Code of Ethics

Responsive Childrens Supports has adopted the statement of the Guiding Principles of the Alberta Council Of Disability Services (ACDS) as the Agency’s Code of Ethics. All Agency employees and volunteers are responsible to read and adhere to this Code of Ethics in the performance of their duties on behalf of the Agency and the individuals served by the Agency.

The ACDS Guiding Principles are presented below with appropriate changes to make reference to this Agency and its employees/volunteers.

Principle 1: Respect for the Dignity of Persons

In all our activities, Responsive Childrens Supports Ltd. (the Agency), its employees and volunteers demonstrate respect for the dignity of service recipients, professionals, and the other individuals and organizations with which they interact. In adhering to this principle, the Agency recognizes the knowledge, insight, experience and areas of expertise of others. The Agency treats others fairly, in a manner that enhances their right to participate fully in their interactions with Responsive Childrens Supports Ltd. The Agency respects the privacy and confidentiality of the information to which it is privy.

Responsive Childrens Supports Ltd. behaves in a fair and non-discriminatory manner in selecting, assessing and providing services to people with disabilities. The Agency demonstrates respect for service recipients’ values, self-knowledge and experiences in the way in which individual service plans are developed and implemented. Service recipients and their legal representatives are provided with sufficient, understandable information so that they can make informed service decisions. Information about service recipients is recorded and stored in a manner that maintains the level of confidentiality desired by the service recipient.

Responsive Childrens Supports Ltd. treats employees justly and in a non-discriminatory manner. The Agency communicates with staff in an open manner regarding conditions of employment, job performance standards, and organizational decisions that have an impact on employees’ work. In recognition of the important role staff play in fulfilling the mission of the Agency, employees are provided with opportunity for input into the decisions made by Responsive Childrens Support Ltd. Information about personnel is treated in a confidential manner.

The Agency conducts business with other service providers and professionals in a fair and non-discriminatory manner. The Agency acknowledges the insight, experience and areas of expertise of other service providers and professionals. Responsive Childrens Supports Ltd. provides all the other organizations and individuals with which it does business with accurate and relevant information about the Agency to the extent that it does not violate confidentiality or the privacy of service recipients and personnel. Information provided by other service providers and professionals is accorded the same degree of confidentiality as that of service recipients and staff.

Principle 2: Responsible Caring

Responsive Childrens Supports Ltd. employees and volunteers demonstrate their commitment to quality supports and services to people with disabilities in all their activities. We strive to maximize benefits and minimize harm to the service recipients and service providers with whom they interact by providing competent service.

Responsive Childrens Supports Ltd. employees and volunteers care about the well-being of the people they serve, and work with service recipients and their legal representatives to secure and provide services that maintain and improve the recipients well being. They ensure competent administration and delivery of the services they offer.

The Agency is committed to the well-being of employees and fosters the physical and emotional health of staff in the workplace. The Agency supports all staff to maintain and increase their professional competence through continued professional development.

The Agency makes business decisions that reflect the fact that the primary business of rehabilitation agencies is the provision of quality supports and services to people with disabilities. The Agency ensures that it deals with other organizations and individuals in a competent and professional manner.

Principle 3: Integrity in Relationships

Responsive Childrens Supports Ltd. employees and volunteers represent themselves in an honest and accurate fashion in all their dealings with service recipients, professionals and other individuals and organizations. They monitor their relationships for conflicts of interest and strive to avoid biases that may favour their own interests over those of the people they serve.

The Agency represents the type, limitations and appropriateness of its services to recipients and their legal representatives honestly and accurately. The Agency provides the services it has contracted to provide. Responsive Childrens Supports Ltd. employees and volunteers recommend particular services because they feel they will meet the needs of the service recipients most effectively, not because of any financial benefit or other benefit that may, as a result, accrue to the Agency. Responsive Childrens Supports Ltd. behaves with integrity in dealings with its employees. The Agency acts on commitments made regarding terms of employment. The Agency monitors decisions regarding staff for potential conflicts of interest and support staff members in their efforts to avoid conflicts of interest. Responsive Childrens Supports Ltd. employees and volunteers represent themselves and their services honestly to service recipients and to other organizations in the community. They do not enter into relationships with other organizations that favour their own interests over those of the people they serve.

Principle 4: Social Responsibility

The Agency actively questions rehabilitation, governmental and societal practices or decisions that harm people with disabilities. The Agency is committed to the development of best practices in rehabilitation. The Agency advocates for changes that will benefit the people served in the belief that society’s welfare is affected by its treatment of those who are in the margins of society.

Responsive Childrens Supports Ltd. employees and volunteers advocate on behalf of service recipients for their right to quality services and supports in the community. They are committed to developing and providing the best services available.

The Agency encourages employees to question policies and practices that may harm people with disabilities. The Agency supports employees in reporting an apparent breach of these ethical practices to the appropriate authority. Investigations of allegations are motivated by a desire for justice for service recipients, rather than by a desire to protect the Agency’s name.

Responsive Childrens Supports Ltd. advocates with other organizations and society members for the basic and human value of people with disabilities. The Agency educates those individuals and organizations with whom they do business regarding how best to accommodate people with disabilities, who have been marginalized.

Responsive Childrens Supports Ltd. employees and volunteers will find that some ethical dilemmas will be difficult to resolve even with the support of this Code of Ethics. Employees and volunteers are encouraged to use a team approach to resolving such dilemmas by involving appropriate supervisory support. Consulting with others, with respect for the requirements of confidentiality, is an accepted approach to ethical decision making.