Whistle-Blowing As a Form of Advocacy: Guidelines for the Practitioner and Organization‪.‬

Florence, a neophyte social worker, was employed by a long-term care unit for people with severe disabilities. After approximately one month, she observed what to her appeared to be incidents of resident abuse. She first attempted to discuss the situation with a staff member and was told, "You're new here. This is how we have to treat them or they won't listen to us." After discussing the situation with other people in the organization, including the medical staff, she learned of suspicious injuries some residents had incurred over the preceding eight months. Those that were reported to the local protective services agency resulted in inconclusive or negative findings. As a result, employees accepted periodic incidents of abuse as inevitable. Florence brought up her concerns at a routine meeting. Her immediate supervisor and unit coordinator discussed the magnitude of the problem, yet at the end of the meeting, Florence sadly concluded that neither would pursue the matter. After agonizing about the issue for several days and reading and rereading the NASW Code of Ethics, she finally decided to chronicle what she had witnessed and to express her apprehensions publicly at a quarterly caretaker meeting. At the meeting, after voicing her suspicions, she implored those present "to take it upon yourselves to become advocates for not only your loved ones, but also those who have no one to advocate for them."