WHEN ALL THINGS ARE NOT CONSIDERED: ETHICAL ISSUES IN A WELFARE-TO-WORK PROGRAM

Abstract

Employing an ethical perspective to viewing problems as well as regard for participants’ socio-cultural context will help providers apply a constructive approach to program planning, curriculum design, and in implementing welfare-to-work programs. This paper explores the impact of a lack of sensitivity to the ethical issues that surfaced in a specific welfare-to-work program on participants’ perceptions, self-esteem, and motivation. Ethical issues in four areas were identified and discussed: 1) professional competence and accountability issues; (2) participant-provider relationships; (3) interagency issues and conflicts of interest; and (4) curriculum design issues. Actual and desired program outcomes were compared to identify gaps between them in terms of provider’s ethical behavior. Findings revealed that providers lacked functional, behavioral, and ethical competence; and this contributed to participants feeling stereotyped, degraded, and unmotivated to complete the program.