Social workers are alarmed by the report to the legislature released yesterday by the Child and Youth Advocate. The Child and Youth Advocate identifies serious issues with the YES program and that it has underserved the most vulnerable youths in our communities. These outcomes are not acceptable; we must and can do better.  

Every day, social workers work in an understaffed, resource-limited system that has not kept up with increased demand. Social workers are left struggling to keep up with the added volume and complexity of the situations they face in resolving the needs of those who are most vulnerable. One solution is to allow social workers to practice within their full scope of practice and to grant them the authority to make clinical decisions about services for youth who require them, including expanding their decision-making authority over funding for those services. Allowing social workers to make clinical decisions for youth with less constraints results in services that are adaptable to the youth's needs.

The government must also provide more resources; there is an urgent need to hire additional social workers and social work technicians to meet the needs of young people who require services. Several recent and past graduates of the Social Work Technicians program are seeking employment within their scope of practice; however, there are no job openings at Social Development. Hiring more social work technicians will provide the support social workers need to meet the demand for services and allow them to focus their expertise where it is most needed.

Another systemic issue that must be addressed is the governance structure, including the need for an accountability mechanism between Central and Regional Offices within the Department of Social Development. With an urgent need to improve, social workers are professionals with the training and expertise to make a difference in decision-making by identifying and addressing social issues. Yet, the Department does not include social workers on its Executive Management team or among Executive Directors leading the regions, ensuring that decisions and improvements are based on informed practice. Social workers have the education, training and expertise to identify what is truly needed to support the most vulnerable and effect systemic change in society. This concept of requiring expertise for leadership positions is not new; in fact, across other government departments and RHAs, it is the norm. In EECD, the senior executive leadership team includes teachers, and Districts are led by teachers with pedagogical expertise; The Leadership Team of the Department of Justice and Public Safety and Deputy Attorney General are led by lawyers; the Auditor General is led by an Accountant; and the Regional Health Authorities have a Chief Nursing Officer and several physicians as part of their executive leadership team, all trained experts.

Why does Social Development not have a single designated social worker position within its executive management team that sets the direction of social services for the entire province? Now is the time for Social Development to add a Chief Social Work Officer to its Executive Leadership Team.

Social workers are part of the solution to ensure that the most vulnerable receive the social services they need. NBASW is eagerly awaiting a favourable request to meet with the Minister of Social Development and the Child and Youth Advocate to discuss how to improve social service delivery for our communities.