Ethical Thinking and Practice
for Parent and Family Life Educators

Parent and family life educators face difficult ethical issues on a daily basis. These issues may include observing parent practices that may be harmful to children, responding to parent remarks about their partners, or sharing information about a family with a professional in another agency.

Parent and family life educators, along with many others in the human service, health and legal fields are working with complex family systems, diverse belief and value systems, and a variety of social institutions and agencies. Many family professionals face these issues in relative isolation and with limited guidance from an emerging field.

In response to this need, a booklet and training was developed by a team of Minnesota Council on Family Relations members who work in the field to offer a thoughtful and balanced approach to understanding ethical principles and a concrete process for using them to address difficult ethical issues.