The Nova Scotia College of Social Workers (NSCSW) has undertaken a process to adopt the new Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) Code of Ethics (herein, the Code) and inform revisions to our NSCSW Code of Ethics, Standards of Practice, and the Clinical Social Work Standards.

The College has retained the services of Barnes Management Group Consulting Services to complete this work. NSCSW is providing guidance, direction, and oversight to the project.

We are seeking your feedback on the first draft of the NSCSW Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. To that end, we are offering a series of virtual focus groups on a first-come, first-served basis. Your feedback will help inform and further refine the updates currently made and ensure it is relevant to the needs of service users, reflects changes in practice, and addresses responsibilities of the profession in the health and social service systems, social justice advocacy and societal values.

Participation in the virtual focus groups will provide you an opportunity to further refine the Code to ensure it is relevant to current social work practice in Nova Scotia. We are interested in learning from you whether this first draft:

captures the essence of social work practice in Nova Scotia, and
whether it accurately reflects Standards of Practice.

Focus groups will be a maximum of two hours in length, offered through Zoom platform, and registration for each session offered is limited so we encourage you to sign up at the earliest opportunity. Once registered, you will receive the Zoom invitation link and session material in advance. We encourage you to come to the focus group having reviewed the first draft and materials.

All feedback received will be analysed for themes, and not attributed to individuals or groups represented in the focus groups.

We are scheduling three (3) focus groups to the general membership and will be offering focus groups with diverse facilitators for Francophone social workers, Indigenous social workers, Black social workers and social workers of African descent, and those who identify as members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community (some dates to be determined). Please register for the focus group of your choice that fits your interest and availability; we will update the list of links below as the dates for each session are finalized.

General membership:

Wednesday December 6 at 1:00-3:00 (session full - join waitlist)
Tuesday December 12 at 3:00-5:00 (session full - join waitlist)
Wednesday Dec 13 at 10:00-12 noon (session full - join waitlist)

Black social workers and social workers of African descent

Friday December 1, 2023 at 5:00-7:00

Indigenous social workers

Social workers who identify as members of 2SLBGTQIA+ community

Thursday December 14, 2023 at 2:00-4:00

Francophone social workers:

Friday December 15, 2023 at 10:00-12 noon

Eligibility

Must be a current member of the NSCSW to attend; all active, associate, retired associate, and student members are welcome. Sessions for social workers from specific communities are only for members of those populations.

You'll need a device that can use Zoom, and a reasonably reliable internet connection.

Professional development tracking

For members of NSCSW, participating in this event is eligible to fulfill the mandatory requirement for annual training in social work ethics. Members who have already completed this requirement can track it as formal professional development instead; the registration confirmation email or PDF ticket can be used as a verification document.

Visit nscsw.org/pd for more information about the current professional development requirements for Nova Scotia social workers.

NSCSW Member Consultation: Code of Ethics (Indigenous members)