Introduction

Criteria for Accreditation

Accreditation Board

 Renewal

Secretariat 

FAQ

ACCREDITATION SYSTEM FOR SOCIAL WORKERS AND SOCIAL SERVICE PRACTITIONERS


The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, together with the National Council of Social Service and Singapore Association of Social Workers (SASW), is implementing Accreditation for Social Workers and Social Service Practitioners. The primary objective of accreditation is to ensure professional standards among social work practitioners. The accreditation system has been implemented on 1 April 2009.

The accreditation will be open to two primary groups, namely Social Workers and Social Service Practitioners.  “Social Workers” refer to new graduates and current practitioners with social work qualifications, i.e. Degree in Social Work or a Graduate Diploma in Social Work or a recognised Social Work qualification acceptable to SASW.  “Social Service Practitioners” are those who are performing social work functions such as intake, assessment, information and referral, outreach, home visits, financial assessment for the major part of their work but are without relevant social work qualifications. Examples of Social Service Practitioners include counsellors, programme executives and others.

Criteria for Accreditation

To be accredited within the respective categories, Social Workers and Social Service Practitioners must meet the following criteria:

 

Social Workers
(with recognised Social Work qualifications acceptable to SASW)
 

New Graduate/Entrant[1]
(to qualify to be accredited
Social Worker – Provisional)

Practising Social Worker

(to qualify to be accredited
Social Worker)

Entry Requirements

·                     Practising in social work position

·                     2 character references from peers and/or employers

Entry Requirements 

·       1 year of practice in social work position

·       80 hours of relevant training[2]

·       1,000 hours of supervised practice[3] (consecutive)

·       2 character references from peers and/or employers

 

[1] “New Graduate/Entrant” refers to social work trained personnel with less than one year of practice in social work position
[2] “Relevant training” refers to all in-house and externally conducted training in a social work or social work related  area which would enhance the professional delivery of services by the social worker in his / her area of work;  documents showing proof of courses / workshops / conferences attended or in-house training endorsed by the  social worker’s employer would be acceptable as proof of having received the relevant training hours  stipulated.
[3] “Supervised practice” refers to a social worker having the opportunity to consult regularly throughout his / her term of employment with immediate   supervisor and external experts, when discharging his / her duties; evidences of supervised practice include formal and informal case discussions (direct contact such as face-to-face supervision and tele-conferencing, and indirect contacts such as emails, reports etc), case conferences and professional meetings.

Registered Social Workers with SASW who meet the above requirements will be recognised for accreditation. SASW will be in touch with registered social workers on details pertaining to the switch to accreditation.

Social Service Practitioners
(without recognised Social Work qualifications)

Graduate
(to qualify to be accredited
Social Service Practitioner)

Non-Graduate

(to qualify to be accredited
 Social Service Practitioner)

Entry Requirements

  • 3 years of practice in social work position
  • 240 relevant training hours over 3 years
  • 300 hours of direct supervision[4] over 3 years
  • Letter of support from employer
  • 2 character references from peers and employers

“Grandfathering”

  • 10 years of direct social work practice (cumulative) in the sector
  • Employer/s endorsing credentials of applicants through a letter of support
  • 2 character references from peers and employers

 

[4] "Direct supervision" refers to a social service practitioner having been assigned a qualified professional, for example, a senior social worker, who has regular face-to-face supervision sessions with the social service practitioner with the main objective of guiding him / her to be better equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to excel in his / her role as a social service practitioner. Direct supervision has the quality of professional engagement such as exchanges of professional views, demonstration / display of a skill and modeling that would allow the social service practitioner to learn, clarify and perform in his / her job.

3-Year Window Period for Accreditation of SSPs

There will be a 3-year window period for SSPs to obtain the accreditation status. SSPs who are accredited during the 3-year window period can continue to renew their accreditation so long as they are working in social work positions and can fulfill the criteria for renewal. However, there will not be any accreditation for new entrants to social work positions without recognised social work qualifications beyond the 3-year window period commencing 1 April 2009.

Funding Support for SSPs acquiring Recognised Social Work Qualifications

Funding support of up to $20,000 is available for SSPs to acquire recognised social work qualifications.  For more information, please click here.

Accreditation Board

An Accreditation Board has been set up to evaluate and endorse applications for accreditation. The Accreditation Board comprises the following members who have been appointed by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS):

Name of Representative

Appointment in the Accreditation Board for
Social Workers and Social Service Practitioners

Mrs Corinne Koh
Director of Social Welfare
Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports

Chairman

Dr Aline Wong
Academic Advisor & Board Member
SIM University

Member

Ms Tina Hung
Deputy Chief Executive Officer
National Council of Social Service

Member

Dr Kalyani Mehta
President
Singapore Association of Social Workers

Member

Dr Rosaleen Ow
Head, Social Work Dept
National University of Singapore

Member

Ms Morene Sim
Executive Director
Students Care Service

Member

Mr Abdul Halim Aliman
Director, Community Development
Yayasan Mendaki

Member

Secretariat of Accreditation

The Singapore Association of Social Workers has been appointed as the Secretariat for Accreditation. The Secretariat will provide support to the Accreditation Board and is responsible for administration of the accreditation system. The Secretariat comprises the following personnel:

  • Head of Secretariat - Ms Nancy Teo
  • Senior Executive - Ms Jade Lim

Functions of Accreditation Secretariat

1.      To process new applications and renewal of applications.

2.      To provide secretariat support to the Accreditation Board.

3.      To conduct public education and to promote the Accreditation System to potential applicants.

4.      To maintain records of accredited social workers and accredited social service practitioners.

5.      To answer queries.

6.      To handle complaints.

7.      To update accredited members on training and other matters.

8.      To review training matrix and/or CPE (Continuing Professional Education) credits.

Fees

No fees will be levied for accreditation.

Renewal of Accreditation Status

The accreditation status is valid for 2 years. Social Workers and Social Service Practitioners must fulfill 160 Continual Professional Education (CPE) Credits  during the two year period to qualify for renewal, of which 60 CPE Credits must be from structured activities [1 CPE Credit – 1 CPE Learning Hour] . The CPE credits can be obtained through structured and unstructured activities as shown in Table 1 and Table 2 below.

Structured activities

Category

Criteria

CPE Credit

Category 1(a)

Formal Study courses

Relevant graduate or diploma courses on social work

1 CPE Credit for each contact hour

Category 1 (b)

Formal / Structured Lectures, short courses, conferences, workshops and seminars

Attend lectures, short courses, conferences, workshops and seminars which are relevant to social workers on professional development, legal/ethical issues or management.

The website addresses on the list of structured training programmes conducted by the Social Service Training Institute (SSTI) and the Family Resource and Training Centre (FRTC) are as follows:

http://www.ssti.org.sg/

http://www.sasw.org.sg/site/frtc-sasw-training-academy/training-programmes.html

1 CPE Credit for each contact hour

Category 1(c)

Formal / Structured in-house training

Attend structured in-house training which are relevant to social workers on professional development, legal/ethical issues or management.

CV of speakers to be similar to
category 1(a) or 1 (b).

1 CPE Credit for each contact hour

Category 2

Participation in Professional Boards, Committees and Societies

(a)

Members of Boards of local Professional Institutions or relevant government agencies

 

8 CPE Credits per organisation

(b)

Member of relevant professional or working committees of professional associations or government agencies

4 CPE Credits per committee

(Maximum of 32 CPE Credits for this category)

Category 3

Contribution to relevant social work or management knowledge

(a)

Conduct Formal / Structured lectures, seminars, conferences or training courses for the first time. (Exclude regular lectures by full-time lecturers)

4 CPE Credits for each lecture hour or part thereof

(b)

Conduct Formal / Structured lectures, seminars, conferences or training courses after the first time. (Exclude regular lectures by full-time lecturers)

2 CPE Credits for each lecture hour or part thereof

(c)

Write or edit articles or papers published in distinguished publications, conference proceedings, professional journals or books.

5 CPE Credits for each topic

UNSTRUCTURED ACTIVITIES

Category

Criteria

CPE Credit

Category 1

Self- study of relevant topics

(a)

Reading of relevant professional, ethical or educational literature.

1 CPE Credit for every 2 hours

 (Maximum of 64 CPE Credits for this category)

(b)

Listening / viewing audio / video tapes on relevant topics or taking correspondence courses. 

Category 2

In-house training and discussion

(a)

Conducting informal in-house training and presentations to colleagues

1 CPE Credit per hour

(Maximum of 64 CPE Credits for this category)

(b)

Attending informal in-house learning and sharing sessions

1 CPE Credit for every 2 hours

(Maximum of 64 CPE Credits for this category)

Category 3

Professional Membership

(a)

Membership in professional social work bodies

2 CPE Credits per organisation

(Maximum of 4 CPE Credits for this category)

Category 4

Relevant social work activities

(a)

Attending professional and technical courses which are not covered under Structured Activities category 1(b) and 1(c)

1 CPE Credit for every 2 hours

(Maximum of 64 CPE Credits for this category)

(b)

Attending organised group visits to VWOs and other agencies

 

Application Forms (Click on the following to download the forms)

Application form for New Social Work Graduates/Entrants

Application form for Practising Social Workers

Application form for Social Service Practitioners

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why is there a need to accredit Social Workers (SWs) and Social Service Practitioners (SSPs)?

The accreditation system is put in place to

  • ensure professional standards of Social Work practice
  • promote continual education and training of SWs and SSPs
  • improve professional image of SWs and SSPs
  • groom leaders to guide young SWs and SSPs

2. Must the 80 hours of relevant training and 1,000 hours of consecutive supervised practice (two of the entry requirements for practising social workers) be accumulated over a stipulated time period?

No.  As long as the applicant has accumulated 80 hours of relevant training and 1,000 hours of consecutive supervised practice at the time of application, he / she would be deemed as having met those requirements regardless of the duration taken to achieve those hours. It does not have to be one employer but through accumulation of work experience prior to application.

3. What are the recognised Social Work programmes available in Singapore?

National University of Singapore

  • Bachelor of Arts (Social Work)
  • Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Social Work
  • Graduate Diploma in Social Work
  • Master of Social Sciences (Social Work)

SIM University

  • Bachelor of Social Work
  • Bachelor of Social Work (Honours)
  • Graduate Diploma in Social Work
  • Master of Social Work

Monash University 

  • Bachelor of Social Work
  • Bachelor of Social Work (Honours)

4. If I am a registered social service practitioner and want to become a registered social worker, must I go for courses to do so?

Yes. To become a Registered Social Worker under the accreditation system, you would need to possess a recognised social work qualification as stated in the answer to Question 4.  

Social service practitioners who have been in service for three years can qualify to apply for funding support of up to $20,000 for acquiring recognised social work qualifications.

5. Apart from the Social Work courses at Monash University, what are the other foreign Social Work programmes acceptable for accreditation?

Foreign Social Work programmes that Singapore Association of Social Workers recognises will be acceptable.

6. When will it be implemented?

Accreditation was implemented on 1 April 2009. The following websites carry more information and application forms from 1 April 2009:

7. Is accreditation mandatory?

Accreditation is not mandatory at the current time.  VWOs will be informed ahead of time if accreditation were to be made mandatory in future.

8. Is the accreditation system restricted to social workers in the Social Service Sector? What about social workers in the other sectors (healthcare, schools etc)?

No, accreditation is open to all social workers practising in Singapore.

9. If I have been a Registered Social Worker with SASW before and would like to be accredited, do I still need to apply for it?

Yes. The requirements for accreditation are different from those for SASW registration. Hence, if you wish to be accredited, you would need to submit an application for accreditation even though you had been a Registered Social Worker with SASW prior to 1 April 2009.

10. Are registered social workers better than registered social service practitioners?

Both registered social workers and social service practitioners (SSPs) under the accreditation system are recognised as professionals delivering social services to clients.  The difference between the two groups lies in the formal social work training that the social workers would have gone through for relevant knowledge, skills and intervention techniques to handle clients of various needs.  SSPs who choose social work as a profession, are encouraged to undergo formal social work training to gain knowledge and skills that would further aid them in providing quality services to clients.

11. Is there a fee chargeable for accreditation?

No fees will be levied for accreditation.

12. What happens if a practising social worker does not meet the requirements for accreditation on 1 April 2009?

As accreditation is not mandatory at present, social workers who do not meet the entry requirements on 1 April 2009 can apply for accreditation at a later date when he / she is able to fulfill the requirements for accreditation.

13. Can Programme Executives/ Youth Workers be accredited?

The accreditation system is for Social Workers and Social Service Practitioners as defined below:

“Social Workers” refer to new graduates and current practitioners with social work qualifications, i.e. Degree in Social Work or a Graduate Diploma in Social Work or a recognised Social Work qualification acceptable to the Singapore Association of Social Workers.

“Social Service Practitioners” are those who are working in the capacity of social workers performing social work functions for the major part of their work but are without relevant social work qualifications.

Programme Executives/ Youth Workers who are not social work trained but are performing social work functions for the major part of their work can qualify to be accredited Social Service Practitioners if they meet the entry requirements for Social Service Practitioners.  They can become accredited Social Workers if they go on to acquire a recognised Social Work qualification and also fulfill the other entry requirements for accreditation.

14. How often is the accreditation status renewed and what are the requirements for renewal?

Accreditation status is renewed every two years. Social Workers and Social Service Practitioners must fulfill 160 Continual Professional Education Credits during the two year period to qualify for renewal.