Canadian Association of Social Workers explained

The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) is the national association for the social work profession in Canada.^{[1] [2]}

Introduction

CASW was founded in 1926^[3] to establish standards of practice for social workers.^[4] It has individual members, and 10 provincial and territorial partner organizations. Its mission objective is to promote positive social services, protect the professionals of social work from mistreatment in Canada, satiate social needs of Canadians by influencing policies and advancing social justice.^[5]

It is a member of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), and evaluates the credentials of foreign-trained social workers.^[6] It makes policies and offers advice, decides ethics,^{[7] [8]} and provides services to social workers. The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) faces challenges in advocacy and certification due to decentralized leadership. Insufficient funding from Employment and Social Development Canada and provincial bodies worsens these challenges. Provinces create policies independently and work with ASWB, a U.S.-based for-profit organization, for social worker assessments. This process is controversial, lacking relevance to Canadian policies and legal frameworks, raising doubts about its suitability for registration. The use of ASWB, even for Canadian candidates, is contentious, as it does not align with Canadian educational standards or educational program content. In the U.S., the ASWB exam is used for domestic and international candidates seeking registered practice. However, in Canada, certain regulatory bodies redundantly use it to only verify the qualifications of BIPOC candidates, while domestically educated candidates might not qualify according to American content. Economic and race-affirming advantages drive many regulatory bodies to opt for it. Generally criticized for its structure and rationale, the ASWB exam is specifically faulted for its lack of relevance to Canadian policies and legal frameworks. Empowering CASW at the federal level is crucial for promoting ethical, fair, and legally protective practices in the Canadian social work profession. As an umbrella organization in Canada, CASW previously represented Canadian Social Work professionals. It is essential to empower such an organization to establish Canadian capacity to tailor examinations to the Canadian context, considering the unique social work landscape, demographics, ethics, and legal frameworks. Providing national importance to CASW is seen as needed for leading collaboration with territorial partner organizations and provincial universities by stakeholders, for facilitating the creation of meaningful examinations reflecting the Canadian social work domain.

The CASW's Code of Ethics, last updated in 2005, together with its Guidelines for Ethical Practice, serve as the benchmark for ethical social work practice in Canada.^[9]

Provincial and territorial partner organizations

CASW has nine provincial and territorial partners in Canada, representing all provinces and territories with the exception of Ontario and Québec.^[10] Affiliate memberships are offered to Social Workers in provinces not represented by a partner organization.^[11]

• British Columbia Association of Social Workers (BCASW)^[12]
• Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW)^[13]
• Saskatchewan Association of Social Workers (SASW)^[14]
• Manitoba College of Social Workers (MCSW)^[15]
• New Brunswick Association of Social Workers (NBASW)^[16]
• Nova Scotia College of Social Workers (NSCSW)^[17]
• Prince Edward Island Association of Social Workers (PEIASW)^[18]
• Newfoundland and Labrador College of Social Workers (NLCSW)^[19]
• Association of Social Workers in Northern Canada (ASWNC), representing Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut^[20]

See also

• History of Canadian Psychiatric Social Work
• International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW)

Further reading

• Web site: CASW. About CASW.
• Web site: HB0250 Social Worker Licensing Amendments. 2023-02-13 . le.utah.gov.
• Book: Therese Jennissen. Colleen Lundy. One Hundred Years of Social Work: A History of the Profession in English Canada, 1900–2000. 17 February 2011. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. 978-1-55458-280-8. 27–.

External links

• ADRAO - Addictions Ontario
• CAILC - Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres
• Canadian Association of Professionals with Disabilities (National: Victoria, BC)
• ICVA - International Council of Voluntary Agencies
• CCCF - Canadian Child Care Federation (National: Ottawa, ON)
• CCACC - Canadian Counseling Association
• CMHO - Children's Mental Health Ontario (National: Toronto, ON)
• HCCC - Health Charities Council of Canada (National: Ottawa, ON)
• LDAC - Learning Disabilities Association of Canada (National: Ottawa, ON)
• OACYC - Ontario Association of Child and Youth Counsellors

Notes and References

1. Turner, Francis Joseph, ed. Encyclopedia of Canadian social work. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press, 2005.
2. Book: Terry Mizrahi. Larry Davis. The Encyclopedia of Social Work: 4 Volume Set. 24 April 2008. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-530661-3. 521–.
3. Book: Oxford University Press. History of Canadian Social Welfare: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide. 1 May 2010. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-980237-1. 12–.
4. Book: John M. Herrick. Paul H. Stuart. Encyclopedia of Social Welfare History in North America. registration. 2005. SAGE Publications. 978-0-7619-2584-2. 45–.
5. http://www.casw-acts.ca/en/about-casw CASW-About
6. Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials. "Information for Foreign Trained Social Workers." http://cicic.ca/684/Social_Workers.canada?noc=4152
7. Book: Charles Zastrow. The Practice of Social Work: A Comprehensive Worktext. 27 January 2009. Cengage Learning. 978-0-495-59970-8. 62–.
8. Book: Karen Kirst-Ashman. Grafton Hull Jr.. Understanding Generalist Practice. 23 January 2008. Cengage Learning. 978-0-495-50713-0. 387–.
9. Web site: Canadian Association of Social Workers. CASW Code of Ethics. Canadian Association of Social Workers. Canadian Association of Social Workers. 5 October 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151005230712/http://www.casw-acts.ca/en/what-social-work/casw-code-ethics. 5 October 2015. dead.
10. Web site: Provincial and Territorial Partner Organizations. Canadian Association of Social Workers. 7 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161125200512/http://www.casw-acts.ca/en/contact-us/provincial-and-territorial-partner-organizations. 25 November 2016. dead.
11. Web site: Become a Member or Renew. Canadian Association of Social Workers. 7 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161129120108/http://casw-acts.ca/en/about-casw/become-member-or-renew. 29 November 2016. dead.
12. Web site: About BCASW. British Columbia Association of Social Workers. 7 December 2016.
13. Web site: About. Alberta College of Social Workers. 7 December 2016.
14. Web site: About Us. Saskatchewan Association of Social Workers. 7 December 2016.
15. Web site: About the College. Manitoba College of Social Workers. 7 December 2016.
16. Web site: About. New Brunswick Association of Social Workers. 7 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20170209205812/http://www.nbasw-atsnb.ca/en/about. 9 February 2017. dead.
17. Web site: About. Nova Scotia College of Social Workers. 7 December 2016.
18. Web site: Membership. Prince Edward Island Association of Social Workers. 7 December 2016.
19. Web site: Registration. Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers. 7 December 2016.
20. Web site: History of ASWNC. Association of Social Workers in Northern Canada. 7 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161221130104/http://socialworknorth.com/history/. 21 December 2016. dead.