This is your Member Reference Number (MRN). You’ll need to provide this when you make an appointment with an WLS counselor or contact your WLS by phone.

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Respect: A Code of Ethics

This is the code of ethics for the Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) in New York State's Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). However, these ethics are far-reaching and could be handy applied in any situation.


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, socio-economic 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.

New York State's Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). (n.d.). Code of ethics for direct support professionals. Retrieved January 31, 2019, from https://www.dol.gov/

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