Overview: The Legislation and its Impact

• Author: Marilyn J. Samuels/Elayne M. Tanner
• Pages: 1-10

Chapter

1

Overview:

The

Legislation

and Its

Impact

A.

Introduction

The

professions

of

social work

and

social service work have come

of

age.

On

August

15,

2000,

the

Social

Work

and

Social Service

Work

Act,

1998

came

into

full

force

and

effect.1

This

Act

created

a new

professional College

to

reg-

ulate

the

activities

of

social workers

and

social service workers

in

Ontario.

Ontario, usually

a

leader

in

passing

new

legislation,

was the

last province

in

Canada

to

enact legislation regulating social workers.

For the

first

time

in

Ontario,

these

professionals will

be

regulated

and

held

accountable

by

legis-

lation rather than

by

personal choice, just

as

physicians, nurses, psycholo-

gists,

and

other professionals have been

for

many years.

The new

legislation

affects

not

only

the

individual social worker

or

social

service worker

and the

profession

as a

whole

but the

public

as

well.

The Act

is

designed

to

accomplish

the

following:

1.

Provide

a

standard

by

which

the

public

can

judge

the

qualifica-

tions

of

individuals calling themselves social workers

or

social

service workers,

and

verify

the

qualifications

of

those individuals

through

the

Ontario College

of

Social Workers

and

Social Ser-

vice

Workers.

2.

Provide

a

process

through which

the

public

can

complain

to the

College about

a

member's

alleged misconduct

or

incompetence.

3.

Increase

the

credibility

of

social workers

and

social service work-

ers,

not

only

in the

eyes

of the

general public,

but

also

in the

eyes

of

other professionals.

1.

[SWSSWAct],

S.O. 1998,

c. 31.

1