B.C. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau says child-protection workers in the province should have the training of a social worker and the oversight and regulation of a college — but in B.C. they have neither.
As the spring sitting of the legislature ended Thursday — and won’t resume until after the fall provincial election — several private member bills fell off the order paper, including the Social Workers Amendment Act.
The bill, introduced by Furstenau on Wednesday, would amend the Social Workers Act to require anyone using the title “social worker” to hold a degree in social work and be registered with the B.C. College of Social Workers.
Oversight, accountability and ethics are crucial to protecting the health and safety of those working in social services and the people they serve, Furstenau said in presenting the bill.
“When you consider the powers that a child-protection worker has in this province, power to walk into a home and remove a child, I think all of us should have the expectation that people with those powers in those roles should have the training of a social worker and should have the oversight and regulation of a college,” Furstenau said in a news conference at the legislature.
While social workers are regulated across Canada, in B.C. only a fraction are required to register with the College of Social Workers, she said
Those employed by the B.C. government in the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction are exempt, she said, adding the First Nation Leadership Council and B.C. Association of Social Workers have long called for these regulations.
Furstenau, who is trained as a teacher, said that when she walks into a classroom, she works under the regulation of the Teacher Regulation Branch of the Education Ministry, which insists that she be trained, upgrade her skills, and adhere to various standards.
“This is exactly what we need to expect from social workers, from child-protection workers who are working in this province who have extraordinary powers,” said Furstenau.
“It’s a failure on this province’s part, of this government’s part, to protect the most vulnerable people in this province.”
Furstenau described the amendment as one small step to improving the delivery of services, protecting the profession and title of social worker, and protecting the public.
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