What must social workers avoid when dealing with former clients?

When working with former clients, social workers are bound by ethical standards that prioritize client welfare and the integrity of the professional relationship. Engaging in sexual activities with former clients is a clear violation of ethical guidelines. This rule is in place to protect clients from potential exploitation and to ensure that the power dynamics inherent in the social worker-client relationship do not carry over into personal relationships.

Maintaining appropriate boundaries is essential in social work practice. Even after the professional relationship has ended, former clients may still have vulnerabilities associated with their past experiences. By prohibiting sexual relationships with former clients, social workers help uphold the profession's commitment to maintaining respectful and professional interactions, ensuring that former clients are treated with dignity and respect.

In contrast, while avoiding providing services or offering new professional services to former clients may also be guided by ethical considerations, the core issue in this question focuses specifically on the inherently exploitative nature of engaging in sexual relationships, which is deemed unacceptable across social work standards.