This training is presented by The Professional Youth Worker. It's our mission to help you and your team build your skills and boost your passion for serving young people. Join us!
Ethical Dilemmas in Youth Work

- On-Demand Webinar
- Recorded on Friday, February 24, 2017
- 2 hour training
- FREE for YIPA members
- $40 for non-YIPA members
- 100% approval rating
- Not a member? Annual membership is $124 for individuals or $300 for organizations. Join now or learn more.
Learners' Own Words
"One of the best ethics workshops I've been a part of. Thank you!"
"I really appreciated the interactive scenarios and discussion, differing views were great to hear."
"Thank you for teaching me how Ethical Dilemmas can be so complex, and how I can respond in so many ways if I think about the situation."
Your Training Description
Youth work is inherently filled with challenges. When addressing these challenges, tension can arise. There are competing considerations, conflicting interests and multiple options to choose from as you decide what action to take. Ethical dilemmas can be among the hardest challenges for youth workers. These dilemmas center on rights, duties, and needs, as well as interests, relationships, motives, and norms. Making ethical dilemmas more challenging to resolve is that they surface unexpectedly and demand a response within a very short time frame.
As youth workers, we need to be prepared for that moment when we will confront an ethical dilemma in our work. Preparation requires an understanding of professional expectations and guidelines, as well as an awareness of your own principles.
This training provides you with a fuller understanding of the multi-faceted process of resolving ethical challenges in your everyday work with young people. Using ethical dilemmas that frequently occur in youth programs, participants will examine the ethical principles and values that guide our work.
Your Learning Objectives
- Learn about the five categories of dilemmas based on research
- Explore your own stance on a set of real-world dilemma scenarios
- Examine principles and values that guide ethical youth work practice
Your Trainers

Kate Walker is an Associate Professor and Specialist in Youth Work Practice at the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Youth Development. Kate leads professional development programs aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of youth work practice. Her research explores the dilemmas that practitioners face in their everyday work with young people and strategies for addressing these challenges.

Kathryn Sharpe is an Assistant Professor and Extension Educator in the Urban Office at the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Youth Development. Her primary work in youth development centers on creating programs where diverse young people can thrive. This includes building the capacity of youth workers and volunteers to work with young people. She has led the development of many civic engagement/youth leadership clubs and experiences focused on engaging traditionally underserved communities, especially immigrant communities.
Your Competency Focus Area

Each of YIPA’s trainings are designed around a broad framework of eight youth work competencies. The competency focus of this training is: ETHICS.
Reinforce your responsibility to adhere to guidelines for professional behavior, role model self-management, and set and maintain healthy boundaries.
Your Training Details
- On-Demand Webinar
- Recorded on Friday, February 24, 2017
- 2 hour training
- FREE for YIPA members
- $40 for non-YIPA members
- 100% approval rating
- Not a member? Annual membership is $124 for individuals or $300 for organizations. Join now or learn more.
This training will count as 2 CE hours for most boards. Please contact your board directly with questions on submitting. You are encouraged to print or save this training information as a PDF for your records.