Locating and Integrating State Laws and Ethical Codes

By now, you should have located several current sets of ethical standards used by various counseling professionals. For this assignment, reference the ACA Code of Ethics as well as any standards from professional organizations specific to your program (school counseling, mental health counseling, addictions counseling, or career counseling). This assignment has three (3) parts.

Create an annotated reference list of ethical standards that includes at least two different ethical standards related to your program. An annotated reference list includes the citation for the document you located (in APA format); then, a brief description of the resources is included beneath the citation. The description should be written in your own words, paraphrasing the materials you've found (not using any direct quotes from the materials). Please format your annotated reference list to include the following three items:

1. Name of the standard. 

2. The reference to show the date of the standard and where it can be located (APA format; include the link if it is located on a web page of a professional organization). 

3. A brief description that notes the year these standards were implemented and if you can locate any information about when the next revision will be published. Also include in this description the process you will use to stay informed regarding any proposed updates or revisions to these ethical standards.

Document the location of the laws regulating the practice of counseling in your state. These will be the regulations that outline the requirements for becoming licensed/certified in the state, as well as the laws pertinent to the practice of counseling (such as requirements for continuing education, mandated reporting laws, and so on).

Do not use Counselor-License.com. The laws regulating the practice of counseling in your state can be found on your state counseling board website, or through your state counseling association. School counselors should check with the state board of education. There are also helpful resources found on the Capella Licensure Tool on iGuide. 

• In your own words: Describe where you found these laws and include the link to the Web site.
• How are notices about new laws and regulations in your state made available to practicing counselors? For example, some states allow counselors to sign up for email notices of new legislation; or it is published in the state counseling journals/newsletters. Do some research to find out how this information is provided in your own state and provide a brief description of how you will stay informed about new laws and pending legislation made available to counselors in your state. Include the full references to publications or links to Web sites where this information is provided.

Use the presentation Locating and Integrating State Laws and Ethical Codes in this unit's study (located in the assignment resources) to apply your knowledge of laws and ethical codes to particular issues:

Select three (3) issues from the presentation that may arise in the type of setting in which you will be working and for each selected issue, complete the following:

• Determine whether your response to the situation would be guided by an ethical standard, a state law, or both, for each issue.
• Identify at least 2 specific state laws and 2 specific ethical standards that are relevant to each issue. In other words, list the code number for the applicable laws and the ethical standards. For example, if the case involves supervision of a counselor, I might reference the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 4757-17-01 "Counseling supervision", and the ACA (2014) code F.2.a. "Supervisor Preparation".
• Write a description of why these laws/standards are applicable in this case, considering how the specific laws and codes inform responsible counseling practice.
• What are the specific decisions, actions, and/or steps you would take in order to behave in a legal, ethical, and professional manner?

Your paper should meet the following requirements:

• Written communication: Develop accurate written communication and thoughts that convey the overall goals of the assignment and do not detract from the overall message. Your paper should demonstrate graduate-level writing skills. 
• References: Your reference list must include:
  • The 2014 ACA Code of Ethics and another relevant set of standards (ASCA, AMHCA, etc.) .
  • An APA-formatted link to your state's rules and laws.
  • Distinguished submissions will likely exceed this minimum requirement.