Alberta College of Social Workers

The Alberta College of Social Workers (ASCW) serves as the regulatory agency for the profession of social work in the province of Alberta, Canada. It is among 30 healthcare professions legislated under the Alberta's Health Profession Act (HPA). ACSW has the obligation to establish registration requirements, a continuing competence program, standards of practice & code of ethics, and a complaints and discipline program.

History

The Alberta College of Social Workers(ACSW) used to act as the professional association and the regulatory agency. Since 2020, ACSW is a single mandate organization that regulates social worker in the public interest. The Alberta College of Social Workers, first created in the 1961 as the Alberta Association of Social Workers, made continuous efforts, for a series of years, to become part of the Health Professions Act (HPA). This legislation requires professional colleges to follow similar regulations and for the members to apply educational and practice standards. The ACSW attained a prominent breakthrough by becoming a member of the Health Professions Act, on April 1, 2003, by demonstrating meticulous efforts in obtaining mandatory registration, between 2001 and 2003. Becoming a member of the HPA was an important goal for the Alberta College resulting in increased public recognition and credibility as a self-regulated profession.

Organizational structure

The Alberta College of Social Workers' governance structure includes:

1. Governance Board with government appointed members and social workers
2. Regulatory Committees: Registration Committee, Competence Committee, Clinical Committee, and Professional Social Work Education Committee
3. Governance Committees: Executive Committee, Human Resources Committee, Bylaws & Policy Committee and Finance Committee
4. Standing & Adhoc Committees: Nominations & Recruitment Committee and Indigenous Social Work Committee

External links

• Official website