CASW Affirms Social Work Call-to-Action in Canada’s New Black Justice Strategy
Ottawa, ON, July 11, 2024 – The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) affirms and recognizes the release of Canada’s New Black Justice Strategy, A Roadmap for Transformative Change, which was published June 28, 2024.
The strategy makes many recommendations across 5 ‘pillars’ that inform Black people’s experiences with the criminal justice system: the social determinants of health, including child welfare; policing; courts and legislation; corrections; and finally, parole, re-entry and reintegration.
“The recommendation specific to our profession falls within the scope of child welfare and calls on provinces and territories to provide greater education to social workers on the realities of anti-Black racism and the unique challenges faced by newcomers to Canada, in the goal of keeping families together,” said CASW President, Barbara Whitenect. “We want our membership, the public, and especially Black communities across Canada to know that while this call may not be directly to our Association, we have heard it and intend to honour it.”
In late 2022, CASW was proud to launch Reparations for Social Workers of African Descent, a joint project with the Association of Black Social Workers (ABSW) that focused on the profession of social work and its relationship with Black people and communities. The report proposed reparations, or recommendations for action, two of which focused on providing continuing education on anti-Black racism, the history of Black people in Canada, and other emerging issues impacting Black people and communities.
“CASW takes its role in providing continuing education so that social workers can meet their requirements for not only regulation, but professional growth, very seriously,” said Whitenect. “We commit to meeting our Reparations project commitments and regularly providing continuing education relevant to Black communities and that actively seeks to dismantle anti-Black racism.”
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