic Integrity. Plagiarism in any form will not be tolerated. As a student, it is your job to practice academic honesty at ALL times. Make sure that all sources, particularly Internet sources, get proper credit for quotations, paraphrases, and ideas. More information about this and the Student Conduct Code are available at http://www.frederick.edu/student_services/studentpolicies.aspx

You must send your Academic Integrity Pledge to the instructor. The form is available at http://courses.frederick.edu/_utilities/regform.htm

Topical Outline (ONLINE and HYBRID COURSES)

Week	SUBJECT	ACTIVITY ONLINE	ON-CAMPUS ACTIVITY
Week 1	Introductions	Who are we? (discussion board)
Week 2	An Introduction to Professional Ethics	Reading: Corey, Chapter 1 Self-assessment (pp. 25-32) Discussion Board
Week 3 & 4	The Counselor	Reading: Corey, chapter 2 Discussion Board
Week 5	Values and Helping	Reading: Corey, Chapter 3 Discussion Board Ethics paper due
Week 6	Client Rights	Reading: Corey, Chapter 5 Discussion Board
Week 7	Confidentiality	Reading: Corey, Chapter 6 Discussion Board First Case Presentation
Week 8 & 9	Boundary Issues in the field	Reading: Corey, Chapter 7 Discussion Board
Week 10	Multicultural Perspectives and Diversity Issues	Reading: Corey, Chapter 4 Discussion Board Second Case Presentation	*Last date to withdraw is April 9
Week 11	Issues in Supervision	Reading: Corey, Chapter 9 Discussion Board
Week 12&13	Ethical Issues in Couples & Family Counseling	Reading: Corey, Chapter 11 Discussion Board
Week 14 & 15	Professional Competence & Training	Reading: Corey, Chapter 8 Discussion Board Self-Reflection Paper due

NOTE: Your instructor reserves the right to make changes to this outline as needed.