ETHICS: Reaching Toward Excellence

Expert witness testimony and forensic rehabilitation is a growing industry in the area of vocational rehabilitation. Ultimately, it is up to the rehabilitation provider to determine if their behavior is ethical or not. Practitioners are encouraged to develop extrinsic and intrinsic moral behavior. This article broadly reviews ethics, morals and values as they relate to forensic vocational rehabilitation. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry monitors professional conduct of Qualified Rehabilitation Consultants (QRC’s). Ethical canons cited include the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (IARP), the American Board of Vocational Experts (ABVE) and the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC). The author of the article also evaluates ethics versus morals and offers review of studies in which there could be mitigation for minor ethical infarctions. Self-examination and developing an action plan are the final steps in accepting responsibility for ethical violations.