Canadian Association of Social Workers

The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) is the national association for the social work profession in Canada.

Introduction
CASW was founded in 1926 to establish standards of practice for social workers. It has individual members, and 10 provincial and territorial partner organizations. Its mission objective is to promote positive social services, protect the professionals of social work from mistreatment in Canada, satiate social needs of Canadians by influencing policies and advancing social justice.

It is a member of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), and evaluates the credentials of foreign-trained social workers. It makes policies and offers advice, decides ethics, and provides services to social workers. The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) faces challenges in advocacy and certification due to decentralized leadership. Insufficient funding from Employment and Social Development Canada and provincial bodies worsens these challenges. Provinces create policies independently and work with ASWB, a U.S.-based for-profit organization, for social worker assessments. This process is controversial, lacking relevance to Canadian policies and legal frameworks, raising doubts about its suitability for registration. The use of ASWB, even for Canadian candidates, is contentious, as it does not align with Canadian educational standards or educational program content. In the U.S., the ASWB exam is used for domestic and international candidates seeking registered practice. However, in Canada, certain regulatory bodies redundantly use it to only verify the qualifications of BIPOC candidates, while domestically educated candidates might not qualify according to American content. Economic and race-affirming advantages drive many regulatory bodies to opt for it. Generally criticized for its structure and rationale, the ASWB exam is specifically faulted for its lack of relevance to Canadian policies and legal frameworks. Empowering CASW at the federal level is crucial for promoting ethical, fair, and legally protective practices in the Canadian social work profession. As an umbrella organization in Canada, CASW previously represented Canadian Social Work professionals. It is essential to empower such an organization to establish Canadian capacity to tailor examinations to the Canadian context, considering the unique social work landscape, demographics, ethics, and legal frameworks. Providing national importance to CASW is seen as needed for leading collaboration with territorial partner organizations and provincial universities by stakeholders, for facilitating the creation of meaningful examinations reflecting the Canadian social work domain.

The CASW's Code of Ethics, last updated in 2005, together with its Guidelines for Ethical Practice, serve as the benchmark for ethical social work practice in Canada.

Provincial and territorial partner organizations
CASW has nine provincial and territorial partners in Canada, representing all provinces and territories with the exception of Ontario and Québec. Affiliate memberships are offered to Social Workers in provinces not represented by a partner organization.
 * British Columbia Association of Social Workers (BCASW)
 * Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW)
 * Saskatchewan Association of Social Workers (SASW)
 * Manitoba College of Social Workers (MCSW)
 * New Brunswick Association of Social Workers (NBASW)
 * Nova Scotia College of Social Workers (NSCSW)
 * Prince Edward Island Association of Social Workers (PEIASW)
 * Newfoundland and Labrador College of Social Workers (NLCSW)
 * Association of Social Workers in Northern Canada (ASWNC), representing Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut