Last updated on October 29th, 2020 at 03:17 pm
Last Update: October 29, 2020
When you think of social workers, what exactly comes to mind?
Call it the privilege of hailing from a fairly well-adjusted nuclear family, but I think social workers get a bad rap. Yes, they remove children from dangerous household situations when deemed necessary (for reference, the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies reports that only 23% of their investigations saw situations needing further protection, and only 3% have children moved into foster care/other situations)—but that isn’t the full picture. It’s not even close at all, especially considering that over 60% of social workers in Ontario work in healthcare!
March 6th-12th is Social Work Week, a week recognised annually in March since the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) established it back in 1990. Past themes for the Ontario Association of Social Workers’ (OASW) Social Work Week include things like “Mobilizing Strengths in Individuals and Communities” (2015) and “Social Workers Help Turn Issues into Answers” (2016). This year’s theme—”Social Workers: Real Expertise. Real Life. Real Impact.”—really helped drive my thinking on the profession home once I’d done a little research.