Social Work: Professional Practice & Module 2 Test

Notes and Reminders

• Module 2 test is scheduled for the next week (March 6).
• ABAR presentations are on March 13.
• The final paper, with reviewed expectations, is due on March 26.

Module 2 Test

• Covered material during class that can be accessed and reviewed is included.
• Lecture notes, required readings, and videos watched in class will be on the test.
• My words are not on the test.
• Links in lectures and reference list material not explored in class are excluded from the test.
• Registration with the testing centre is necessary for those wishing to write outside of the classroom.
• An abridged lecture is to begin at 7pm.

Professional Social Work Practice

• Deals with what it means to be professional.
• Raises the question of whether practicing social work differs from being a professional social worker.
• Social work is a profession focused on enhancing individual and collective well-being for individuals, families, groups, and communities.
• It helps people develop skills to use their resources and community resources to solve problems.
• Social work addresses individual and personal problems alongside broader social issues like poverty, unemployment, and domestic violence.
• Human rights and social justice are the philosophical underpinnings of social work practice.
• The blend of particular values, knowledge, and skills are the uniqueness of social work practice.

Professional Social Work

• Human rights and social justice should be used to help individuals, families, groups and communities to enhance their individual and collective well-being, to engage in "social" work.
• The Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW) was formed in 2000 and protects the public from unqualified and unfit practitioners by fulfilling its mandate.
• Anyone can do work that is in keeping with social work philosophy, but Registered Social Workers (RSW) are required to uphold standards to reduce risk and protect the most vulnerable.
• Titles like "social worker," "social service worker," "registered social worker," and "registered social service worker" are legally protected for OCSWSSW members only.
• Those using those titles while not registered with OCSWSSW risk being denied into the college, and face $5000 fine for first offence ($10000 for subsequent offences)

Government Regulation and Public Trust

• OCSWSSW acts as a government agent to regulate and manage the field, ensuring public trust in social workers.
• The public can trust that social workers are properly trained, educated, held to a high level of scrutiny, and are evolving with the field of practice (CCP's)

OCSWSSW Public Safeguards

• Setting entry-to-practice requirements, ensuring people with specialized educational qualifications are eligible for registration.
• Setting, maintaining, and ensuring that all members follow the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.
• Maintaining a Public Register of registered social workers (RSWs) and registered social service workers (RSSWs) in Ontario.
• Maintaining rigorous complaints and discipline processes

Professional Boundaries

• Social workers must belong to the OCSWSSW, regardless of public or private funding.
• The scope of practice includes the assessment, diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of individual, interpersonal and societal problems
• Social work knowledge, skills, interventions and strategies are utilized to assist individuals, dyads, families, groups, organizations and communities
• They also help those to achieve optimum psychosocial and social functioning
• Scope of practice includes assessment, diagnostic, treatment and evaluation services within a relationship between a social worker and a client.
• Scope of practice includes supervision and/or consultation to a social worker, social work student or other supervisee.
• Social support to individuals and/or groups includes relationship building, life skills instruction, employment support, tangible support, information and referral services.
• Educational services to social work and social service work students; The development, promotion, management, administration, delivery and evaluation of human service programs.
• The work is done in collaboration with other professionals, offering services in organizing and/or mobilizing, contractual consultation and development, promotion, and implementation of social policies.

Practice Research

• Research regarding social work, as defined in paragraphs (1) to (8); includes other activities approved by the College.
• SW and SSW differ in intensity and breadth of training,
• Training for SW includes theoretical and practical bases plus systematic inquiry, critical evaluation, and professional judgement.
• Theory includes evaluating what theories are at play and identifying/assessing limitations and needs within the individual case context.
• SW'ers learn how knowledge is acquired and evaluated
• SW'ers offer critical reflection on what is being presented
• Guided by the OCSWSSW's standards, practice includes eight central principles: relationships with clients, competence and integrity.

Ethics and Standards

• Social work must be done with clients, not for them.
• Social workers help clients identify, work toward, and achieve their personal goals.
• The best person to identify problems and how to alleviate them are the clients.
• The social worker is committed to ongoing professional development and improvement.
• A holistic approach is necessary, and one must seek external partnerships to promote client success and maintain clear professional boundaries.
• Social workers make sure the client is well informed about their rights and the potential risks upon entering into service and work in a transparent manner.
• All services offered are for the best interest of the client.
• All services are documented in a recognizable form in order to ensure the continuity and quality of service.
• Information about clients and are managed in a manner that protects client privacy, and the information is recorded timely and thoroughly
• The information kept is understood to be provided to us in confidence and will only disclose when obligated by law to do so.
• Adherence to all privacy legislative pieces is required.
• When asking for permission to disclose, social workers will explain explicitly what information will be shared, who will be privy to the information, and for what purpose
• Inform clients of all fees or charges and this must be done prior to the provision of service.

Practice Advice

• Advertising must properly and thoroughly inform clients and the public about available services.
• Advertising must be in keeping with the code of ethics and not false or misleading and cannot include any endorsements or testimonials.
• Behaviour of a sexual nature by a College member toward a client represents an abuse of power in the professional relationship.
• Members do not engage in behaviour of a romantic or sexual nature with clients and are the sole owner of responsibility for ensuring that sexual misconduct does not occur

College Objectives

• Protecting the public from unqualified and unfit practitioners
• Reducing risk and protecting the most vulnerable populations
• Holding the profession to a high level of practice standard.
• The standards include relationships with clients, competence and integrity, responsibility to clients, the social work record, confidentiality, fees, advertising, and to avoid sexual misconduct.
• The Continuing Competence Program is to promote quality assurance.
• It is also to encourage members to enhance their practice in an ongoing way.
• The Social Work and Social Service Work Act requires Registered Social Workers to provide evidence of continuing competence to practice social work.
• RSW's need to remain current with knowledge and practice relevant to their area of professional practice.
• They are expected to demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional development.
• Completion of the CCP is mandatory and records must be kept for 7 years. Participants must review The Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice Handbook.
• There are 4 steps in our yearly completion: Complete the Self-Assessment Tool (SAT); Complete the Professional Development Plan (PDP), and Complete the Declaration of Participation in the CCP and Retain Your CCP Portfolio

The Continuing Competence Program (CCP)

• As a part of completing a self-assessment tool, one should identify one strength, seek peer feedback, identify interests or learning areas, and define a learning goal.
• CASWE is a national association of Schools of Social Work that promotes excellence in social work education, scholarship and practice.
• This is partially achieved through the accreditation of Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Master of Social Work (MSW) programs in Canada.
• Accreditation supports uniqueness and diversity in social work education to enable better responses to respective contexts and partners.
• Nipissing University achieved first-accreditation status in 2022.
• This means the program is meeting the Canadian standard in offering social work education and training social workers.
• CASWE offers specific learning objectives for students which link course learning objectives to the promotion of excellence in social work education and professional practice.
• The objectives set out the values, knowledge and skills and each student can demonstrate upon completion.
• One should reflect on how different "social" work is compared to professional social work practice.