Social Service Worker Essentials
While there are many skills that
students can learn in a Social Service Worker program, such as the one
offered at Centennial College, there are qualities with which students
should already come into the offering. For example, as a Social Service
Worker deals with vulnerable facets of the community in settings such as
shelters, community centres, group homes and advocacy coalitions, he or
she must be compassionate and a good listener. Secondly, because a
Social Service Worker performs specific tasks, for multiple clients at
the same time - such obtaining government funds, offering guidance and
counseling to people in crisis, arranging foster homes for children, and
beginning legal action in cases of child abuse - good time management
and organizational skills a necessity.
Meanwhile, at a Social Service Worker program, students gain a whole other range of skills that will see them succeed in the field. Applicants are required to have completed an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. Students must also have completed the compulsory English 12C or U or skills assessment, or equivalent; attend a program admission session and offer proof of English proficiency. As the Social Service Worker program features a field placement component, a criminal reference check might be required. Certain criminal convictions may disallow placement in an agency and program completion may not be possible.
Here are five standout courses that -
when combined with experiences in assessing communities, developing and
writing funding proposals, social action plans as well as simulated
client interviews and assessments - ensure students are ready to apply
for Social Service Worker positions right upon graduation.
Fundamentals of Interviewing and
Counselling: This Social Service Worker course also paves the way for
the third semester Advanced Interviewing and Counselling course.
Students master approaches including problem-solving, task-centered
casework, and crisis intervention methods. Communication and
interviewing skills are introduced and explored in greater depth during
the follow-up course.
Power and Social Movements: Because a
Social Service Worker must know his or her social history, this course
provides a Canadian historical perspective to explore the relationship
between the structure of power and the rise of social movements
challenging the inequitable distribution of power. The focus is on the
social, economic, and political facts that impact the distribution of
power in Canada - that is who has power and who does not and why.
Social Policy: Another Social Service
Worker course that paves the way for a more advanced course in semester
three, this undertaking sees students become familiar with social
policies and legislation from the context of practice in the area of
legal accountability, standards of practice, civil and legal
responsibility and as the primary response by government to social
problems.
Power, Privilege and Oppression: Because
there are certain groups who are more likely to be clients of a Social
Service Worker, this course examines the social, political and economic
forces that contribute to the oppression and marginality of particular
groups within society. Students look at the relationship between social
inequality and being a social service recipient, and become familiar
with the social, political and economic construction of marginalization.
Field Placements: To round out the Social Service Worker
program are two field placements in the third and fourth semesters that
allow attendees to apply what they have learned in their courses to the
real world. These experiences will further allow them to evaluate the
strengths and limitations of the social service system.