Nunavut government clarifies social worker hiring policies

I am writing in response to your articles “Family Services touts ‘action plan’ to fix child protection in Nunavut,” and “Nunavut needs more local, qualified social services staff, MLAs say,” from Sept. 17 and Sept. 18.

These articles gave an incomplete description of the professional qualifications of Nunavut’s Community Social Services Workers.

On behalf of the Department of Family Services, I want to reassure Nunavummiut that its CSSWs are fully qualified professionals in social work, and are committed to the well-being of children, families and their communities.

All CSSWs hired in Nunavut, including those who are granted either a Statutory Appointment or a Letter of Authority, meet the basic requirements for professional practice. Our professionals hold diplomas and bachelor degrees in social work, and, in many cases, also master’s degrees in social work.

Many of our CSSWs and supervisors exceed the minimum legal requirements, and arrive with several years of direct experience in child protection and community social work.

It is important to understand what we mean by Statutory Appointment and by Letter of Authority.

A Statutory Appointment is granted once a social worker has completed the Nunavut Core Statutory Training program, and mastered the seven areas of required competency. The competency areas include Inuit Societal Values, Nunavut Legislation, Children and Family Services policy standards, best interest of the child, personal integrity skills, decision making, organizational structure and other training initiatives.

A Letter of Authority is granted to a social worker who has not attended the Nunavut Core Statutory Training program. This statutory letter allows the individual to legally perform the duties of a child protection worker in Nunavut while they pursue their training in the competency areas.

The auditor general, in his recent report, noted the satisfactory level of Nunavut-specific training that we provide to our CSSW professionals.

The Statutory Appointment and Letter of Authority are tools that allow us to meet the critical demand for CSSWs in our communities on a timely basis, while not compromising the quality and efficiency of service delivery that our communities expect.

I am grateful to our CSSWs, supervisors, and many community members who lend their time and support, for their unwavering commitment to the welfare of our children.

I thank Nunatsiaq News for the opportunity to provide the public with a more accurate picture of the quality of our community social services workers.

Brandon Grant
Acting Deputy Minister
Department of Family Services

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