Ambassador program √
The association empowers the profession of social service work by connecting and collaborating with both the public college system or ‘Colleges of Applied Arts & Technology’ as well to agencies which are employers of social service workers. The social service work profession is exclusively educated and trained within the public college system. The college ambassador program will onboard students and faculty members from respective public colleges across Ontario which provide education in a social service work program, or equivalent program, as deemed by the regulator. College Ambassadorship is the key for students, faculty and the colleges themselves to have access to the associations benefits, resources, award system, the ‘voice’ journal, SSW job board, membership and overall input/participation with the profession of social service work. Students of these colleges, will receive a significant discount, permitting them to purchase student membership for only 5$ each September with the association. Likewise, agencies which are employers of social service workers will also experience these benefits of being Agency Ambassadors of the association as well. Members of these agencies, will receive 50% discounts on their memberships with the association (practicing, non-practising).
The ‘voice’ √ ⁄ ×
The association empowers the profession of social service work by publishing a distinct and unique social service work journal in partnership with the ambassador program. The association empowers the social service work profession by recognizing the importance of practical research which exemplifies social service work scholarship by those practicing as social service workers and SSW students, colleges and employers. ‘The voice’ will be published by the association, in collaboration of its partners, and supported by the association’s college ambassadors, and a variety of different association members. The voice will aspire to share practical scholarly knowledge that improves the social service work profession, social services, social policy, and the overall social welfare system.
2SLGBTQIA+ and BIPOC √ ⁄ ×
The association empowers the profession of social service work by recognizing the systemic oppression and lived discrimination, experienced by those who identify and intersect the black, Indigenous, people of colour and queer communities (two-spirited, lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual and other sexual or gender identities). The association will work to empower the voices and narratives of these people, communities and social service workers, to showcase the strength, resilience and capacity of social service work and how the profession works to support vulnerable clients and communities. In addition, the association will work with its stakeholders and ambassador network, to develop training materials as related to be shared between members of the association.
‘Call to action’ √ ⁄ ×
The association empowers the profession by recognizing and acknowledging that the social service work profession, along with a variety of other helping professions, have contributed to harming Indigenous people, families, and communities, either directly or indirectly. As the voluntary professional association and the one voice of the profession of social service work, we commit to recognizing and acknowledging these harms, apologizing for these harms, and working with Indigenous peoples and communities by learning and practising culturally appropriate ways of helping and using legal and social justice for all. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada ‘Calls to Action’ under the legacy and child welfare section, specifies, call to action one, subsection (iii): ensuring that social workers and others who conduct-child welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the history of impacts of residential schools. subsection (iv): ensuring that social workers and others who conduct child-welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the potential for Aboriginal communities and families to provide more appropriate solutions to family healing. The calls to action document, specifies the use of the term ‘social worker’. The association recognizes the profession of social service work title exists in relative isolation in particular provinces/territories as either (regulated) or non-regulated. However, members of the profession of social service work may directly work within the child-welfare system. The association will assume, that social service work is deemed equivalent to social work for the purposes of this call to action. Thus, the association will work to address this call to action with its social service work stakeholders.
