All Webinars

The Basic Income series is an accessible introduction into the world of basic income and what its implementation could mean for youth across what is colonially known as Canada and beyond. Our series is designed to provide accessible insights and spark discussions on this important topic.

The second webinar of this series considers the transformative potential of a guaranteed basic income in supporting families and youth involved with Canada’s child welfare system. We explore how a basic income can help sever the complex relationships between intergenerational trauma, poverty, and child welfare involvement.

Learning Objectives:

● Understand the impacts of and intersections between poverty, race, and colonization on child welfare investigations
● Consider the impacts of basic income broadly, and apply learnings to connect basic income and the health and well-being of children and families
● Explore the connections between basic income advocacy and core social work values as they relate to child protection and child welfare

This webinar is offered in partnership with the Basic Income Youth Collective. 

Youth in Care Matter: Examining the experiences of youth ‘aging out’ of the Canadian Child Welfare System during the COVID-19 Pandemic  

The COVID-19 pandemic and the socio-economic upheaval associated with the pandemic have exacerbated the already precarious situation of young people exiting care. This research project aimed to examine the supports perceived by youth who 'aged out' of care as crucial to their successful transition to adulthood during the pandemic. Using a qualitative mixed methods approach, the research incorporated arts-based creative submissions from participants, accompanied by one-on-one follow-up qualitative interviews to further contextualize the creative works and inquire about expectations, needs, barriers and strengths of the participants’ transition to adulthood in a pandemic context. A total of ten youth between the ages of 18 and 22 from across the country participated in the study, with 60% identifying as female. Interview transcripts were thematically analyzed to identify common and individual themes emerging from the experiences of the participants. Nearly all youth identified having their basic needs being met as one of the major strength factors during their transition to adulthood in the pandemic context. Nearly all participants expressed they were not getting sufficient supports from their agency and the Ministry for their transition to adulthood due to restrictive eligibility criteria. Over half of participants expressed that the move to virtual and phone appointments impacted the quality and accessibility of services, and increased their sense of isolation. Recommendations focused, amongst others, on youth-centered and realistic independent living programs, better organization of pandemic strategies and transparent communication and more empathy from workers. 

This webinar is intended to help professionals learn about and engage with:

• The experiences of youth ‘aging out’ of care in a pandemic context and their artistic submissions (paintings, drawings, poetry);
• Strengths and barriers to a successful transition to adulthood; and
• Concrete recommendations for social work policy and practice.

When acute pain is not addressed in a timely and effective manner it can become chronic. Chronic pain impacts an estimated 7.6 million Canadians, and its prevalence is expected to rise to nine million by 2030. Chronic pain can reduce quality of life and cause depression, increased suicidal ideation, insomnia, impaired cognitive function, and other damaging long-term effects including fear of movement, physical deconditioning and social isolation. Improving access to pain services is one of the top priorities identified among Canadians living with pain and their families. Power over Pain Portal (PoP) is a national initiative funded by Health Canada to improve connection and access for those living with pain as well as those who treat it.   This presentation will explore the biopsychosocial model of chronic pain and introduce the PoP as a resource that can be used within a social work practice.

In Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), skills training aims to enhance clients’ capabilities in regulating emotions and navigating their relationships, and ensuring that these skills are generalized to all contexts. In this webinar, you will learn how mindfulness is presented in DBT and organized into unique skills that promote attentional control, intentional action and present moment focus. You will learn practical mindfulness skills that can be integrated into your work with clients in individual and/or group therapy to treat a variety of emotional and behavioural issues.

This is part of a webinar series covering the four categories of DBT skills including mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Attendees will be entered into a draw to win a copy of The DBT Skills Daily Journal.

Webinar Summary:

Research into the impacts of independent living programs shows that they are not effective due to unrealistic expectations placed on young people in care to be independent and self-sufficient. This webinar details the phenomenon of ‘aging out’ of care, why independent living/life skills programs are not effective on their own, and why new approaches focused on developing interdependence skills are best suited to young people in care. Concrete recommendations for policies and practices are also presented, from a youth-centered and trauma-informed perspective.

This webinar is intended to help professionals learn about and engage with:

• The realities and challenges faced by young people in care as they transition to adulthood;
• The conceptual framework for policy and practice: interdependence vs. independence and autonomy;
• What works and what doesn't work to prepare youth in care for the transition to adulthood; and
• How to apply the concept of interdependence in policies and practices.

Value 7: Providing Competent Professional Services

This webinar discusses the elements that contribute to competency in social work services and highlights the importance of continuous learning and limiting practice to areas of competence. The webinar also discusses social workers’ responsibilities to contribute to the development of current and new members of the profession when possible and advancement of the knowledge base of the profession.

Valeur 7 : Fournir des services professionnels compétents

Ce webinaire se concentre sur les facteurs clés qui définissent la compétence dans les services de travail social. Il met en avant l’importance cruciale de l’apprentissage continu et de la limitation de la pratique aux domaines de compétence de la praticienne ou du praticien. Le webinaire aborde aussi les responsabilités des travailleurs sociaux en matière de contribution au développement professionnel des membres actuels et nouveaux de la profession. Il souligne le rôle qu’ils jouent dans l’avancement de la base de connaissances de leur métier.

Emerging evidence shows that social factors - including social isolation, loneliness, and social vulnerability - are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality, comparable to established risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, and frailty (Freedman & Nicolle, 2020). In response to this growing societal challenge, The Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health (CCSHM) has launched the first-ever Canadian clinical guidelines for health care and social service professionals to support them in their vital professional roles working with older patients and clients. Dr. David Conn, Co-Chair of CCSMH, will be sharing highlights of the guidelines and encouraging the audience to reflect on and consider how they are already incorporating the recommendations into their practice and/or where there might be opportunities for change.

Research has shown, that not all children in care, who can no longer be cared for by their parents are given the same opportunity for kin placement.   Equity in permanency refers to principles of child protection practice that prioritise the exploration of family placements, without discrimination of any kind, to achieve optimal long-term outcomes for the child. The principles seek to empower child protection partners globally to have a child rights approach, and promote policies and protocols that ensure all family placement options are explored for any child. Furthermore, equity in permanency aims to access and connect with a child’s extended family both locally and overseas to provide the best opportunity for them to be raised with a strong sense of identity, belonging, roots and culture.

Value 6: Maintaining Privacy and Confidentiality

This webinar discusses the multiple components of a social worker’s responsibility to protect privacy and safeguard confidentiality of service users. The webinar discusses duties to protect privacy such as considering the values, customs, and beliefs of service users and respecting how they wish confidentiality to be applied within their cultural context, limiting the use of information obtained through the provision of services to only professional purposes, and being transparent with service users about the limits of confidentiality. The webinar looks at the privacy and confidentiality issues related to providing electronic social work services and communicating with service users through text or other electronic messaging methods.

Valeur 6 : Préserver la vie privée et la confidentialité

Ce webinaire aborde les divers aspects de la responsabilité de protéger la vie privée et la confidentialité des utilisateurs de services. Il examine les obligations à respecter à l’égard de la vie privée, incluant la prise en compte des valeurs, coutumes et croyances des utilisateurs. Le webinaire souligne l’importance de respecter la manière dont les utilisateurs souhaitent que la confidentialité soit gérée dans leur contexte culturel. Il met l’accent sur la limitation de l’utilisation des informations obtenues à des fins strictement professionnelles et sur la transparence envers les utilisateurs concernant les limites de cette confidentialité. Le webinaire explore également les enjeux de protection de la vie privée et de confidentialité liés à la prestation de services de travail social en ligne. Enfin, il aborde la communication avec les utilisateurs par le biais de textos ou d’autres méthodes de messagerie électronique, mettant en lumière les défis et les bonnes pratiques dans ce domaine.

Value 5: Preserving Integrity in Professional Practice

This webinar looks at the social worker’s obligations to maintain high standards of professional conduct. Professional integrity is founded on honesty, trustworthiness and the social worker being responsible, and accountable to service users and to colleagues. The webinar unpacks the components of professional integrity including maintaining professional boundaries, avoiding conflicts of interest, and seeking guidance and supervision to guide them through ethical decision making. The webinar addresses the expectations of private practitioners to employ ethical business practices.

Valeur 5 : Préserver l’intégrité dans la pratique professionnelle

Ce webinaire se penche sur les obligations des travailleuses et travailleurs sociaux en matière de conduite professionnelle. Il met l’accent sur l’intégrité professionnelle, fondée sur l’honnêteté, la fiabilité et la responsabilité envers les utilisateurs du service et les collègues. Le webinaire explore les divers aspects de l’intégrité professionnelle. Il aborde notamment le maintien des frontières professionnelles, la prévention des conflits d’intérêts, et la nécessité de chercher des conseils et de la supervision pour des décisions éthiques éclairées. En outre, le webinaire traite des attentes spécifiques pour les praticiens et praticiennes en secteur privé concernant l’emploi de pratiques commerciales éthiques.