The FCSS story: 40 years of partnership

Transcription

Volume 31, Issue 2,
summer 2006
THE
ADVOCATE
A L B E R T A C O L L E G E O F S O C I A L W O R K E R S
The FCSS story:
40 years of
partnership
Photo by Anita Patterson Peppers. Used with permission.
www.acsw.ab.ca
40
Cover story: The FCSS story — 40 years of partnership
page 26
New Council members, ACSW Awards, Social Work Week page 3 Pulse of Social Work Awards page 12
Features: The body remembers page 28 Close-up on Baldwin Reichwein: Making history sing page 30
“Did YOU drink in your pregnancy?” page 34
The Advocate
Volume 31, Issue 2
Summer 2006
COVER STORY
The FCSS Story: 40 Years of Partnership...........................Cheryl Moskaluk�� 26
in this
the news
issue
FEATURES
The body remembers....................................................Sharon Stopforth�� 28
Close-up: Baldwin Reichwein.........................................Cheryl Moskaluk�� 30
“Did YOU drink in your pregnancy?”................................Liz Lawryk�� 34
Published by:
The Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW)
550 10707 100 AVE NW
Edmonton AB T5J 3M1
Phone: (780) 421-1167
Toll-free in Alberta: 1-800-661-3089
Fax: (780) 421-1168 or toll-free 1-866-874-8931
E-Mail: [email protected]
Website: www.acsw.ab.ca
Executive Director & Registrar: Rod Adachi, MSW, RSW
[email protected]
Associate Registrar: Alison MacDonald, MSW, RSW
[email protected]
NEWS
From our desk to yours.................................................ACSW staff��3
Professional Affairs: Elaine Paras, MSW, RSW
[email protected]
2006 National Social Work Week.....................................ACSW staff��7
Research Coordinator: Jessica Smith, MSW, RSW
[email protected]
The Pulse of Social Work Awards....................................Meghan Feist�� 10
Finance and Administration: Gladys Smecko
Another record: 1,400 attend conference.........................Linda Murray & Marcia Tait�� 12
Membership Services: Brenda Gross, Monica Vasconez
On a personal note......................................................ACSW staff�� 14
The Faculty Beat..........................................................Meghan Feist�� 15
REGULAR FEATURES
Strategic plan moves ahead...........................................Pam Miller�� 16
Active season for meetings...........................................Rod Adachi�� 17
New steps for Social Action & Social Justice....................Jessica Smith�� 18
Social Action & Social Justice Committee forms...............Tim Wild�� 19
Ethics in Action: The personal IS the professional.............Alison MacDonald�� 20
An open letter to Canada’s social workers........................CASW staff�� 21
Beginnings: An explosion of innovation..........................Don Milne�� 22
Private Practice Page....................................................Linda Dziuba�� 24
New RSWs...................................................................Membership as of May 8, 2006�� 25
Letter to the editor: A plea for social work research.........Don Milne�� 33
All material ©2006 the individual authors listed in bylines. If no author listed, ©2006 ACSW.
THE ADVOCATE EDITORIAL POLICY: The Advocate seeks to serve as a “meeting place” for Alberta
social workers by publishing information about social work research, theory, practice, and education; professional affairs; social issues; the work of the College; books, journals, and other media of
interest to social workers; continuing education and job opportunities; and the comings and goings
of Alberta social workers. Submissions from members and the public are welcome: articles, stories,
anecdotes, poems, thoughts and ideas. Letters to the editor, announcements, cartoons, artwork, and
pictures are welcome. The Editorial Board reserves the right to edit submitted material. Please call
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does not imply endorsement by the College.
The Advocate is published quarterly: deadline is JANUARY 15 for the SPRING issue (March publication),
APRIL 15 for SUMMER (June publication), JULY 15 for FALL (September publication), and OCTOBER 15
for WINTER (December publication).
ALL SUBMISSIONS:
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ATTN: Elaine Paras. E-MAIL: [email protected] • PHONE: (780) 421-1167 • FAX: 421-1168.
Administrative Secretary: Florence Reinhardt
ACSW Council:
President: Pam Miller, PhD, RSW
Vice President: Linda Golding, MSW, RSW
Secretary: Erin Gray, PhD, RSW
Treasurer: Mike Dickinson, MSW, RSW
Members: Papiya Das, MSW, RSW
Bonita Decaire, MSW, RSW
Bob Johnson, BSW, RSW
Liz Leroux, MSW, RSW
Elaine Spencer, MSW, RSW
Timothy Wild, MSW, RSW
Public Members: Vince Steinhauer, MA
William Patrick Donahue, BA, MA
Lynne Davies, BScN, MEd
Ralph Westwood, Dip Mental Deficiency Nursing, BEd, MEd
CASW Representative:
Jake Kuiken, MSW, RSW
The Advocate is published quarterly for members
of the Alberta College of Social Workers and other
interested parties.
Editorial Board: Papiya Das, MSW, RSW (Chair)
Duane Burton, BSW, MEd, RSW
Erin Gray, PhD, RSW
Eugene Ip, MSW, RSW
Bill Kirwin, PhD, RSW
Leslie MacKinnon, BSW, RSW
Trudy Wilson, SW Diploma, RSW
Production & Typesetting: Jena Snyder
Design: Kyle Loranger Design
Advertising space is available; please call the ACSW
office for details or to place an ad. The Editorial
Board reserves the right to reject any advertising.
FALL 2006 ISSUE DEADLINE: JULY 15, 2006
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(outside Canada: $24 US/year) Please notify ACSW
office immediately of any address changes.
ISSN 0847 - 2890
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RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO
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EDMONTON AB T5J 3M1
The Advocate • summer 2006
From Our Desk to Yours
Council update—coming and going
Our New Council members are an energetic group and we welcome their contributions to the executive aspects of the College.
Mike Dickinson, MSW, RSW
(Treasurer)
Bob Johnson, MSc (SW), RSW
Mike has been involved in social work
for the past 20 years—the past 12 as a
social work instructor. He is currently
instructing in the Social Work program
at Portage College in Lac La Biche along
with maintaining other practice interests.
Mike Dickinson
Mike’s involvement with ACSW has
been as a Local Area Coordinator and as a member and cochair of the Registration Committee.
Bob comes to Council with many years of
social work experience in several fields of
practice. In 1997 he joined the Office of
the Child and Youth Advocate as Director,
and began developing and delivering advocacy workshops as a Community Advocacy
Facilitator for them in 2002. A highly
Bob Johnson
involved ACSW volunteer, Bob is a member of the Nomination Committee, the Calgary Children’s Issues
Committee, and is a co-chair of the 2007 Conference.
Bonita Decaire, MSW, RSW
Elaine Spencer, MSW, RSW
Bonita has wide-ranging social work
experience. For the past few years she has
worked on a joint project between the
Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters and
Portage College developing the Women’s
Shelter Crisis Worker’s Training Program.
Bonita Decaire
Bonita’s experience with ACSW is but
part of her volunteer activities. She is an Area Coordinator for
Lac La Biche and surrounding area and a member of ACSW’s
Bursary and the Communications Committees. Bonita previously served one term on Council (2003-2005).
Elaine has 20 years experience as a social
work clinician, administrator, advocate and
educator in health, mental health, prevention and promotion—most of this in rural
practice. Elaine currently works as an
instructor in social work education at Red
Deer College and maintains a small private
Elaine Spencer
practice. Elaine’s ACSW volunteer activities
span 10 years. A long-time Area Coordinator (Bow Valley), she was
active on the Calgary Social Action Committee and Discipline
Committee, and has worked as a contract investigator, co-presenter and trainer. She has been on the Clinical Committee since
March 2001, most recently as Chair (since 2005), and as such, was
a non-voting member of Council.
Continued on page Volume 31 • Issue 2
news
Missing from photo: Erin Gray (Secretary), Papiya Das, Guy
Back (L to R): Brenda Gladue, Richard Gregory (Treasurer), Pam Miller
Quenneville, Emily Drzymala (Past-president); Jake Kuiken (CASW
(President), Anne-Marie McLaughlin, Linda Golding (Vice-President).
Board Rep), Mike Dickinson and Kim Zapf (Registration Committee Front (L to R): Tim Wild, Lynne Davies (Public Member), Liz Leroux.
co-chairs), John Mould (Professional Social Work Education Board),
Edward Sandberg (Competence Committee), Elaine Spencer (Clinical Committee), Mari Jo Vanidour (Aboriginal Committee),
and public members: Bill Donahue, Vince Steinhauer, Ralph Westwood.
in the
New Council members (below) join with current elected representatives
Pam Miller (President), Linda Golding (Vice President), Papiya Das,
Liz Leroux, and Tim Wild, along with our four public members: Lynne
Davies, William Donahue, Vince Steinhauer, Ralph Westwood, and
Aboriginal Committee Chair, Mari Jo Vanidour. The ACSW’s regulatory committee chairs are non-voting members of Council.
From our desk to yours
Continued from page in the
news
Re-elected Council
Erin Gray, PhD, RSW, was elected in 2005 to serve a one-year term as Secretary on ACSW
Council. Erin has now been re-elected for a two-year term. She has been an Assistant
Professor with the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Edmonton Division since
1999. Prior to that time, she gained social work experience in the Children’s Services and
Mental Health fields. Erin has maintained her involvement with The Advocate Editorial Board
since 2000.
Retiring Council members
Four members of the 2005 Council stepped down and moved on greater involvement in
Erin Gray
other facets of their life. ACSW Council and Staff are grateful for their contributions to
various committees and Council initiatives. Those retiring: Richard Gregory, BSW, MSc, RSW (Treasurer); Brenda Gladue,
BSW, RSW; Anne-Marie McLaughlin, PhD, RSW; and Guy Quenneville, BSW, RSW.
Richard Gregory
Brenda Gladue
Anne-Marie McLaughlin
Guy Quenneville
Bits & Bytes
CASW website password updated
Members who want to access the CASW website ( www.casw-acts.ca ) require a new password as of April 2006. The
username remains “Alberta.” Please call the ACSW to get the password.
ACSW website
Our website continues to be updated. Please visit www.acsw.ab.ca. We continue to place conference handouts on the site
for your reading pleasure.
If you want to write an article for the Advocate, you will find the brochure “Writing For the Advocate” on our website under
at http://www.acsw.ab.ca/publications_and_resources/publications/advocate/writing_for_the_advocate.pdf. n
Our award recipients
This year’s recipients at the March Annual Convention are astonishing practitioners in regard to
their levels of skill and ethical practices; they promote the profession by what they do and the
way they do it. Congratulations to you all!
The Canadian
Association of
Social Workers
Distinguished
Service Award:
Alberta was
awarded to Baldwin
Reichwein.
Deborah Livergood, BSW, RSW
Deborah’s work as a civilian addictions counselor and social
worker for the military in Cold Lake is difficult and full of ethical challenges, but she does it with grace and diplomacy. She is
noted as being non-judgmental in her actions and capable of
working with people with complicated diagnoses and challenging stressors. She’s always willing to walk the extra mile.
Jake Kuiken, a past
president of ACSW
and Alberta’s current
CASW Distinguished Service Award winner Baldwin
CASW board repreReichwein with CASW past-president Ellen Oliver
sentative, introduced
Baldwin and presented the certificate to him.
For more about Baldwin’s social work career, see our Close-up
feature on page 30.
This year, four awards for Excellence in Social Work Practice
were awarded:
Richard Gregory, BSW, MSc, RSW
Richard has been
the Social Work
Coordinator/
Instructor at
Medicine Hat’s
social work program since January
1995. He is noted
as being a powerRichard Gregory with presenter Bonita Decaire
ful influence on the
students and the community by modeling what an ethical social
worker “looks like.” Richards lives to be an educator and agent
for change. He is tirelessly involved in a number of organizations in the community and worked to get the ACCESS BSW
Volume 31 • Issue 2
Deborah Livergood with presenters Lieutenant-Colonel Nancy Ouellet and Major Dave
Gutscher
Deborah is also known as a constant learner who extends herself to gain new skills (currently completing the last module of
a nationally accredited Group Psychotherapy Training Program)
and integrate new developments in social work practice.
Lieutenant-Colonel Nancy Ouellet and Major Dave Gutscher
proudly introduced Deborah and made the presentation to her.
Continued on page news
program from the University of Calgary in the local area. He is
highly regarded and will be missed during his one-year sabbatical. Bonita Decaire introduced Richard and made the presentation to him.
in the
Baldwin Reichwein, MSW (equiv.), RSW
From our desk to yours
Continued from page Marilyn is also an active community volunteer: she is on
the Board of Directors for Goodwill Society, Chair of the
Inner City Inter-agency Group, and Adult Advisor to Youth
Restorative Justice Group. John Mould, Provincial Child and
Youth Advocate, introduced Marilyn and made the presentation to her on behalf of ACSW.
A clinical social worker in Grande Prairie, Janice currently
manages the Student Health Program, Mental Health
Services, Peace Country Health Region, and also carries a
small caseload.
The John Hutton Memorial Award for Social Action/Policy
was given to the Community Economic Development (CED)
Team of the City of Edmonton’s Innovative Services
Department. All three members of this team are social workers:
Jenny Kain, BSW, MBA Student, RSW; Bob Marvin, MSW,
RSW; and Marcia Tait, MSW, RSW, on behalf of ACSW.
in the
news
Janice Martin, MSW, RSW
L to R, presenters Gayle Stevens and Doug Carter with Janice Martin
According to her colleagues, Janice easily blends competence
with kindness, respect, and a high level of social ethics. She
is a great role model, always expanding her competence and
knowledge, and encourages her staff to enjoy the process of
learning. An unsolicited commendation states, “She represents
the essence of social work in her professional practice, values,
philosophy and as an individual.” Colleagues, Doug Carter and
Gayle Stevens introduced Janice and made the presentation to
her on behalf of ACSW.
John Reilly presenting the John Hutton Memorial Award for Social Action/Policy
to Bob Marvin, Jenny Kain, and Marcia Tait of the Community Economic
Development Team of the City of Edmonton’s Innovative Services Department
Marilyn Wilson, BSW, RSW
This team was heralded for their many years of working
patiently and strategically to create innovative programs that
For close to 14 years of
empower marginalized people and shape public policy in the
Marilyn’s 25-year career
area of community economic development. This team has
as a social worker, she has
helped foster the development of a number of CED projects
worked as an Advocate in
including training programs, cooperatives and other economic
the Office of the Child and
initiatives. One notable initiative is Women Building Futures,
Youth Advocate (OCYA).
an organization that helps women escape the poverty cycle by
She is known for her
training for work in the high-paying construction trades. The
exemplary skill and abilteam helped established the Alberta Community Economic
ity to advocate for youth
Development Network (Alberta CED Net) through which
in a way that reflects social Presenter John Mould with Marilyn Wilson
community members and professionals come together to
work’s values and ideals.
learn about CED approaches, to examine policy opportunities
Her capacity to build relationships with clients is her forte
and to share successes in the creation of CED projects. John
and, over the years, many children and youth have returned to
Reilly introduced the team members and made the presentasay she made a difference in their lives.
tion to them. n
Alberta roundup:
2006 National SW Week Celebrations
—Linda Fehr, Local Area Coordinator, Lethbridge
Medicine Hat
Lethbridge Social Work Student Society (SWSS)
Front, L to R: Sarah Wilson, Serena Dietrich, Kacie Dougherty, and Emily Bennett
Back, L to R: Audra Foggin, Yolanda Becker, and Jen Bewcyk
Lethbridge and Area social workers and social work students
celebrated National Social Work Week with the 6th Annual
Forum on April 4, 2006. The Forum’s theme this year was
Resiliency. The day-long event included workshops, panel discussions, a luncheon, a silent auction organized by the Social
Work Student Society (SWSS), and a wine & cheese reception
with entertainment by the Troyanda Ukrainian Dancers. The
opening address and keynote speech were presented by ACSW
President Pam Miller.
(L to R) Ina Leahy, Tanya Ridgedale, Janay Gregory, Deirdre Mayze, Susan Stange, Lee
Sheward, Elizabeth Sauer, and Richard Gregory. Missing: Robyn Sykes.
The theme of the second annual Mini Conference, There is a
World Outside of Medicine Hat, held March 9-10, was meant to
broaden horizons and provide opportunity to network and
have fun. Over 40 local social workers gathered to do just that.
Thursday evening the program centered on networking.
ACSW President Pam Miller opened the event. Keep the
Circle Strong and The Northern Lights Drum Circle provided
entertainment.
Continued on page Well-attended by 100 participants, the Forum was organized
by the Social Work Professional Development Partnership,
a group of dedicated social workers in our community that
made sure their colleagues had an interesting and enjoyable day
Lethbridge BSW students at ACSW presentation (L to R): Eve Edmonton-Boehm,
Kristi Murphy, Kassandra Fournier, Caity Kidd, Natalya Rowsell, Henry Ly.
news
together. Thank you to all the organizing committee members,
presenters, participants, agencies and donors for their ongoing
support for this local social work event. We look forward to a
7th Annual Forum next year!
in the
Lethbridge
Social Work Week Celebrations
Continued from page in the
news
The next day (March 10) four
presenters, Suvi Teigen, David
Estes, Donavan Hoggan, and
Gail Eastman, provided three
valuable workshops. Thanks to
all who assisted to make this a
real celebration of Social Work
Week.
Medicine Hat workshop
presenter Suvi Teigen
—Tanya Ridgedale & Janay Gregory, Local
Area Coordinators, Medicine Hat
Medicine Hat workshop presenter David Este
Calgary
The noon hour presentation, Teams Don’t Just Happen:
Building Team Competency by Barbara Traill, BSW, RSW, was
well attended. Barb shared her knowledge about the Thomas
Concept, a model of understanding human behavior and how
individuals function in a group. There was some lively discussion and participants went away wanting more.
In celebration of National Social Work Week, the Calgary
Area Coordinators arranged a bonanza of six workshops for
March 7. The workshops—five Category A competency and
one Category B—raised the interest of 199 members who
gathered and had a good time learning and networking.
The presenters provided a wide range of topics: Linda
Scurr (Understanding and Working with Alcohol and Other Drug
Dependency), Tara O’Sullivan (Soft Landings: Utilizing Energy
Medicine Principles for Self Care), Jacquie Keller (Coaching the
Spirit), Jake Kuiken (From Globalism to Localism—a Municipal
Perspective), Eric Willerth (Retirement Planning) and David
Pearson (Relationship Equity in Couple Interviewing) and general enthusiasm was the general mood.
Given the positive response we are planning a one-day
seminar for the fall that will have open registration and be a
Category A educational event. The
presenter will be
Rick Matishuk
of The Human
Element. Some of
you attended one
of his workshops
presented at the
ACSW conference.
Thanks to all who came and made it a good day, despite
some hard chairs!
Edmonton: Glenrose Hospital
Stay tuned.
Social workers at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital celebrated National Social Work Week with daily treats and a lun- —Gail Schuller,
cheon provided by River Ridge Assisted Living in St. Albert. MSW, RSW
The winner of the door prize, donated by Rosedale Estates,
was Sandy Kyle, LPN. The banner brightened up the cafeteria
for the week. Isabel Henderson, Chief Operating Officer, did
a voice-mail fan-out to all social workers thanking us for our
significant contribution to patient care and team functioning
at the Glenrose.
Barb Traill teaching the noon hour class Teams Don’t
Just Happen: Building Team Competency
High Prairie
High Prairie social workers celebrated and were celebrated!
Tina Kennedy, reporter for the High Prairie Times, created a
positive profile of social workers within the community by
profiling Janet Porter and her work with Brighter Futures,
and Verna Wittigo in her work as an Outreach Worker with
the local Mental Health Service.
Northeast Area
Last year during social work week, the area coordinators put
out a call for assistance for the various areas to help plan events
to promote social work week. We formed an events planning
committee, and hosted our first local area awards tea. This year
the planning committee conducted a study and received the
message from area RSWs that we needed to plan events closer
to major communities.
Plamondon, Vilna, Newbrook, Goodfish Lake, Saddle Lake,
St.Paul, Glendon, Two Hills, Ardmore and Elk Point. From
Athabasca to Cold Lake, the area spans 2.5 hours each way. We
broke the area into three major centers: Cold Lake/Bonnyville,
Lac La Biche, and Athabasca. In each of these areas, we hosted
a tea and presented awards at the event. All of the local papers
covered Social Work Week events and the tea in each area.
Our area is large and includes the communities of Lac
La Biche, Athabasca, Cold Lake, Bonneville, Grassland,
The following are award recipients:
• Past Achievements Award: Lisa Morgan (Dr. Margaret Savage
Crisis Center, Cold Lake)
• Outstanding Community Service Award: Lisa Hughes
(Region 7 CFSA Athabasca)
• Current Achievement Award: Carol McArthur and Bonita
Decaire (Portage College)
• Student Award: Jennifer Manzulenko (Portage College)
• Long Service Award: Pam Bragg (AADAC-Athabasca)
Lac La Biche Social Work Week Awards event (L to R): Karl Merritt, Norm Campbell,
Mr. Manzulenko, Jennifer Manzulenko, Mrs. Manzulenko, Alice Thompson, Deb
Bowzaylo
In conjunction with the Community Social Work Program at
Portage College, there were displays and bulletin boards celebrating National Social Work Week set up in 10 locations throughout the area. The local paper had an article about National
Social Work Week and the proclamation from the mayor.
A special thank you to Portage College students from the
local social work program who spoke to the press and to high
school students in Lac La Biche and Grassland.
Athabasca Social Week Award event (L to R): Lisa Reineke, Lisa Hughs, Constance
Doerkson, Sherri Durell, Bev Giroux, Mike Dickinson, Paul Deveau, Celeste Williams
Our events planning committee included: Bev Giroux, Sherri
Durrell, Kami Lucus, Aujke Binnima, Deb Bowzaylo, Lyla
Allen and Bev Talbot. n
—Mike Dickinson and Bonita Decaire, Area Coordinators, Lac La Biche — Athabasca
news
—Verna Wittigo, BSW, RSW, Local Area Coordinator
Social Work Week in High Prairie
Back, L to R: Diane Fraser, Verna Wittigo (Local Area Coordinator), Lois Tompkins,
Nikki Lussier (Local Area Coordinator) with daughter Ava
Front, L to R: Vivienne Torrens, Katrina Randal-Martin, Janet Potter, Doris Villeneuve
with Nikki’s son Cohen
in the
A group of social workers also got together to have a pizza
party and celebrate who they are and what they contribute to
the High Prairie area.
in the
news
Pulse of Social Work Awards
honor Calgary’s finest
By Meghan Feist, Communications Assistant
Some of Calgary and area’s top social workers were honored March 22, 2006, at the fourth
annual Pulse of Social Work awards ceremony. Over 160 people gathered at the Red and White
Club to pay tribute to social workers who keep their collective finger on the pulse of the issues
and challenges facing society’s most vulnerable, troubled and at-risk groups.
“The Pulse of Social Work awards celebrate the extraordinary
work being done in many different facets of social work in
our community,” said Dr. Gayla Rogers, Dean of the Faculty
of Social Work at the University of Calgary.
Eight awards were given to seven deserving registered
social workers and one interdisciplinary group. Master of
Ceremonies for the event was Global Television’s Angela
Kokott.
Debra Tomlinson with the Alberta Association of Sexual
Assault Centres took home the Advocacy award for her commitment to speaking up for social justice and her dedication
to social change. Audrey Ferber, a social worker in private
practice, won the Clinical Practice award for creating helping relationships that affect positive change in her clients and
their social environment. Sharon Christie from the Calgary
Health Region received the Community Development award
for her ability to motivate others to reach out to and work
with diversity within the community.
The Field Instruction award went
to Elizabeth Rutherford from the
Salvation Army Centre of Hope
for her ability to role-model teaching and collaboration skills to her
students.
Standing (L to R): Pol Ngeth, Zina Ohuegbe (Interdisciplinary Group Award), Michelle Dancoisne (Front
Line Worker Award), Beverly Fournier (Interdisciplinary Group Award), Debra Tomlinson (Advocacy Award),
Stuart Gripton representing his father, Jim Gripton (Lifetime Achievement Award), Susan Mercer-Thornhill
(Interdisciplinary Group Award), Catherine McFee (Leadership).
Sitting (L to R): Sharon Christie (Community Development Award), Elizabeth Rutherford (Field Instruction
Award), Mary Valentich representing her husband, Jim Gripton, and Audrey Ferber (Clinical Practice Award).
Missing: Rob Bray (Interdisciplinary Group Award).
10
The newly created Frontline Worker
award was given to a deserving social
worker who consistently enhances
two-way communication by serving
as a link between client concerns
and management abilities. Michelle
Dancoisne from Calgary and Area
Child and Family Services was first
to take home this Pulse award. The
Diversity Call Centre, led by RSW
Beverly Fournier from Calgary and
Area Child and Family Services,
was awarded the Interdisciplinary
Group award for its execution of
teamwork and collaboration in
For more information about the Pulse of Social Work, contact
Lynne Dulaney-MacNicol at 403-220-2232,
or [email protected]. n
ACSW President Pam Miller speaks to Pulse group
Pulse of Social Work planning committee:
in the
making a positive impact on Calgary. Catherine McFee from
the Canadian National Institute for the Blind earned the
Leadership award for her ability to motivate, teach, and lead
those around her to reach organizational goals.
news
(Standing, left to right) John DeLuca, Calgary and Area Child and Family
The 2006 ceremony concluded with a touching tribute to Dr.
Jim Gripton, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement award.
The award for his 40-plus years of social work service was
accepted on his behalf by his life partner Dr. Mary Valentich
and their son, Stuart Gripton. Dr. Gripton passed away in
November 2005.
Services, Lynne Dulaney-MacNicol, Faculty of Social Work, Ken Hoffer, City
of Calgary.
(Sitting, left to right) Meghan Feist, practicum student, Mount Royal
College, and Danielle Ladouceur, Calgary Health Region.
Missing from photo: Tamara Remillard, Local Area Coordinator, ACSW.
The Pulse of Social Work Award Sponsors
Advocacy Award presented by Governors’ Council
to Debra Tomlinson, Alberta Association of Sexual Assault Centres
Clinical Practice Award presented by Calgary Health Region
to Audrey Ferber, private practice
Community Development Award presented by United Way of Calgary & Area
to Sharon Christie, Calgary Health Region
Field Instruction Award presented by Mount Royal College, Social Work Program
to Elizabeth Rutherford, Salvation Army Centre of Hope
Frontline Worker Award presented by Calgary & Area Child & Family Services Authority
to Michelle Dancoisne, Calgary & Area Child & Family Services
Interdisciplinary Group Award presented by The City of Calgary
to The Diversity Call Centre
Leadership Award presented by The University of Calgary, Faculty of Social Work
to Catherine McFee, Canadian National Institute for the Blind
Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Alberta College of Social Workers
to Dr. Jim Gripton
11
Another record:
news
By Linda Murray (Dip SW, RSW) & Marcia Tait (MSW, RSW)
in the
1,400 registrants attend annual conference
and provide excellent learning opportunities that focused
This year the planning committee decided to do
something different: provide a really low-cost conference
on “A” credit sessions. The numbers of registrants and
feedback from the group indicate that we succeeded
Marcia Tait (L) and Linda Murray (R), Conference Co-chairs
beyond our expectations. Thank you all!
We are grateful to the majority of you who provided us
with feedback on your evaluation forms. Most of you liked
the new format and want beverages included in the registration fee. This feedback is being passed on to the Calgary
team, who are already hard at work planning next year’s
Conference.
Mark your calendars for March 15-17, 2007, at the Telus
Conference Centre in Calgary. Just so you know … the Calgary
committee will be providing morning coffee next year!
The decision for a “bare bones only” conference meant that neither meals nor refreshments were supplied in the registration fee.
Planning all Category A competency workshops was exciting to
organize, despite the challenges that arose. The need
to plan for many delegates
and develop speaker lists
to address a range of social
work issues—from micro,
macro and clinical areas—
made for a big investment of
time and hard work.
Frank Hoebarth, winner of one of the door
prizes
Jane Matheson (L), winner of the digital camera , and Jane Samson
(R) from Meloche Monnex, which donated the prize
The Primary Planning Committee members were: Ariela
Cerna, Dorthe Flauer, Glenda Fuglem, Tonia Gille, Tara
Hatch, Tammy Kwan-Hough, Michael Lynch, Lisette
McArthur, Lavonne Roloff, Judy Strong, as well as ACSW
staff ex-officio members Alison MacDonald and Elaine
Paras.
Still, the 2006 Conference
At the conference we were grateful for the volunteer assisPlanning Group persisted
and met the challenges with tance of a number of members, including William Nwaribe
knowledge, experience and and the Edmonton Area Coordinators.
creativity. They even had
time for fun.
12
Thursday Evening Plenary
Karen Nelson, Chief Social
Worker, Ottawa Hospital
Marianne Wright, Clinical
Practice Instructor, Grant
MacEwan College, Social
Work Program
The Conference began with our Expert
Panel: Gayla Rogers, PhD, RSW, U of
C, Dean of the Faculty of Social Work;
Karen Nelson, MSW, RSW, Chief Social
Worker at the Ottawa Hospital (formerly
of Glenrose Hospital in Edmonton);
Marianne Wright, MA, RSW, private
clinical practice and instructor at Grant
MacEwan’s social work program and
John Reilly, MSW, RSW, who works
at the office of Diversity and Inclusion,
City of Edmonton
The panel eloquently shared their experiences and the challenge ahead of us
if we choose to unite our efforts to
advance our profession. These leaders,
each from different fields of social work,
stressed our core values and the strength
we can find in developing relationships
with each other.
We are grateful for their insights and the
inspirational challenges they issued.
news
Gayla Rogers, Dean of
University of Calgary,
Faculty of Social Work
A lot of creativity went
into the timing and
content of the workshop
sessions. All, including
the shorter three-hour
sessions, offered learning opportunities in the
streams of profession
building, knowledge
building, micro practice,
macro practice and practice issues. The
decision to offer more in-depth one- and
two-day sessions allowed participants to
choose real learning opportunities. The
nine one-day and three two-day workshops were quickly filled and were well
received. Consequently, our recommendations are that more in-depth sessions
be offered at future conferences. Overall,
evaluations showed that the sessions were
interesting and met many needs of participants.
in the
Our theme—Social Work Matters:
Rejuvenating our Unity and Pride!—followed a team decision to stress the
importance and value of our work.
We wanted to emphasize what can be
achieved by working in unity across the
different fields of practice.
Friday and Saturday
Gary Bailey, pastpresident of the North
American Association of
Social Workers
On Friday and Saturday, attendees had the opportunity to participate in networking groups over lunch time. Friday’s groups
focused on professional affairs and Saturday’s group focused
on practice issues. Many appreciated having ACSW Council
members involved in these sessions.
The ACSW Annual General Meeting (AGM)
This year the AGM was held just prior to the Conference start.
A short business meeting was followed by Thursday evening
plenary sessions.
Well-deserved awards were presented
during the AGM to recognize the progressive and positive work being accomplished by social workers in various fields
of practice (see pages 5-6).
Special guest speaker,
CASW past-president Ellen
Oliver
John Reilly, one of the Thursday panel speakers
13
An address by Ellen Oliver, past-president of the Canadian Association of
Social Workers, was followed by a lovely
and lively reception hosted by Pam
Miller, ACSW President, and Council. n
On a personal note
Mrs. Mary Engelmann, MA (SW), RSW and Msgr. William Irwin, MSW, RSW, will be inducted into the
Edmonton Community Services Hall of Fame in June.
Mary Engelmann moved to
Edmonton in 1962. She worked
at several Edmonton hospitals
and then in the planning unit
of Edmonton Social Services
for one year before becoming
the founding Coordinator of
Services for the new Society for
the Retired and Semi-Retired.
in the
news
Edmonton Social Workers Receive City Hall of Fame Honor
Her excellent leadership was
noted, and in 1974 she was
Mary Engelmann
lured to Seniors Services in
Alberta Social Services and
Community Health as Coordinator. Her work led to the
establishment of the Seniors Bureau, an inter-departmental coordinating agency. In 1975 she was appointed first
Director and served until 1990. She then worked part-time
as an Advisor to the Seniors Council of the Government
of Alberta. There is hardly an aspect of the development of
seniors services in Edmonton and across Alberta that has not
benefited greatly from Mary’s inspired leadership and diligent
work. Congratulations, Mary!
Monsignor Irwin (“Father Bill”)
Ann Maksymiw, well known and loved St. Albert social
worker, left St. Albert SAIF Society after 15 years of service.
She is now working as a facilitator for Aboriginal Consulting
Services and as a contract counselor for Edmonton Family
Violence Treatment.
Anne-Marie McLaughlin, newly retired ACSW Council
member, has achieved her PhD in Social Work from the
University of Calgary. Congratulations, Dr. McLaughlin.
ACSW President Pam Miller presents Service Award to Anne-Marie McLaughlin with
Dick Ramsay looking on
Monsignor Irwin, known as
“Father Bill,” receives this honor
posthumously, as he passed away
on August 29, 2004. He is widely known for his superb administrative skills, including founding Catholic Social Services in
1961 and thereafter Catholic
Charities (Edmonton). For more
detail on his accomplishments,
please refer to page 10 of the
Winter 2004 Advocate.
Ireen Slater is “retired” but
remains busy. She is now pastpresident of the Provincial group,
Seniors United Now (SUN).
She continues as the chair of
the St. Albert chapter and has
been nominated as a Woman of
Distinction.
Needless to say, “You go, girl!” n
14
Ireen Slater (photo courtesy
Avonlea Photography, Edmonton)
The Faculty Beat
Meghan Feist, Communications Assistant,
University of Calgary, Faculty of Social Work
program beyond the Calgary campus to its Edmonton Division, thanks to today’s funding announcement
by Alberta Advanced Education.
The new funding will allow the Faculty of Social Work to
develop and deliver an Edmonton-based Master’s of Social
Work (MSW) program that is also relevant to northern, rural
and Aboriginal learners.
“This program will help meet the
human resource needs for graduatelevel social workers in health and
The Faculty will also continue to deliver an online MSW for
those students throughout the province whose needs would
be best met by online learning, mixed with occasional faceto-face intensive classes.
“This program will help meet the human resource needs for
graduate-level social workers in health and human services,
and build the capacity to deliver high-quality effective services for all Albertans,” says Gayla Rogers, PhD, dean of the
Faculty of Social Work.
human services, and build the
capacity to deliver high-quality
effective services for all Albertans.”
complement, not disrupt, students’ existing family, career and
community involvement.”
The University of Calgary has a provincial mandate for
degrees in social work and began the MSW program at the
University of Calgary in 1966. It offers both course-based
and thesis routes that prepare advanced-level social workers to tackle complex social problems in health and human
services. Approximately 60 MSW students currently graduate
each year, and over 98 percent are employed in their field of
“We are excited about serving professionals employed in
study. Since 2004, in response to demand from learners and
health and human services in Edmonton and rural and northemployers, the Faculty has offered an online MSW on a costern Alberta who haven’t had access to advanced social work
recovery basis.
education,” she adds. “Thanks to this funding, they will be
able to complete an MSW program that is flexible, geograph- For the Alberta Advanced Education media release, see www.
ically-relevant and responsive to community needs. It will
advancededucation.gov.ab.ca. n
Rogers adds that structural changes in the children’s services
and health care delivery systems, legislation governing the
social work profession, and professional and demographic
trends have all created a greatly increased demand for MSWlevel social workers provincially.
15
feature
Beginning in September 2007, the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Social Work will expand its graduate
regular
Faculty of Social Work’s
Edmonton Division to offer
graduate social work program
President’s Report
regular
feature
Pam Miller, PhD, RSW
Strategic plan moves ahead
Pam Miller
We all need to commend the co-chairs and committee members as well as hard-working ACSW
staff for this year’s ACSW conference. We had just over 1,400 people register for the conference
and have heard from many that the sessions they attended were interesting and relevant for
their practice. Congratulations and thank you on behalf of the Council to all who worked so hard
to put on this conference.
New AGM format in the works
Aboriginal SW action plan ready to move forward
The theme of our AGM was to honor ACSW members
selected for recognition this past year. We need to continue to
support and validate the work of our profession by recognizing individuals who exemplify what it means to be a professional social worker.
New Council members joined in this spring to work on our
strategic plan. I look forward to reporting in the Fall Advocate
on action steps Council has developed toward each of our
four strategic goals.
This year Council experimented with being available for
members to bring up issues and ask questions through an
hour and a half long lunch meeting the day after the AGM.
The Aboriginal Social Work Committee has a plan in place
including actions that Council has funded. They are well on
their way in helping us make ACSW a more inclusive organization through reaching out to our Aboriginal colleagues,
both ACSW members and non-members.
While some enjoyed the opportunity to meet informally with
The Communication Committee is bringing a report with
Council, others prefer a more traditional format of using the
recommendations forward to Council to help us identify
AGM for member discussion with Council.
action steps for strengthening our internal and external comIn response, we will look at a different AGM format for 2007: munications. We look to our ACSW staff and communications consultant to provide direction on how ACSW can
In the first half of the meeting we can honor the work of our
more effectively educate the public and employers about our
ACSW volunteers and members who have been identified for
profession.
special recognition. The second half can be a business meeting
with an opportunity for members to ask Council questions
Finally, you will note in this issue of the Advocate, Tim
and discuss issues.
Wild’s piece on the new ACSW Social Action and Justice
For any who are interested in developing resolutions for consideration at the AGM, we are considering developing a template and process for submission well in advance of the AGM.
We will thus be able to give members resolutions in writing
at least a week before the AGM so that all who attend the
business portion of the meeting have sufficient time to prepare for a meaningful discussion.
Committee (page 19) and Jessica Smith’s mention of the
ISPAD model (page 18). We are moving very deliberately
toward our goal of being an effective and positive voice for
social justice.
I invite you to visit our website to review our strategic plan
and think about ways you can assist us to reach our goals and
realize our vision for ACSW. n
16
Executive Director
& Registrar’s Report
Rod Adachi, MSW , RSW
This issue of the Advocate includes extensive coverage of the March annual conference,
Rod Adachi
of membership interest in conferences. It is also an indicator of the importance of
meetings and events to discuss topics of professional interest. The conference launched
a busy schedule of gatherings reflecting the diverse aspects our profession.
Two gatherings have already taken place. The Association
of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Spring Education meeting in Portland, Oregon, at the end of April provided an
educational opportunity for representatives of social work
regulatory boards. The ASWB is comprised of the regulatory
bodies from most of the US states and seven Canadian provinces. The theme of this spring education meeting was Ethics
in Social Work Regulation and Practice. Erin Gray and Ralph
Westwood attended as ACSW Council members and Alison
MacDonald and I participated as ACSW staff.
(ACAT) is holding a forum on Prior Learning Assessment and
In May, the University of Calgary hosted a Symposium on
the Canadian Contributions to International Social Work
in recognition of Professors Emeriti Gayle Gilchrist James
and Richard Ramsay. Many internationally recognized social
workers gathered in Calgary for this unique event to discuss
social work practice, social justice, social development and
social work education. President Pam Miller spoke at a special
recognition dinner for Gayle and Richard co-sponsored by
ACSW.
establish standards that serve and protect the public interest.
In June, the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW)
national conference in Halifax offers opportunities for provincial presidents to attend meetings with CASW board
members and to participate in the CASW AGM prior to
the conference. Executive directors of provincial associations
will meet following the conference, and a number of Alberta
social workers will present during the event. As the first day
has a focus on Health and Childrens’ Services, representatives
from each of ACSW’s Children’s Issues and Social Workers in
Health interest groups are sponsored to attend.
Also in June, the Alberta Council on Admissions and Transfer
Recognition (PLAR). PLAR promotes recognition of experience and training gained outside recognized educational
programs. This is significant for professional regulatory bodies
that are authorized by legislation to set criteria to determine
who should be registered for professional practice. Self-regulating professions require practitioners to hold recognized credentials in order to practice. The intent of PLAR to support
recognition of non-traditional experiences poses challenges
for professional regulatory bodies that have a legislated role to
A fall meeting is scheduled in Regina to discuss the
Mutual Recognition Agreement for social work under the
Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT). Under the AIT, a social
worker registered in one province should be able to move
to another province and be recognized by there as a registered social worker, eligible to practice without repeating
a full registration application process. Because professional
regulation is under provincial authority, there is considerable
variation across Canada. The Atlantic provinces and Alberta
have full mandatory registration requirements while the
other provinces do not. This difference, together with the
lack of recognition of Alberta social work diploma graduates
outside this province, has generated longstanding discussions
about the recognition of RSWs from different provinces and
the challenges arising from differing provincial legislative
requirements.
This busy schedule of events is an indicator of the diversity
and complexity of the social work profession. n
17
feature
which attracted a record number of participants. The success of this event is an indicator
regular
Active season for meetings
Social Action
regular
feature
Jessica Smith, MSW, RSW
New steps for Social Action
& Social Justice
Jessica Smith
Fall 2003–Fall 2005
In the fall of 2003, ACSW formalized its commitment to integrating a social action / social justice mandate
through the newly developed ISPAD model—Influencing Social Policy and Development. The goals of this
model are two-fold: to identify how provincial and federal social policies have a direct and sometimes harmful
impact on the programs and services for our clients, and to develop advocacy strategies to challenge these
policies in order to improve programs and services for all Albertans. Some issues that have been addressed
under the ISPAD model include: challenging the government on the low minimum wage, low welfare rates,
and inadequate supports for AISH recipients.
An integral part of the ISPAD model is a commitment to
ways to publicly present and promote a collective social
strengthening our partnership with advocacy organizations at
work voice.
both the provincial and national levels including: Public Interest 4. We need to think of diverse ways to effectively address
Alberta, Friends of Medicare, the Parkland Institute, the Quality
social justice issues spanning the individual social worker
of Life Commission, the Edmonton Social Planning Council,
level to a broad provincial campaign on important timely
the National Anti-Poverty Organization and the Canadian
issues.
Council for Social Development, to name a few.
September–December 2005
2006
ACSW has made a commitment to continue with the ISPAD
In the fall of 2005 Council and staff engaged in a number of model and in addition has created a new Social Action/Social
Strategic Planning meetings. One of the areas we worked on Justice committee. These two strategies will refine our prowas ACSW involvement and commitment to social justicecesses to make it easier for social workers to get involved at
related activities. A review of the ISPAD model implementa- a level of commitment that matches their degree of time and
tion during 2003-2005 provided us with four key areas of
comfort. The onus will shift from responsibility of any one
learning:
individual/group to speak out about the issues, to a collective response by the ACSW. We believe this sets an excellent
1. Social workers are often overstretched with numerous work
course for the direction of our work over the coming year
and personal commitments, making it difficult for them to
and beyond, and will provide a more comprehensive approach
take on an organizing role.
to social justice issues, an increased public presence, and an
2. Social workers are often limited in their opportunities to
improved public image of the profession. To learn more about
speak out about issues as they relate to social policy, as
the Social Action & Social Justice committee, please see the
their jobs/organizations are often dependent (directly or
article written by Timothy Wild on the following page of this
indirectly) on government funding.
issue of the Advocate. n
3. ACSW needs to go beyond a collaborative response to
social issues with our advocacy partners, to formalizing
Jessica Smith is Research Coordinator for ACSW.
18
Social Action and
Social Justice
Tim Wild,
MSW, RSW
Tim Wild
agent for positive social justice and social change.” That’s the purpose of the newly formed Social
Action & Social Justice Committee, and every member of the College is invited to participate.
We are using a participatory, community development
approach in terms of the work of our group, and are still in
the process of actually developing the scope and nature of
the committee. In terms of pragmatics, we are suggesting a
three-tiered, integrated approach.
Parts of the process will be new. Other aspects will expand
and complement the terrific work already being undertaken
by the membership interest groups and the College, such
as the Influencing Social Policy and Development (ISPAD)
process.
The first layer will involve the development and implementation of a province-wide campaign, and although we
haven’t yet decided on the subject of the campaign, suggestions include the so-called “Third Way” and income security.
The second layer involves publicly supporting, and highlighting for ACSW members, the campaigns and initiatives
of coalitions and groups we support and work with, such as
Friends of Medicare and Public Interest Alberta.
The third tier of our approach involves supporting, within
the limits of our resources, the work of social workers at the
local level, dealing with issues that are perhaps more geographically bounded.
In building upon the excellent initiatives already being
undertaken by our members, the three layers will allow a
timely response to a variety of pressing social issues and ultimately help fulfill the ethical imperative of our profession
for justice and inclusion. This is a very exciting process and
we would certainly welcome your involvement.
For further information please contact Timothy Wild, Chair,
at [email protected] n
Timothy Wild is a Council member and is employed as Community Social Worker
with Calgary’s Community and Neighbourhood Services.
19
feature
“We are a committee of 6,000 social workers, committed to ACSW’s goal of being an effective
regular
ACSW Social Action & Social
Justice Committee forms
Ethics in action
regular
feature
Alison MacDonald, M Dipl, RSW
The personal
IS the professional
Alison MacDonald
Lucy was arrested for growing marijuana in her home.
Bill is on the board of a non-profit organization providing services for street youth. The agency director asks Bill
to be a mentor with one of the youth who appears to be particularly troubled.
Susan is asked by a member of her book club for advice on how to communicate with her son more effectively.
Jean, a volunteer with a seniors’ outreach program, is asked to monitor medication use and health status of the
seniors she visits.
Dawn has a gambling addiction and has lost all her savings. This month she can’t afford to pay her rent.
Every day social workers are involved in situations that, while
having no connection with their paid work, may still have an
impact on their professional lives. As a social worker, you have
an obligation to uphold the standing of the profession. You
are also entitled to have a life of your own without undue
restraint. Problems sometimes arise in determining where
the line between the personal and the professional should be
drawn.
present as a member of the book club?
The Health Professions Act suggests that at least in some
cases, volunteer work is considered to be employment.
Section 57(3) states, “For the purposes of this section,
“employment” includes being engaged to provide professional
services on a full-time or part-time basis as a paid or unpaid
employee, consultant, contractor or volunteer.” The qualifier
is whether the volunteer activity involves providing a profes-
A social worker who knowingly breaks the law is making a
choice. When should illegal activity be a concern? In some
jurisdictions a social worker who receives a conviction for
any crime is obligated to report to the licensing board within
a set period of time and depending on the severity may lose
her license with little further investigation.
sional service and whether that service is within the scope of
practice covered by the licence.
Any harmful addiction may be problematic for social workers,
whether or not the addiction is satisfied at work. Any social
worker suffering from an addiction that impairs his ability to
practice safely needs to withdraw from practice or take other
Being asked for a professional opinion in a social setting is a
problem that has been around at least as long as there have
been doctors and lawyers. If Susan responds to the request for
advice and things with the son get worse, will she be liable
for harm that may result? Is there a difference if the person
requesting advice is not aware that Susan is a social worker?
Or is Susan free from responsibility because she was only
measures to ensure that no clients are harmed.
Consider your own circumstances and places where the
boundaries appear to be blurred. Think about what you can
do proactively in order to make sure that both your own
needs and those of your clients, coworkers and the profession
in general are respected. n
20
CASW Report
CASW office
affiliated with the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW). You are now connected to an
organized network of social workers at national and international levels.
On your behalf, the CASW board, staff and volunteers participate in coalitions, national projects, research initiatives and
committees.
These activities focus on a range of goals related to the purposes of CASW, which are to advance social justice, strengthen and promote the profession, and support the regulatory
and non-regulatory work of member organizations.
These purposes are met through such activities as producing
CASW past-presidents in attendance at ACSW’s AGM (L to R): Margaret Dewhurst,
guidelines and position papers, providing public education
about social work, promoting professional excellence, contrib- John Mould, Ellen Oliver, and Gayle Gilchrist James
uting to public policy development, providing input to federal
At the international level, CASW participates in the execuprojects and participating in research.
tive committee of the International Federation of Social
Workers and in a variety of committees and activities that
Several services are available to you as a member of a CASW
support its priorities. CASW contributes to work related to
member organization. You have access to an on-line journal
human rights, elimination of poverty and promotion of the
and newsletter as well as a variety of position papers and
profession.
research reports. You may also obtain malpractice and personal
insurance and take advantage of a MasterCard program. You
You may bring issues to the attention of CASW by contactare also eligible to receive awards and apply for scholarships.
ing your social work organization. As well, you may become
All of these and other benefits can be accessed through your
an active contributor to the work of CASW by informing
provincial/territorial organization.
your social work organization of your interest in specific
CASW was founded in 1926 to monitor employment conditions and establish standards of practice within the profession.
The association is currently comprised of provincial/territorial social work organizations. Representatives from these
organizations form the board, and an annual meeting between
the board and the presidents of provincial/territorial organizations provides an opportunity for input on the strategic
directions of CASW.
national projects, committees and interest groups.
The national conference, held on a bi-annual basis, is also an
occasion to meet with colleagues from across the country and
share your knowledge and expertise.
You can obtain more information on the activities of CASW
by contacting www.casw-acts.ca or your provincial/territorial organization. n
21
feature
As a member of your provincial/territorial organization of social workers, you are automatically
regular
An open letter to Canada’s
social workers
Beginnings: Alberta’s
social work history
regular
feature
Don Milne, MSW, RSW
An explosion of innovation
In Part 2 of a retrospective on the impact of the Preventive Social
Services Act (PSS), we trace the roots of some of the most important historical groundwork for social services in Edmonton.
Don Milne
The Preventive Social Services Act of Alberta passed in 1966 was groundbreaking innovative social
legislation, introduced and implemented by people of remarkable foresight and vision. It indeed
changed the face of social services in Alberta. The injection of funding for preventative social
services (PSS) was introduced early in the major urban centres. One of the municipalities to rapidly
embrace this new approach to service was the City of Edmonton.
PSS Act relieves pressure
The rapid economic growth of the ’60s in western Canada
produced heavy pressures on local municipalities to provide
services to the rapidly burgeoning population. The City of
Edmonton Welfare Department had evolved into a multifunctional social service that provided short-term public assistance, juvenile probation and child welfare services, including
the operation of a Children’s Reception Centre and Juvenile
Detention holding facility. The department administration
placed high value upon trained staff at a time when social
work graduates were in short supply. Demographic pressures
affected the entire spectrum of public and voluntary services,
which faced a huge increase in demand for service in a time
of limited resources that precluded growth. Most services
were in formative condition and could ill afford to lend time
“The infusion of new money
allowed for new initiatives as
well as expansion of existing
service.”
and effort to coordination, system interrelationships or activities other than direct service. Public funding was oriented to
statutory services and voluntary funding was under tremendous pressures. It was in this context that PSS funding was
introduced.
The infusion of new money allowed for new initiatives as
well as expansion of existing service. Resources could now
be devoted to researching needs, identifying state of the art
developments elsewhere that might find appropriate application in Alberta, experimentation with delivery models and the
design and implementation of findings. This capacity increase
provided dramatic change at the municipal level.
A name change to Edmonton Social Services more clearly
reflected the department’s new role. The multi-functional
experience of the department and the high level of staff competence, laid the groundwork for effective implementation
of the preventive mandate. Inventive research proposals were
developed using government research funding. One such
example was the Resource Mobilization for Employment
project aimed at rehabilitating persons who had been welfare
recipients, by using their innate abilities to a maximum.
22
Joint projects tap local knowledge
Family needs were also addressed. The homemaker service
operated by the Family Service Agency was greatly expanded
and a teaching homemaker program was set up within the
department. A Family Life Education Council was introduced
to provide education in effective family life. The Local Board
of Health operated a Family Planning Clinic program and
Planned Parenthood programs were funded to counteract
growing pregnancy out of wedlock.
Local access a big issue
Access to services was a major interest. The department reorganized to provide decentralized services to local areas with
the city. These centres provided a range of service to local
residents including counseling and referrals. The Glengarry
Centre became the first coordinated service in partnership
with the Parks and Recreation Department and a non-profit
day care. A demonstration project in the city’s west end (West
given to priority areas that
communities helped to identify.”
feature
The serious lack of services for the elderly brought to light by
an Edmonton Social Planning Council study, resulted in the
creation of the Society for the Retired and Semi-Retired, the
Strathcona Place Centre, and the joint initiation of the Coordinated Home Care program by The Local Board of Health
and Edmonton Social Services.
“Immediate response was
regular
Immediate response was given to priority areas that communities helped to identify. Pre-school child care, for example, was
in short supply and often operated in unsupervised settings.
A Director of Day Care was engaged who actively promoted
the development of subsidized nonprofit day care centres
of high quality resulting in growth of accessible centres and
public attention to standards of quality. A joint project with
the Edmonton Public School Board produced the Education
Clinic, a Diagnostic Facility for the identification of students
requiring special help. Another joint project, the Norwood
Readiness Centre, was developed with the Junior League,
National Council of Jewish Women and the University
Faculty of Education. The centre demonstrated the value of
early childhood services and had an influence on the eventual
development of province-wide early childhood education programs.
10) tested municipal/provincial/voluntary coordinated service
delivery, and eventually led the way for an extensive municipal
proposal to decentralize all related city services (The Human
Service Delivery System). The placement of community workers in the decentralized service centres brought workers into
direct contact with the neighborhoods they served. In several
instances, neighborhood-based, citizen-operated services such
as the Dickinsfield We Care Centre and the Urban Skills project were geared to meet specific local needs.
Aboriginal needs were specifically supported through the
N’Ga Wee Care Day Care Centre and teaching homemaker
program in association with the Native Housing Corporation.
Since many factors beyond service delivery affected the quality
of life for citizens, interdepartmental task forces such as housing, and membership on the Municipal Planning Commission,
acknowledged the social impacts of land use decisions. Input
was provided on social issues related to land-use applications
processed by the city.
Not all programs were successful over the years, though all
provided valuable experience. Some—preschool day care,
coordinated home care—grew exponentially to the point
where they became province-wide programs and were taken
over by provincial authorities. Without a doubt, Preventive
Social Services legislation provided unique opportunities for
meeting social needs in Alberta and it produced major change
in the social services offered in the City of Edmonton. The
PSS Act attracted the attention of social service authorities
nation-wide and was widely lauded for its unique forwardlooking characteristics and effective implementation. n
Columnist Don Milne is a retired social worker who served as the first president of
the Alberta Association of Social Workers, and worked in the field of preventive
social services with the City of Edmonton.
23
Private Practice
regular
feature
Linda Dziuba, MSW, RSW
Professional Boundaries:
Managing Dual Relationships
Linda Dziuba
In private practice, we are comfortable seeking direction from our colleagues on clinical interventions, but are we as
comfortable talking to them when we feel confused about the nature and kind of relationship that is developing between
ourselves and our clients?
Recently, I have been consulted by two of my social work
colleagues in private practice who were willing to share
their discomfort so that they could try and sort out some of
the professional boundary quagmire they were experiencing. One colleague asked whether I thought it would be an
issue if he bartered counseling sessions for esthetic services
for his family. Another colleague discussed feelings of worry
because she had engaged in a dual relationship with a client by soliciting her client’s opinion in the client’s area of
expertise.
Boundaries allow for safe connections, with the client’s need
being placed front and centre. Boundary violations most
commonly point to behaviors that are exploitive, coercive or
deceptive, such as sexual involvements with clients, fraudulent billing practices or a planned misuse of client trust and
vulnerability. But we need to look also at the subtler forms
of boundary crossings that face professionals on a daily basis.
What about the propriety of developing friendships with
clients, participating in social activities with clients, serving
on community boards with clients, providing clients with
one’s home telephone number, accepting goods and services
from clients instead of money, or discussing one’s religious
beliefs with clients? These kind of boundary confusions are
not intentionally exploitive, coercive or deceptive nor are
they inherently unethical, though the “crossing” may result
in confusion and harm. Because the usual boundary is being
crossed, we need to be mindful and aware.
Beginning with self-reflection on our practice, psychologist
Jeffrey Younggren, PhD, states that we need to assess potential
future reactions to our conduct.
He provides questions to assist:
1.Is the dual relationship necessary?
2.Is the dual relationship exploitive?
3.Who does the dual relationship benefit?
4.Is there a risk that the dual relationship could damage the
client?
5.Is there a risk that the dual relationship could disrupt the
therapeutic relationship?
6.Am I being objective in my evaluation of this matter?
7.Have I adequately documented the decision-making process in the treatment records?
8.Did the client give informed consent regarding the risks to
engaging in the dual relationship?
Along with self-reflection comes the need for consultation
and supervision with our social work colleagues. Sometimes
we too need the support and protection of a professional relationship with clear boundaries to help us sort out the richness
and complexity of the many human relationships that we deal
with on a daily basis. n
Linda Dziuba, MSpEd, MSW, RSW, has a private practice in Calgary and is employed
by the Calgary Health Region as a Professional Practice Leader with the Dept. of
Social Work.
The complete text of Dr. Younggren’s article can be found at www.kspope.com/
dual/younggren.php. Feedback on this article can be directed to Linda at: [email protected]
24
New RSWs
Membership as of
May 8, 2006: 5,934
25
Tracy Margaret Shulman
Carolynn Noel Smith
Terry Daisy Solway
Rebecca Stares
Jonah Solomon Starr
Ashna Vilash Tiwari
Jennifer Kim Scott Tyler
Jennifer Alicia Wegwitz
Kristine Elizabeth Joy Wiebe
Sheila Ann Grace Willier
Tammy Mae Woroschuk
Talia Zink
feature
Jacqueline Jordan
Michael Richard Kenyon
Tamara L. Kille
Jennifer Leah Kneiss
Julie Kolenko
Tonya Kuenzl
Sandra E.M. Labrie
Danielle Larocque
Sheila Lorraine Larsen
Susan Marika Lauterbach
Ariel Learoyd
Marcia Dawn Liske
Jodi Gail Lojczyc
Shannon Rachel Lyman
Stephanie Joy Manuel
Pamela Materi
Suzanne Marie Mayhew
Michael Anthony Moosbauer
Paulette Dawn Morck
Violet Joycelin Morgan
Toni Leigh Murray
Cynthia Michelle Nanaquewitung
Tara-Lee Marie Newton
Pol Ngeth
Eugene Francis Nooskey
Kerrilee N. Nykolaychuk
Peter Jonathan O’Driscoll
Kandace Ogilvie
Jill Nicole Osborn
Karen Lynn Peddle
Eva Prytula
Geoff Christopher Purdy
Hani Quan
Monica Red Crow
Jessica Arlene Reddick
Linda M. Rix
Beth Isabel Robbins
Melanie June Rock
Bonnie Lee Ross
Natalya Brandy Doreen Rowsell
Suzana Rymak
Janet Lynne Savidan
Charlene Amy Sayers
Judy Janice Schmutz
regular
Harpreet Bachhal
Sarah Banick
Susann Friederike Beiner
Janet Elizabeth Boswell
Serena C. Bouma
Corinna Melody Brand
Shelly Brewster
Karen Lucille Brown
Roseline Wendy Carter
Maria Christine Chapala
Sandra Cluett
Melanie Ann Clyde-Cain
Yvonne Lynn Coakes
Ashley Cooper
Nicole Michelle Cox
Tracy Patricia Cuillerier
Dymphna Dollimont
Bernadette Jean Dunlop
Elizabeth Dykalski
Eve Edmonton-Boehm
Kathleen Ann Eresman
Melanie J. Fakeley
Catherine Fallon
Haidy Fanous
Kelly Fedoruk
Kassandra Ila Kathleen Fournier
Taunya Lynn Frank
LeeAnn Marie Furlotte
Stacey D. Ghostkeeper
Parduman Singh Gill
Sherry Rachel Gill
Nathalie Marie Groleau
Gerard Charles Halpin
Amanda Christine Hanson
Abdirahman Hashi
Deborah Nancy Heenan
Leonida A. Hernandez
Lyndsey Marie Hill
Irene Elissa Hoffmann
Gail Ann Hogarth
Angela Dawn Houle
Karen Elizabeth Howell
Alyssa Dawn Hudel
Nicole Marie Jones
The FCSS story:
40 years of
partnership
Forty years after the Preventative Social Services Act was signed, it’s rare to find
a municipality not involved in an Alberta-style Family and Community Support
Services partnership.
From six participating communities in 1966 to 304 across the province today, Alberta’s towns, cities
and Métis settlements maintain their continued belief in its value, says Calgary alderman Joe Ceci.
A social worker who advocates for stronger neighborhoods and healthy communities, Joe currently
serves as president of the Family and Community Support Services Association of Alberta (FCSSAA).
“No other province has FCSS. Provincial ministers are always
asked about it by their counterparts in other provinces and
like to show it off. And over the years, whether the program
has enjoyed lots of provincial support or only a little, it has
always come through due to the tremendous support of local
councils and citizens,” Joe says. “Forty years is significant
because government programs typically come and go depending on the focus of the government of the day, but FCSS has
never become stagnant.”
Photo by Clara Natoli
feature
article
By Cheryl Moskaluk
Anyone involved
in delivering
human services
can understand
why. Alberta
cities that were
involved at the
outset, can point to a host of enduring community programs
that were built around budding FCSS partnerships two
decades ago. Columnist Don Milne documents the resulting
dynamic growth in the City of Edmonton in this issue of the
Advocate (page 22). City residents now have a host of options
for services. But in the majority of small rural communities, FCSS is often the only vehicle that communities have
to address prevention, says Cold Lake Community Services
Director Milad Asdaghi. Without a partnership of this nature,
a lot of the supportive programs that currently reach rural
families simply wouldn’t exist.
Under the FCSS partnership, the province provides a predetermined grant for locally driven initiatives, and municipalities match that grant by providing at least 20 percent of
the funding. The guiding philosophy is that local people can
influence things that affect them, that communities can be
26
innovative and creative, and that programs should encourage
citizen participation and volunteerism.
27
Photo by Malinda Welte
In order to better tell the FCSS story and to shout just a
little more loudly about the difference that FCSS programs
make, FCSSA has adopted the Making A Difference (MAD)
FCSS funding has allowed the town to embrace one of its
most important goals—to reach youth and seniors, says Milad. Outcome Evaluation system. Under the three-year pilot
launched in the City of Lethbridge, two basic components
They’ve decided to use the Virtues Project, a broad program
have been created: the capacity to develop program logic
in which the community uses five strategies for character
models and an accompanying comprehensive outcomes datadevelopment to underpin the workshops offered directly to
base. FCSS program providers from around Alberta can pull
families or through the schools.
outcome measures from the database, and much of this infor“The community feels this is the best approach to those dismation forms the basis for their annual reports to the provcussions about vandalism and violence in the community and ince, says Sharlyn White. About half of all FCSS programs are
what to do about it,” he says. “Because the FCSS funding is
involved in this project.
flexible, we can pull back where schools are taking the lead or
On the advocacy front, the FCSSAA backs strongly held posistep in where the schools step back.”
tions of its members that the provincial government must
So Albertans have good reasons to celebrate this 40th annireclaim responsibility where FCSS programs have been filling
versary and the FCSSAA has plans to help everyone join the
the gap. The board agrees that out-of-school care should be
party this summer and fall, says Executive Director Sharlyn
the responsibility of the provincial government, which would
White. The year-long birthday kicks off July 1, in honor of
free up FCSS dollars for other important work in communithe signing of the Act on July 1, 1966. A year’s celebrations
ties, Joe says. Again, if responsible ministries took on the costs
will involve distributing a “celebration tool kit” to FCSS pro- of special transportation, local FCSS funding wouldn’t be
grams and the launching of the first annual FCSS volunteer
eaten away in this area.
awards as well as a photo competition and traveling historical
This fall, the FCSSAA will also respond to a review in which
exhibition. In November, the annual FCSSAA conference
will adopt the “40 Years & Fabulous” theme; sessions and key- Children’s Services Minister Heather Forsythe will assess how
note speakers will touch on where FCSS has been and how it FCSS works with Child and Family Services Authorities
(CFSAs) to reduce the numbers of
has evolved.
families coming into contact with child
There’s also a more serious side to the celebrations as the
welfare. “We want to make sure the
FCSSAA charts a future course. Provincial funding has not kept review does not overlook the fact that
pace with program growth, which means municipalities have
FCSS goes far beyond those partnerstepped up to the plate, with Calgary moving to match funding ships,” says Joe. Besides helping families
at 25 percent and Edmonton at 40 percent, says Joe Ceci.
at risk, it’s important that FCSS remains
a universal program that reaches all
“We’ve adopted an approach of quiet diplomacy. What we’ve
Albertans.” n
been doing so far is to try to get the grassroots talking to
their MLAs,” he says. “Most smaller programs don’t have the
Feedback on this article can be directed to Cheryl
funding, staffing or volunteer resources to do more work. And Moskaluk at: [email protected]
article
in larger communities, FCSS funding is already fully committed. That leaves potential gaps in being able to respond to
changing needs.”
feature
“I think social workers have always been particularly excited
about the FCSS arrangement because of the autonomous
nature of it. They don’t have to turn around an entire bureaucracy to be able to design something that responds to local
needs,” says Milad. “And in Cold Lake, that means being able
to be involved in social planning and development on issues
that concern us, like affordable housing.”
feature
article
By Sharon Stopforth, MSW, RSW
The body
remembers
A social worker approaches
her helping profession
through the wholistic field
of body psychotherapy
Working with the body in therapy seems like a pretty radical idea. Or is it really? The field of body
psychotherapy has been around since Freud. He postulated that the ego was in fact a body ego, based
in the body. It was Wilhelm Reich, one of Freud’s own students, who grandfathered the field of body
psychotherapy. But no one seemed ready for this form of therapy in light of the sexual taboos of the
time. Poor Wilhelm was put in jail and his books burned because of his views on sexuality. So body
psychotherapy pretty much developed behind closed doors until we were ready to hear about the
connection between the mind and the body.
A good resource on the many different systems of body psychotherapy is Getting In Touch: The Guide to New Body-Centered
Therapies by Christine Caldwell. My training is in Integrative
Body Psychotherapy (IBP), created by Jack Lee Rosenberg.
Becoming a certified IBP therapist involves four years of
training and 100 hours of your own therapy. The belief is that
you cannot heal others unless you have healed yourself and
that you will not be able to work with the body unless you
have an awareness of your own body.
For more information on IBP, go to: www.ibponline.com.
The field of body psychotherapy operates on a few basic
premises:
• Any event that occurs impacts our whole being: physical,
emotional, cognitive, and spiritual.
• Energy is the form and expression of aliveness. Body psychotherapy pays intense and detailed attention to human
energy.
• Feeling and expression are prime components of healthy
functioning. Breath and movement re-establish the healthy
flow of energy in the body.
28
body. The body remembers.
ences of love and belonging.
The next developmental step is the need to be reflected.
This manifests in the physical interactions between the infant
and his or her significant caregivers. The child is assisted in
developing a sense of being both distinct from and related to
others. Reflection—or mirroring—is accomplished through
physical cues that signal approval and safety to the child as he
becomes mobile.
The next stage—rapprochement—occurs in the context of
the child being able to bond again with her caregiver at any
time. The young child’s ability to move toward and away,
choosing when to separate and when to re-bond, allows the
child to feel that both being separate and being together are
safe, good and under the child’s own choice. This body dance
of the need for both intimacy and separateness, relatedness
and distinctness, continues the rest of our lives.
Body psychotherapy perceives a correspondence between
physical and mental dysfunction. Any traumatic or wounding event will negatively impact the functioning of a person’s
body, emotions, thoughts and behaviors. Physical illness is
viewed as a metaphor for underlying issues. A body psychotherapist regards physical illness as a potential symptom of
trouble in the somatic unconscious. Because body psycho-
Treatment consists of the client having direct physical experiences that promote healing. Simply talking about an issue
in an effort to gain understanding, is not seen to address
the root causes of the trauma. Certain techniques are common to most body psychotherapists. Breath and breath work
is the primary intervention used in body-centered therapy.
Clients do breath work by lying down and deepening respiration until it stirs up energy and feeling or they are asked to
breathe more deeply as they feel and report memories, emotions and beliefs. Breath work is believed to clear blockages,
resolve trauma and promote healthy functioning.
A second common technique is expressive movement. Since a
primary therapeutic goal is to re-establish movement, therapists
encourage clients to allow their bodies to move with what
they feel. Movement enters into healing all the way from subtle
shifts inside the body to expressive gestures such as hitting and
kicking. Sound is also regarded as movement and clients may
be asked to make various sounds or be encouraged to vocalize
their experience as a way to re-establish movement processes
that have been blocked. Some (not all) body psychotherapists
use touch with their clients and these therapists have specific
bodywork training that assists them in touching their clients in
professional and appropriate ways.
Most body psychotherapists see in the future a deep reclaiming of and regard for our bodies and that all transformational
work will involve an emphasis on the body. It is my hope that
by returning home to the body, we will find power, joy and
aliveness, which has always been our birthright. n
Sharon Stopforth is a social worker in private practice, completing her fourth year
of training in Integrative Body Psychotherapy. Your feedback on this column is
welcome. Contact [email protected].
29
article
The field of body psychotherapy holds unique ideas about
human development. In particular, it looks at how developmental needs and tasks are routed through the body and
how physical interactions in the family impact psychological
maturation. Starting at conception, we need physical care such
as food, warmth and protection. If we do not receive these,
we die. We also need bonding, a sense of attachment first to
mother’s body, then to others. This bonding process is bodyfocused and body-oriented. It is accomplished through touch,
sound, smell, vision and movement. The ways in which we
interact with the bodies of our infants form their first experi-
therapy is so movement-oriented,
pathology tends to be seen as a
state of stillness or blocked move- Sharon Stopforth
ment in the body. If we need
to either tighten or collapse to
restrict our energy and movement, and if this strategy is
used frequently, it becomes chronic and fixed in the body.
Many practitioners see this lack of movement in the body, or
armoring, as a persona or false self that reacts automatically
and dysfunctionally in the world.
feature
• The body can be divided into different energetic segments
based on form and function, storing different memories,
emotions, issues and traumas.
• The body is the blueprint for all experience. Whatever happened to us in our lifetime can be re-accessed through the
feature
article
By Cheryl Moskaluk
Close-up:
Making
history sing
CASW award winner Baldwin Reichwein is drawn to study the nature of social work
history in Alberta
Baldwin Reichwein walks with a spring in his step these days. Every time he emerges
from a dusty Alberta archive with one treasure or another he’s a little bit richer, like a
boy of summer scoring a favorite baseball card.
Baldwin has dedicated time over the past eight years of so-called retirement to
researching Alberta’s child welfare history. As he continues this work he feels
more strongly than ever that a solid, objective knowledge of history—a story
you can hold in your hands and in your mind—is one of the most powerful
tools for moving the profession into the future.
Baldwin’s social work career was recently recognized when he received the
CASW Distinguished Service Award for Alberta during the ACSW annual convention. Executive Director Rod Adachi points to Baldwin’s numerous career
achievements in his senior roles in Alberta’s public service (including his role
as special advisor on native issues); in his work with the Huntington Society of
Canada; in his research on behalf of claimants victimized by Alberta’s sterilization program of 1928-1972; in his active role with the Edmonton Retired and
Semi-Retired Social Work Planning Group, which recently lobbied Edmonton
City Council to save a counseling program that historically had been
entrenched in the city’s mandate. But it is Baldwin’s work to record social work
history that ACSW especially highlighted in its award nomination, including his
enthusiastic support of the Electronic Wall of Recognition initiative.
30
Baldwin Reichwein at his home office
Home] for practically their entire
childhood. They had stability and
safety but the thing they missed
was love—the kind of TLC that
goes with a family home life.”
He discovered that the small groups of social workers who
first met in Edmonton and Calgary in 1949/1950 to form
branches of CASW did so against great odds. Baldwin was
intrigued to learn that such a small group could make such
large strides in the anti-social work and anti-professional
climate of the day. He was spurred on to call attention to
ACSW’s under-celebrated 50th anniversary and to document a timeline of key social work events when the Advocate
launched a 2005 Alberta centennial year history project.
The title “historian” throws Baldwin off guard. He rather
thinks of his work as a path that sprang up when his failure to
unearth documented child welfare history pointed to the fact
that too little had been written about it. In a sense, the business
of books and publishing has come full circle from his youth. As
a teenager in post-war Europe, Baldwin apprenticed in publishing and bookselling with an old publishing house. He grew
up in the Netherlands, the youngest of six born into a stable
family forced to live a risky existence during World War II. “It’s
a time I can never forget. Living through the war was an emotional experience, but it didn’t warp my outlook on life.”
Rather than spend time becoming entrenched in the social
resentments that could have resulted out of the repressive
physical and emotional hardships of war, Baldwin left that
baggage behind. Social work wasn’t a conscious path he
chose, but at age 21 he began what he could now call his first
“social work” job. His mandatory stint in the Dutch armed
forces involved training as a paymaster. “I made sure the soldiers were paid, had three meals a day, and received weekend
passes to go home.”
Three months after his army time was up, Baldwin came
to Canada. It was 1956 and he was a young man, eager and
mobile. He lived in Ontario for three years, where he was
admitted to an undergraduate program at Jerome’s College in
Kitchener. Then he made his way across Canada to Alberta,
where he worked in construction for a while. In 1959 he
was steered to the Lacombe Home in Midnapore, where he
landed a jack-of-all trades job in institutional child welfare
work. He lived there alongside 100 children and the nuns
who cared for them and taught them from grades one to 12.
“I barely had a picture in my mind of what an orphanage was
when I arrived,” he says. He was there to witness the end of
an era when large institutions were delivering child welfare
services. Baldwin’s experience of the residential system came
from the inside out. He briefly worked in childcare, helped
with bookkeeping and what was called personnel work, and
occasionally acted as chauffeur when the nuns went into
town for a movie.
“Some kids had lived there for practically their entire childhood. They had stability and safety but the thing they missed
was love—the kind of TLC that goes with a family home
life,” Baldwin says. His saddest experience there was at
Continued on page 32
31
article
“Some kids had lived [at Lacombe
Baldwin in WWII (back row, second from right): Baldwin’s stint in the Dutch army
was actually his first “social work” job. As paymaster, he had to make sure soldiers
got paid, had three meals a day, and received weekend passes to go home.
feature
As Baldwin began to produce a regular column on social
work history for the Advocate, he was surprised to find that a
bunch of dusty papers casually deposited in a ring binder was
the only existing evidence of how the social work profession
was sparked in the late 1940s and how it evolved in Alberta.
Descriptions of the accomplishments of Alberta’s first social
workers were murky at best but Baldwin persevered in documenting what he could find. “Someone could have thrown
out those minutes and that’s all that exists to tell the beginnings of our own story,” he says.
Close-up
feature
article
Continued from page 32
Christmas, when well-meaning families from nearby farms
would come and invite some of the children into their homes
for a big Christmas meal. But after Christmas Day, the children were dropped off with hopes for a real home raised and
then dashed. They had been shown a heaven they could not
hope for in their own future.
“If you have the right minds and you are being
heard by the deputy ministers and minister,
then it is possible to move the system.”
affairs. Around that same time,
in 1984, a lonely Métis teenager named Richard Cardinal
Baldwin in 1986: During this period Baldwin did
some important work negotiating with Aboriginal
took his own life while under
permanent guardianship. Shock peoples for the transfer of authority for native
children’s services to native communities.
waves pounded through every
Aboriginal community and
child welfare services. Appointed as special advisor to government on Aboriginal issues, Baldwin was already involved with
many First Nations leaders and communities. He was part
of negotiating tripartite Indian child welfare agreements that
resulted in delegation of authority to Aboriginal agencies.
A 1987 report of the Working Committee on Native Child
Welfare Services detailed for the ministers of the day, recommendations that had grass roots support of Aboriginal communities in Alberta. The report became the broad template for
Aboriginal child welfare services.
Baldwin’s time at Lacombe Home gave him a good grounding in residential care, knowledge he tucked away as he
moved into a social work position in Edmonton with the
Department of Public Welfare in 1961. By 1966, now married
to his wife Ronalda, Baldwin was managing a regional office, “It was some of the toughest work I ever did, to get the sysstaff, and resources in Wetaskiwin.
tem to move, but it was the most rewarding. If you have the
right minds and you are being heard by the deputy ministers
By virtue of his extensive practical social work experience,
and minister, then it is possible to move the system.”
Baldwin was sponsored by the Alberta government to take
educational leave and attend the Maritime School of Social
Today Baldwin has just completed, Looking Into the Past, a
Work in Nova Scotia in 1967. In spite of undergraduate credit history of children’s services in Medicine Hat. “Sometimes
deficiencies, MSW graduate work was satisfactorily completed I feel I’m walking on eggs,” he says of his work to unearth
in 1969, and later assessed by ACSW as a legitimate MSW
layers of child welfare history that might in some quarters
equivalency. Baldwin returned to Edmonton in 1969 to find
be an uneasy disturbance of the more comfortable silence of
fewer than half
forgetfulness. In that kind of comfort, Baldwin can’t let the
a dozen trained
profession rest. His pitch to strengthen the profession through
social workers in
writing its history is a tribute to those who worked against
the regional system great odds in the past and a challenge to the social workers of
of the Department the future.
of Public Welfare
“You don’t fly solo. When you are up to your eyes in alligain Edmonton.
tors they are there beside you. You need that intellectual and
While working in
emotional support,” he says. He’s banking on the next gensenior level maneration of social workers to muster the will to advance the
agement positions
profession and to truly understand what they can accomplish
with Alberta’s social together. n
services, Baldwin
Feedback on this article can be directed to Cheryl Moskaluk at: beyondwords@
became involved
interbaun.com
with Aboriginal
Baldwin and his wife, Ronalda
32
Letter to the Editor:
A plea for social work research
in the
new
Don Milne, MSW, RSW
might be rejuvenated. A number of observations were made regarding actions that might inject
new public visibility, inter-professional awareness, and acknowledgment of social work as a
profession. More questions were raised than answers put forward, but some issues emerged that I
feel may contribute to this important discussion. Most prominent is a plea for social work research.
The social work literature is replete with technical material
produced in cultural contexts which are not our context—
not Canadian. The experience recounted and evidence
documented is not Canadian experience. While this does not
necessarily invalidate its utility for educational purposes in
this country or its applicability to human beings in general,
it does point out the abysmal shortage of documented
Canadian experience, which reflects quintessentially Canadian
orientations and values, which may differ from contexts
elsewhere.
tion of theories and systematic testing of techniques? Where
is our documentation of our efforts to prevent as opposed
to simply treat social problems? Can we sustain or must we
re-earn the respect and acknowledgment our profession has
enjoyed?
I submit that every social worker must to some degree attend
to research in his or her practice. The careful documentation
of practice is the beginning point upon which systematic
evaluation can be built. What works or does not work can be
identified, quantified, communicated, taught—and becomes
In earlier times, social work earned its reputation, visibility,
and acceptance by virtue of the fact that its key leaders and
teachers were the authors and documenters of significant policy analysis and program proposals that earned national and
international attention and produced social policy legislation
and procedures, which had widespread impact on the general population. These intellectual leaders were consultants to
governments sought out for their wisdom and insights. Their
emphasis on systematic, well-thought-out research was the
basis for much of their effort.
part of the professional body of knowledge. We must account
for what we actually accomplish. It is incumbent upon all to
acquire at least a rudimentary knowledge of those techniques
that permit supportable evaluation of what we do. There is a
huge challenge here for academics who deal with the formation of attitudes in new entrants to the profession but there
is an equal challenge for those skilled practitioners who have
invaluable experience to record it for posterity.
When our profession reaches the mature stage where we
have an identifiable body of knowledge in a form that can be
What has changed? Where are these leaders in today’s social
scene? Have we lost our commitment to in-depth examination of the social issues about which we are such avid exponents? Is there no focus on intellectual depth, on the formula-
understood, assessed and respected for its validity by related
professions and the public at large, we will achieve the public
acceptance and standing we believe the profession warrants. n
33
news
At the March ACSW Annual Conference a panel discussion was held considering how the profession
By Liz Lawryk, BSW, MSc HS, RSW
feature
article
“Did YOU
drink
in your pregnancy?”
The ramifications of gathering
maternal ingestion of alcohol histories
Now after several years of advanced education and in our enthusiasm to initiate a diagnosis of Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), we have created a new phenomena of potentially “re-abusing”
women with regular questioning as to whether they drank alcohol and/or used drugs while pregnant.
This has resulted in unanticipated and unintentional consequences to ethical, professional and legal
service delivery as it pertains to a medical
diagnosis compounded by the social issue of alcoholism.
FASD is like no other form of brain dysfunction/injury, as it often not only involves patients and their
families, but Social Services, Education, Health and Justice agencies.
So who is asking these questions and how? Recent reports
• Judges, lawyers
from biological mothers (OBD Triage Institute) indicate
• Psychologists
that they have been questioned about whether they drank
• Psychiatrists
alcohol in their pregnancy up to seven times and in some
• Group home or residential care employees
cases, over the telephone, in an initial meeting, and/or in
• Private adoption social workers
Court by various professionals including:
• Children Services social workers
• In-home support staff
• Educators
• Probation officers
Eventually, FASD Clinic personnel interview the
mother in an attempt to establish accurate information
necessary for the physician’s evaluation to determine
the appropriate diagnostic outcome. It should be noted
that the same women who have been courageous
34
n Incidents have been reported that women have relapsed
almost immediately after such conversations even
though they maintained sobriety for several years. Some
have disclosed that they made an attempt on their life
out of shame or guilt and in one instance, a mother
committed suicide, apparently feeling that she would
lose custody of her children because she admitted to
n Designated Consent for Release Forms may not be
drinking alcohol in her pregnancy. Premedical screenapplicable or appropriate for obtaining and storing
ing is a process that involves intensive support pre, during
medical data concerning all obstetrics history, includand post interviews to attend to these high-risk possiing ingestion of alcohol and/or drugs. Further, in some
bilities.
instances, the mother may be alcohol-affected or have
n Confirmation of alcohol ingestion in pregnancy has
other deficits rendering informed consent questionable
depending on her cognitive abilities.
been inappropriately used in Family Court trials against
a biological mother with the view to prove her unfit to
n The professional may be liable if he/she is not qualicare for her child.
fied specifically in premedical screening for organic
brain dysfunction, obstetrics and genetics or may be
n Medical research has established that not all individuinadequately insured to obtain this information. This is
als who have been exposed to alcohol insult in utero
of particular concern in the event a biological mother
are necessarily affected. (Spohr, Steinhausen, 1996).
recants a previous disclosure and seeks legal retribution.
Discussions involving a mother’s use of alcohol may
cause unnecessary worry for caregivers and possibly
provision of unsuitable parenting strategies in the presumption of a diagnosis within the spectrum.
Concerns for the professional are:
n Pre-medical screening for organic brain dysfunction/
injury includes investigation into other teratogenic
(anything that adversely affects cellular development
in the embryo or fetus) possibilities as well as other
medical issues and the potential relationship for
n The information gathered may be inaccurate (the
mother may have presented as an unreliable historian
for various reasons such as cognitive deficits, shame or
guilt) thus rendering a potential adoption disruption or
lawsuit (for failure to provide medical possibilities that
may translate to seemingly defiant behaviour).
n In order to collect accurate data for research in FASD,
we must have consistency of relevant, predetermined
questions.
35
article
fetal damage and
subsequent cognitive
impairment including
Liz Lawryk
Fetal Hydantoin,
Fetal Anticonvulsant,
Fetal Valproate, Maternal (phenylketonuria) PKU
Fetal Effects, Toluene embryopathy, DNA mutations
and various syndromes including Aarskog, Noonan,
Dubowitz, Corneila deLange, Opitz, Williams and
Turner. Other mitigating health issues of concern for
exploration are pre-term bleeding, anorexia, high blood
pressure, virus, and German Measles. Other factors for
consideration are radiation, lead, X-rays, herbicides,
cigarette smoke, alcohol, illicit drugs, prescription
medication, adverse postnatal complications and
nutrition.
feature
enough to share such information have also disclosed that
they have typically experienced childhood maltreatment
by way of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. As a result
of repetitious and inexpert interviews, in some cases, wellmeaning professionals may have unintentionally hindered
the medical process, thus impacting accurate diagnosis. More
alarmingly, they also may have inadvertently caused further
emotional stress to a biological mother for the following
reasons:
“Did YOU drink in your pregnancy?”
feature
article
Continued from page 36
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is a medical diagnosis that
requires specialized training for physicians as well as related
professional groups. So how do we help?
n In the event a mother is concerned that FASD may be
an issue for one or more of her children, let her know
that not all children that have been prenatally exposed
to alcohol are necessarily affected and that only a
trained physician is appropriate to formulate a diagnosis. Let her know you will help her with a referral and
that her health, obstetrics and drinking in pregnancy
histories will be gathered by a health-related professional in order to protect disclosure of her information.
Ask around the actual maternal ingestion question for
information regarding addictions and social history in
general. Support her in acknowledging that no woman
drinks in pregnancy on purpose and that past abuse in
some form has very likely contributed to her situation.
n Advise the mother that the FASD Clinic will screen for
many possibilities and not just FASD.
n Many professionals have received basic training in
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Current and medically accurate training in the intricacies of premedical
screening, diagnosis and patient specific strategies is
required for all professional groups including Social
Services, Education, Health and Justice agencies. This
process is essential to strengthen supports to women
and their families by promoting an even greater
understanding of their journey in life, free of disrespect or “re-abuse.” In doing so, we influence prevention for the next generations to come. n
Liz Lawryk is the Chief Clinical Examiner at the OBD (Organic Brain Dysfunction)
Triage Institute, which provides premedical screening training and author of the
book, Finding Perspective…Raising Successful Children Affected by Fetal Alcohol
Spectrum Disorder.
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For your information
PLEASE NOTE: For updated information, see “Calendar of Events” at:
www.acsw.ab.ca/calendar_of_events
Information/ to register check www.rmpti.com or phone (403)
245-5981.
For information/registration www.ispcan.org/Congress2006/
A World Out of Balance:
Working for a new Social Equilibrium
International Conference:
International Federation of Social Workers
July 30 – August 3, 2006 in Munich, Germany
Advances in Attachment Theory
and Early Relational Trauma
Dr. Allan Schore
September 15 and 16, 2006
University of Calgary, MacEwan Ballroom
For information/registration [email protected].
For information or to register check website www.rmpti.com
or phone (403) 245-5981.
Forensic Psychiatry Reunion
Sept. 29 - Oct. 1, 2006
in Calgary, AB
For those who worked on the Forensic Unit,
CGH, PLC between 1976-2006
University of Alberta Campus
Educating for Wholeness
Contact Michele Shay by July 31 at (403) 241-2917 (E) or
(403) 932-8737 (D) or email her at:
Upcoming Courses:
Group Counselling: Process, Theories and Strategies
July 24-28, 2006
Jungian Dreamwork July 31-Aug 4, 2006
Art Therapy & Bereavement: Drawing from Within
Aug. 21-25, 2006
in Edmonton
Aug. 14-18, 2006 in Calgary
To register or for information on other courses:
St. Stephen’s College 780-439-7311
or 1-800-661-4956
[email protected]
The Alberta Early Years Conference:
Creating Possibilities
October 2 - 4, 2006
Fantasyland Hotel, West Edmonton Mall
Edmonton, Alberta
The third biennial Alberta Early Years conference will
explore ways of creating possibilities to support children
and their families.
For more information, see : www.albertaearlyyears.ca or
email [email protected]
www.ualberta.ca/ST.STEPHENS/
37
information
Children in a Changing World:
Getting It Right
International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect
September 3 - 6, 2006
in York, UK
for your
“Certificate in Therapeutic Play Skills”
Presented by Rocky Mountain Play Therapy Institute
Calgary, AB
July 17 – 26, 2006
information
for your
c0004305_rmpti_ad.qxp
Reflection, Hope and Resilience:
Strengthening Foundations
XV International Family Therapy Association
World Congress
October 4 - 7, 2006
in Reykjavik, Iceland
5/17/2006
1:02 PM
Page 1
Rocky Mountain Play Therapy
Institute Presents:
Dr. Allan Schore
Advances in Attachment Theory and
Early Relational Trauma
Early Bird: July 18, 2006
For information/registration: www.ifta2006.org.
University of Calgary,
September 15th & 16th, 2006
Geneva Centre for Autism International Symposium
October 25-27, 2006
in Toronto, ON
Dr. Allan Schore
For information/registration (416) 322-7877 ext 516 or
[email protected].
Dr. Allan Schore is on the clinical faculty
of the Department of Psychiatry and
Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA David
Geffen School of Medicine, and at the
UCLA Center for Culture, Brain, and
Development. He is author of Affect
Regulation and the Origin of the Self, now in its tenth printing, and the recently published Affect Dysregulation and
Disorders of the Self and Affect Regulation and the Repair
of the Self. His groundbreaking contributions have impacted the fields of psychoanalysis, affective neuroscience,
neuropsychiatry, developmental psychopathology, trauma
theory, infant mental health, psychotherapy, and behavioral
biology. He is described as “the American Bowlby” and
“the world's leading authority on neuropsychoanalysis”.
“Introductory Theraplay Training”
Dr. Evangeline Munns
November 1 - 4, 2006
in Calgary, AB
Information/ to register check website www.rmpti.com or
phone (403) 245-5981. 3rd Annual Conference on Diver-
sity and Wellbeing:
Taking Action on Homelessness and Health
Friday November 17, 2006
Grace Baptist Church
in Calgary, AB
Day 1:
9:00am-4:00pm, September 15th, 2006
Registration 8:30am-9:00am:
Continental Breakfast and refreshments
The Calgary Health Region in partnership with AIDS Calgary
Awareness Association, Alexandra Community Health Centre,
Calgary Drop In and Rehab Centre, Calgary United Way, CUPS
Community Health Centre, City of Calgary, Inn from the Cold,
Mount Royal College, and the University of Calgary are pleased
to announce the third annual Diversity and Wellbeing Conference.
The Enduring Impact of Relational Trauma on the
Developing Brain
Day 2:
9:00am-4:00pm, September 16th, 2006
Registration 8:30am-9:00am:
Continental Breakfast and refreshments
Recent Advances in Attachment Theory and
Neuroscience: Implications for Psychotherapy
This conference will be of interest to anyone working to
improve the health of homeless populations, particularly
human service professionals and students in medicine, nursing, social work, child and youth studies, rehabilitation studies, addictions counseling, criminology, law enforcement, and
justice.
MacEwan Ballroom
University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW,
Calgary, AB
*Category A approved with ACSW
� Day 1 $210 ($185 before July 15th, 2006, $220 onsite)
Please watch our website for more information:
http://www.calgaryhealthregion.ca/hecomm/diversity/conference_main.htm, email:
� Day 2 $210 ($185 before July 15th, 2006, $220 onsite)
� Both days $340 ($310 before July 15th, 2006, $395 onsite)
[email protected], or call: (403) 9430205.
For full brochure or registration form please phone
(403) 245-5981 or download from our website training
calendar at www.rmpti.com.
38
Living in Harmony:
Promoting Creative Synergy in a Stressful World
5th International Conference:
Social Work in Health and Mental Health
December 10-14, 2006 in Hong Kong
Members Connecting
With Members
For information/registration www.swh2006.com.
Go to the Faculty’s home page at www.fsw.ucalgary.ca and click at the bottom of the page on “Tell Us A Story.”
To place your notice in “For Your Information,” contact the ACSW office. n
39
Contact:
Associates Counselling Services
239-12B St. North, Lethbridge AB T1J 1L3
Fax (403) 381-0229
“Members Connecting With Members” classified
ads are for ACSW members only: $3/word, max.
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The FCSS story: 40 years of partnership

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