More graduates won't fix public-sector vacancies, says head of N.S. college of social workers

Cape Breton University says it's launching a fast-tracked social work program this fall to help meet a growing need. But the head of the group that regulates the profession in Nova Scotia says it won't be enough to fill public-sector vacancies.

The university made the announcement earlier this week, saying it will offer a 16-month bachelor of social work program for students who have already completed some form of undergraduate degree. The initial intake will be 30 students, with the number of classroom seats expected to grow over time.

The program's director, Cynthia Conley, said the university is already accepting applications. 

Conley said CBU is one of two schools in Nova Scotia, along with Dalhousie University, that are accredited by the Canadian Association for Social Work Education. 

"We wanted to really design this program in a very fast-tracked kind of way," she said. "Because we want to get social workers who are practice-ready into the market as soon as possible because there's such a need."

Conley said the program will be taught using a trauma-informed lens. The university wants at least 20 per cent of  the spaces to go to students who identify as Indigenous or African Nova Scotian.

"We want to be able to … teach students who are going to be future social workers how to deal with trauma that they're going to experience when they work with individuals and families and communities, " she said. 

"We also are trying to provide a trauma-informed culture here for our students, because we know some of our students coming in will also be some individuals who have experienced trauma."

Social workers leaving public sector

Alec Stratford is executive director and registrar of the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers, which regulates the profession within the province. He welcomes the CBU program because it will likely improve services on the island, which suffers from elevated rates of poverty and drug use.

"You'll have social workers who are graduating who are more likely to seek employment in Cape Breton, but also will be educated in the specific cultural, economic and social context, which is really important."

He said vacancies are prevalent in the child-welfare and mental-health systems, with at least 30 positions in Nova Scotia posted on various job boards.

Stratford said that since 2016, the number of registered social workers in the province has actually grown from 1,800 to 2,500. But during that time, there has been a 30 per cent jump in the number of social workers joining the private sector. 

"In those bigger systems, social workers aren't particularly wanting to step into those roles because they know the moral distress, the moral injury that comes from them and operating within them," he said.

Many social workers are experiencing burnout and fatigue, he said. But the trend toward working in the private sector can make services more cumbersome to deliver and more expensive.

'Social safety net is in shambles'

"Nova Scotia, particularly — its social safety net is in shambles and in pieces. So the amount of community resources that are available to support someone just aren't there.

"We can start with income assistance, noting that we have 100,000 Nova Scotians who are below the poverty line, 40,000 of which are children."

Poverty feeds into a host of other issues. Take child neglect as an example, he said. A lack of basic income can prevent parents from providing clothing, food and shelter for their children.

"The ability of social workers to go in and try and provide services, support, healing, is incredibly compromised. You know, we can't just talk people out of poverty. It's far more complex than that."