Joint Message from the President
and the Registrar & CEO

Reaching new heights

As the regulatory body for social workers and social service workers in Ontario, the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers is committed to protecting the public interest. We fulfill our public protection mandate by ensuring that our members provide professional and ethical care and services, and that we are accountable to the public we serve.

In 2019, the College reached new heights in its mission to better serve Ontarians. We concluded our 2016-2019 Strategic Plan and accomplished many of the objectives within our four strategic priorities: strengthening stakeholder and public awareness; upholding ethical and professional practice; maintaining effective governance; and achieving regulatory effectiveness.

The College strengthened stakeholder and public awareness in 2019 with the launch of its first-ever public awareness campaign, “What’s in a name? Protection for you.” The public awareness campaign promotes awareness of the College and its Online Register of social workers and social service workers in Ontario. The campaign has proven highly effective and is resonating with Ontarians; to date, it has contributed to a four-percentage-point increase in public awareness of the College as well as a significant 70% increase in visits to the Online Register.

The College supported its members’ ethical and professional practice through a variety of programs and resources. In 2019, the College created its ETHICS→A: Ethical Decision-Making Tool, along with supporting materials, to assist members in considering ethical issues and using their professional judgment. We leveraged technology, providing members with greater access to online resources such as webinars, livestreams and videos. We also developed cultural humility resources, helping members to develop and maintain an awareness of the ongoing issues and inequities that impact the clients they serve.

We maintained effective governance by promoting a culture of diversity, inquiry and accessibility. We approved bylaw amendments which increased the transparency of the Online Register and others which permitted the development of campaign guidelines for candidates running for election to Council. In 2019, the College conducted an accessibility audit of its digital platforms – and implemented key recommendations – to ensure these platforms are accessible to all Ontarians. We continue to work to ensure that our communications and materials are available in French as well as accessible to those living with disabilities.

The College took significant steps in its pursuit of regulatory effectiveness. We responded to public expectations for greater transparency by publishing our discipline decisions on CanLII, an open legal database. We increased our title protection efforts with pro-active media outreach and greater enforcement, including pursuing unregulated practitioners through the courts. And we implemented a Support Person Program to better serve individuals who may have been sexually abused by College members.

In 2019, the College welcomed the Honourable Todd Smith as the newly appointed Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. We also welcomed newly appointed public members of Council Karen Fromm and Faiza Khalid-Khan, RSW; and newly elected member Kenta Asakura, RSW. We would like to take this opportunity to say goodbye to public member of Council, Gerald Mak, and elected member Linda Danson, RSW. Thank you for your hard work and dedication.

Public protection is the guiding compass from which the College gets its direction. In the years ahead, we will continue to aspire to new heights in our mission to better serve and protect Ontarians.