2019 Accomplishments

The strategic priorities listed below are taken from the College’s 2016-2019 Strategic Plan:

Strengthen Stakeholder and Public Awareness

Public
  • Regularly engaged all stakeholders, including the Ontario public, to raise awareness of the College’s public protection mandate.
  • Updated the College website regularly, which included revisions to the Complaints and Discipline section.
  • Increased total social media followers to 10,696 as of December 31, 2019, which represents a 51% increase over the previous year.
  • Increased overall web traffic by 21% from 2018 to 2019, from 929,760 pageviews to 1,122,113 pageviews.
  • Increased web traffic to the Online Register by 70% from 2018 to 2019, from 110,294 pageviews to 187,928 pageviews.
  • Launched a multi-faceted public awareness campaign, “What’s in a name? Protection for you,” which has led to a four-percentage-point increase in public awareness.
  • Continued proactive media outreach and communicated regularly with journalists to advise them of the College’s role, the protected titles and the Online Register.
Members
  • Increased overall membership to 22,491 (19,472 social work members, 2,765 social service work members and 254 dual members) as of December 31, 2019.
  • Registered 1,818 social work members and 599 social service work members, including 1,093 new graduates, for a total of 2,417 new members.
  • Attained a 95% rate of renewal of College members.
  • Held Educational Forums for members in Sault Ste. Marie and Ottawa, attracting 65 and 150 attendees, respectively.
  • Hosted more than 500 participants, and reached over 600 others via live webcast, at the 2019 Annual Meeting and Education Day (AMED).
  • Published two issues of the Perspective newsletter on the College website which were distributed to members and other stakeholders via email.
  • Distributed 99 eBulletins to members and other stakeholders on a range of regulatory and practice issues.
Employers & Educators
  • Published four issues of the Employer Communiqué on the College website which were distributed to employers and other stakeholders via email; the Employer Communiqué had 576 subscribers as December 31, 2019.
  • Hosted Employer Roundtable in Kingston.
  • Continued the College’s employer outreach campaign, which included digital advertising and targeted messaging, to inform employers about the role of the College.
  • Responded to inquiries from social work deans and directors and social service work coordinators regarding a range of regulatory and practice issues.
Government
  • Leveraged government relations expertise to highlight the role of the College and its public protection mandate.
  • Continued to engage government and other stakeholders on the regulations under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act and the regulation of Children’s Aid Society staff.
  • Reached out to the Honourable Todd Smith to congratulate him on his appointment as Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

Uphold Ethical and Professional Practice

  • Provided 3,505 practice consultations to members, employers and the public, with the most common inquiries related to private practice, consent/confidentiality/duty to warn, and documentation.
  • Responded to 403 Continuing Competence Program (CCP) inquiries.
  • Achieved a 99.37% compliance rate in the 2018 CCP.
  • Delivered 45 presentations to social work programs, social service work programs, and workplaces.
  • Staffed a booth at five career fairs.
  • Sent out student curriculum packages to all schools of social work and social service work programs for the third consecutive year.
  • Launched the ETHICS→A: Ethical Decision-Making Tool, with accompanying video, to assist members in applying their professional judgment in particular practice scenarios.
  • Developed the following Practice Notes: "ETHICS→A: Ethical Decision-Making Tool"; and Cultural Humility: A Commitment to Lifelong Learning."
  • Presented the "Preparing for Private Practice" webinar to over 350 participants, to respond to a key area of interest for members.
  • Sent an eBulletin to all members highlighting the 2019 AMED keynote speaker Dr. Jeffrey Ansloos' call to action for members to read: Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls; the Executive Summary of the Truth and Reconciliation Report; and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Maintain Effective Governance

  • Held Council elections in Electoral District Nos. 1, 2 and 5.
  • Held election for Council’s Executive Committee and issued press release announcing results.
  • Revised and approved several governance policies.
  • Continued to leverage technology to enhance the work of Council and committees.
  • Completed an accessibility review of the College website – which included the Online Register and Perspective microsite – and implemented key recommendations.
  • Continued to provide French language services to applicants, members and the public.
  • College Council made the following governance decisions:
    • To approve proposed revisions to governance policies B-001 (Governance Policy Template); B-009 (Role Description: Council Member); B-010 (Role Description: Committee Chair); B-014 (Council/Registrar Relations); and B-015 (Role Description: Registrar / Chief Executive Officer).
    • Not to approve proposed revisions to the College’s Policy on Per Diems and Expenses.
    • To approve proposed bylaw revisions related to electronic practice, including Bylaws No. 114 (amending Bylaw No. 103 – Fees); 115 (amending Bylaw No. 36 – Elections); and 116 (amending Bylaw No. 21 – Statutory Committees).
    • To approve proposed revisions to Bylaw No. 113 amending Bylaw No. 1 (Schedule 1 – Code of Conduct).
    • To approve the Finance Committee’s proposed revisions to the College’s Long-Term Investment Policy which address ethical investing.
    • To approve Bylaw No. 117, amending Bylaw No. 103 – Fees.
    • To approve ammendment to Bylaw No. 118 – Professional Corporations.
    • To approve amendments to Bylaw No. 1 – General Bylaw.

Achieve Regulatory Effectiveness

Complaints and Discipline
  • Supported the work of the Complaints and Executive Committees in conducting regulatory investigations and issuing decisions and reasons pursuant to the Social Work and Social Service Work Act (the Act); to that end, 192 matters were processed through intake, 70 new investigations were considered, 87 investigations were closed, and 83 decisions were issued.
  • Supported the work of the Discipline and Fitness to Practise Committees in conducting regulatory hearings and pre-hearing conferences pursuant to the Act and the rules of procedure of the Discipline and Fitness to Practise Committees.
  • Created a guide for witnesses testifying at Discipline Hearings: Testifying at a Discipline Hearing: A Guide for Witnesses."
  • Implemented the Support Person Program, an arm's length program to support victims of sexual abuse by College members.
  • Created a Sexual Abuse webpage to provide information to the public about how the College handles complaints related to sexual abuse and advises of available resources.
  • Investigated 116 matters relating to title protection, and pursued two unregulated practitioners through the courts for use of the protected titles and/or holding out as registered members of the College.
  • Created a Mandatory Reporting Guide and Reporting Form, to be used by employers, members and other stakeholders to file mandatory and other reports with the College.
  • Published Discipline Committee decisions and reasons as ordered by the Committee in the College's official publication and website, and on CanLII (Canadian Legal Information Institute), a national case law database.
  • Monitored member undertakings as well as orders from the Discipline and Fitness to Practise Committees.
Regulatory Outreach
  • Engaged in ongoing and regular communication with other Canadian social work regulators around a range of matters, including registration and mobility, electronic and other practice issues, continuing competence, and complaints and discipline.
  • Provided comments to: the Canadian Association of MAID Assessors and Providers on their guidance document, Bringing Up Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) as a Clinical Care Option; the College of Nurses of Ontario with respect to their Governance Survey; the College of Psychologists of Ontario with respect to their consultation on the use of the title "Psychologist;" the Canadian Society of Medical Evaluators in relation to their Canadian Telemedicine/Virtual Care Regulatory Survey; the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care on the College and its mandate; the College of Kinesiologists of Ontario regarding their Practice Guideline for Complementary and Alternative Therapies; and the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario on their draft revised Code of Ethics.
  • The College joined a group of Federation of Health Regulatory Colleges of Ontario (FHRCO) colleges and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Ontario to consider the implications of fraud perpetrated by professionals in the auto insurance sector.
  • Consulted with staff from other regulators on various regulatory issues, including on the differing lengths of time regulators keep discipline decisions on their registers.
  • The Registrar was part of a panel called "Expanding Regulatory Reach: How Effective Stakeholder Engagement Can Support Core Regulatory Activities and Protect the Public" at the 2019 CLEAR Annual Education Conference.
  • The Registrar was part of the CLEAR conference planning Executive Leadership Program (ELP), and CLEAR regional symposium committees; she co-taught the ELP in Toronto, Edmonton and Minneapolis.
  • The Deputy Registrar was appointed to the national program planning committee of the Canadian Network of Agencies for Regulation.
  • The President and Registrar attended the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Annual Delegate Assembly; both also attending the Spring Educational Conference, with the Director of Professional Practice.
  • The President participated on the ASWB Continuing Competence Committee; the Registrar was a member of the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee.
  • The President and Registrar participated in the Canadian Council of Social Work Regulators (CCSWR) Annual General Meeting and other meetings; the Registrar was re-elected to the CCSWR Board of Directors for a second term as Vice-President.