Our Code of Ethics is intended to guide support staff in resolving ethical dilemmas they face every day and to encourage them to achieve the highest ideals of the profession. This Code of Ethics is not the handbook of the profession, but rather a roadmap to assist us in staying the course of securing freedom, justice, and equality for all.

I will respect the human dignity and uniqueness of the people I support. I will recognize each person I support as valuable and promote their value within communities.

Furthermore, I will do the following:

• Seek to understand the people I support today in the context of their personal history, their social and family networks, and their hopes and dreams for the future.

• Recognize and respect the cultural context (such as gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, socioeconomic class) of the person supported and his/her social network.

• Honor the choices, preferences, abilities, and opinions of the people I support.

• Protect the privacy of the people I support.

• Interact with the people I support in a manner that is respectful to them.

• Provide opportunities for the people I support to be viewed and treated with respect and embraced as integral, contributing members of their communities.

• Promote the use of language that is respectful, sensitive, and contemporary.

• Practice positive intention and transparency in my interactions.