Member Committees

The College’s Professional Development committee identifies and reviews existing PD programs and activities as well as potential PD opportunities at the provincial, regional and community level. They also:

• Organize meetings/workshops to explore the understanding of professional and skill development among social workers as well as associated barriers and attendant issues.
• Help to re-define professional development programs and activities for Nova Scotia social workers.
• Develop guidelines to help social workers formulate their professional development portfolio and goals.

The mandate of the Professional Standards Committee evolves from year to year with various tasks and objectives that fall within the College’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. More specifically, Council requires this committee to:

• Create working groups and recruit subject matter experts to develop standards and guidelines to develop professional standards on a range of issues affecting Nova Scotian social workers and their practice of social work, including:
  • areas of social work practice that interact with new laws and social policy (e.g. medical assistance in dying, medical certificates, parental decision-making assessments), or
  • identified areas of concern relevant to the Safe(r) Social Work Framework (e.g. vicarious trauma and secondary stress, effective and respectful communication, cultural humility and responsiveness).
• Create an ethics consultation process to support members in navigating ethical dilemmas.

The clinical committee works to strengthen clinical social work practice in Nova Scotia by exploring the regulatory tools best positioned to:

• serve and protect the public interest;
• preserve the integrity of the clinical practice within the social work profession; and
• maintain public confidence in the ability of the social work profession to regulate itself.

The clinical committee will:

• establish a clear clinical scope of practice,
• assess risks to the public associated with that practice and develop recommendation, and
• draft policy to assure that only those fully qualified are entitled to practice clinical social work in Nova Scotia are doing so.

Click here for members, minutes, and more about the clinical committee.

The Health Committee brings a social justice lens to the role of social work in healthcare delivery within Nova Scotia, with a focus on addressing the challenges posed by the neo-liberal paradigm, the dominance of the medical model, and managerialism.

The committee’s goal is to empower social workers to improve their impact on patient care and community wellbeing. More specifically, the committee’s objectives are to:

• assess current practices and challenges,
• identify regulatory and advocacy needs,
• explore opportunities for improvement, and
• investigate innovative practices

The Candidacy Committee’s goal is to develop, strengthen, and professionalize the NSCSW Candidacy Program by ensuring alignment with the framework for safe(r) social work practice, as well as the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. Through these efforts, the committee seeks to empower candidates and ensure a smooth transition into the profession while prioritizing safety, ethics, and competence.

More specifically, the committee’s objectives include:

• Strategic Development and Professionalization
• Core Safety Assessments 
• Ethics and Standards Integration  

The Decolonizing Social Work consultation group brings together Indigenous social workers, as well as Mi’kmaq and other Indigenous Elders and community members, to work toward the decolonization of social work practice, develop meaningful relationship between the College and Indigenous communities, and build capacity for social work practice guided by two-eyed seeing. Consultation requests will continue to arise as NSCSW’s Council or its committees seek to prevent or alleviate the harms of colonial social work practice. Examples include:

• Education for social work members/committee members/ committee chairs/council members/Board of Examiners in order to address unconscious bias/lack of understanding
• Consultation on College Professional Standards such as new access and custody guidelines for social workers
• Consultation on community requests (ie Cape Breton University’s new BSW program that seeks to emphasize Indigenous content
• Consultation on the College’s decolonization commitments and strategic plan
• Consultation on the CASW’s new Code of Ethics- the NSCSW’s consultation process and whether it should adopt/adapt the new code of ethics for its members.
• Consultation on the NSCSW’s clinical social work regulation project
• Oversee information gathering project (anonymous survey/focus groups to improve the process by which Indigenous social workers experience registration or interact with the College):
• Create a conference for social workers focused on Indigenous social work practice.
• Training for two-eyed practice
• Develop a guideline for competencies for Mi’kma’ki social workers, as well as for all social workers who live and practice in Mi’kma’ki territory

The College’s Private Practice Committee identified the existing criteria and process for the purpose of PHO/ MSW private practice social work in the province of Nova Scotia. They also:

• Identified the strengths and gaps of the existing process and criteria;
• Constructed recommendations on changes to process and criteria as needed
  and provide education to Board of Examiners on proposed recommendations;
• Identified current supports, resources, and supervision to private practitioners;
• Identified insurance companies that do not cover social work services;
• Reported on the valuable role of private practitioners in Nova Scotia;
• Created an insurance coverage advocacy plan with College staff and an awareness package on the promotion of private practice social work services in the province of Nova Scotia.

This committee’s recommendations contributed to the College’s decision to change its regulations to open non-clinical self-employment to all members, and only require Board of Examiners authorization for the private practice of clinical social work. The Private Practice Committee was therefore succeeded by the Clinical Committee.

The College’s Governance Review Committee works together to:

• Identify the College’s strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats;
• Analyze the strengths and gaps of current Governance model;
• Examine alternative governance models and practices that can be adapted to our realities and align with the new amendments;
• Selects the College’s policy governance model and revise policies and practices;
• Designs a new policy governance manual, strategic plan and update bylaws and regulations accordingly.

The College produced a print magazine, Connection, to share social work stories, research, new developments and more. The Connection committee, formerly known as the Editorial Committee, reviewed all submissions prior to publication to ensure they fit within the editorial guidelines. The committee also:

• Identified the theme for each issue by assessing current social work and social justice topics, issues and feedback from members;
• Provided feedback and suggestions for change based on previous issues;
• Reached out to potential contributors for the magazine.
• Provided additional views and clarity on articles in case of conflict or confusion;
• Encouraged their colleagues to read and contribute to Connection magazine to readers and subscribers and encourage writers to submit work with high-quality standards.

Connection has transitioned to being a solely digital publication. NSCSW members interested in contributing to Connection should contact the College’s communication coordinator.

The College’s Social Policy Committee, formerly the Policy & Advocacy Committee, defined the narrative the College used to capture its policy stances. They also:

• Identified policy areas that the College should develop a clear concise alternative policy for;
• Worked with researchers to develop a policy framework;
• Formulated an advocacy strategy with clear tactics;
• Monitored and evaluate impact of advocacy.

The Social Policy Framework that this committee contributed to continues to guide NSCSW’s advocacy.

The objective of the Social Justice Committee was to apply a social justice lens to the issue of mental health in Nova Scotia. More specifically to:

• Identify the core challenges with current mental health systems;
• Examine mental health and its interconnectedness with social justice;
• To build an advocacy paper to articulate the core values and principles that should frame and drive policy decisions to foster greater wellbeing and mental wellness;
• Design an advocacy strategy with campaign goals to organize members, stakeholders, and allies around the core principles and values;
• Implement an advocacy strategy;
• Monitor and evaluate progress on advocacy goals.

The work of this committee culminated in a research partnership that published a mental health paper in 2021: Repositioning Social Work Practice in Mental Health in Nova Scotia. The Social Justice Committee was sunset, and succeeded by the Health Committee, with the intent of bringing a social justice lens to the role of social work in healthcare delivery within Nova Scotia.

The College’s Candidacy Committee worked together to define the scope of the Candidacy Mentorship Program and its role within self-regulation. This committee was also asked to:

• Identify the needs of various stakeholders as they relate to the candidacy program;
• Examine the areas of the program that need revamping and revitalizing;
• Design a program structure and content;
• Formulate key messages for stakeholders of the candidacy program;
• Monitor and evaluate the candidacy program to ensure a high standard.