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ACCREDITATION SYSTEM FOR SOCIAL WORKERS AND SOCIAL SERVICE PRACTITIONERS |
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Criteria for Accreditation To be accredited within the respective
categories, Social Workers and Social Service Practitioners must meet the
following criteria: |
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Social Workers |
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New
Graduate/Entrant[1] |
Practising Social Worker [to qualify to be
accredited as |
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Entry
Requirements · Less than 1 year of full-time practice locally in a social work position · 2 character references from peers and/or employers |
Entry
Requirements
· 1 year of full-time practice locally in a social work position · 80 hours of relevant training[2] ·
1,000 hours of supervised practice[3] during study and/or employment; if you
have completed your first degree or graduate diploma in Social Work in year 2010 and thereafter, your hours of supervised practice
during employment must be obtained from a supervisor with a recognised social
work qualification and at least 3 years of social work experience. A
supervisor who is a RSW would be considered as having a recognised social
work qualification. · 2 character references from peers and/or employers |
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[1] “New Graduate/Entrant” refers
to social work trained personnel with less than one
year of full-time practice locally in a social work position |
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Social Service Practitioners |
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Graduate |
Non-Graduate [to qualify to be
accredited as |
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Entry Requirements
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Entry Requirements ·
10 years of
direct full-time related work experience in the sector ·
300 hours
of direct supervision[4] ·
2 character
references from peers and employers, of which one must be from current
employer |
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[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. |
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3-Year Window Period for Accreditation of SSPs There will be a 3-year window period for SSPs to obtain 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 service positions and can fulfill the criteria for renewal. However, there will not be any accreditation for new entrants to social service 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 |
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Social Work Accreditation Board The Social Work Accreditation Board (SWAB) has been set up to evaluate and endorse applications for accreditation. SWAB comprises the following members who have been appointed by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS):
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Secretariat of Accreditation The Singapore Association of Social Workers is appointed to provide Secretariat services for Accreditation. The Secretariat will provide support to the Social Work Accreditation Board in the administration of the accreditation system. The Secretariat comprises the following personnel:
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. |
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Fees No fees will be levied for accreditation. |
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Renewal of Accreditation Status The accreditation status is valid for 2 years. Registered Social Workers-Provisional, Registered Social Workers and Registered Social Service Practitioners must fulfill 160 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Credits during the two year period to qualify for renewal. Of these, 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. |
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Application Forms (Click on the following to download
the forms) Application
form for Accreditation as Registered Social Worker-Provisional Application
form for Accreditation as Registered Social Worker Application form for Accreditation as Registered Social Service Practitioner |
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1. Why is there a
need to accredit Social Workers (SWs) and Social Service Practitioners
(SSPs)? The accreditation system is put in place to
2. What are the recognised Social Work
qualifications that can be obtained in Singapore? National University of Singapore
SIM University
Monash University
3. If I am a Registered Social Service Practitioner and
want to become a Registered Social Worker, must I go for courses to do so? Social service practitioners who have been in service for three years could qualify to apply for funding support of up to $20,000 to enable them to acquire a recognised social work qualification. 4. 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 are recognised by Singapore Association of Social
Workers and the Social Work Accreditation Board (SWAB) will be acceptable.
Generally, SWAB would
recognise foreign social work degrees if they are accredited or recognised by
an accrediting body in the country and year in which the degree was awarded.
If no such body exists, the degrees must be recognised by the relevant
authority for social work practice in that country. 5. Can volunteer experience be counted as part of the years of
experience required for accreditation? Volunteer experience will
not be counted in chalking up the number of years of experience required for
accreditation. The experience must involve full-time employment. 6. Must the 80 hours of relevant training and
1,000 hours of 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 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 all from one employment but could
be acquired through an accumulation of work experience in different
employments. 7. How can the 1,000
hours of supervised practice be acquired? The
1,000 hours of supervised practice could include the number of hours of field
placements or practicum during study and the hours of professional
supervision received from a supervisor during current and/or previous
employment. It can be from either one of the two options or a combination of
both so long as they total 1,000 hours. 8. Must the
supervisors providing professional supervision during employment have certain
qualifications? If you have
completed your first degree or graduate diploma in Social Work in year 2010
and thereafter, your hours
of supervised practice during employment must be obtained from a supervisor
with a recognised social work qualification and at least 3 years of social
work experience. A supervisor who is a Registered Social Worker would be
considered as having a recognised social work qualification. If you have
completed your first degree or graduate diploma in Social Work before 2010,
it is not mandatory for you to fulfill this condition but you are encouraged
to do so. 9. When was the Accreditation System implemented? Accreditation was implemented on 1 April 2009. The following
websites carry more information and application forms:
10. Is accreditation mandatory? Accreditation is not mandatory currently. Social Workers and
Social Service Practitioners will be informed through their VWOs ahead of time if accreditation were to be made
mandatory in future. 11. 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 not restricted to social workers in the social service sector. It is open to all social workers practising in Singapore. 12. If I had been a Registered Social Worker with SASW
before and would like to be accredited, do I still need to apply for it? 13. Do I need to be a member
of SASW in order to be accredited? No. You do not need to be a member of SASW in order to be
accredited. However, you may apply for both SASW membership and accreditation
in the same application form provided on this website. 14. 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 and the Social Work Accreditation Board. “Social Service Practitioners” are those who are working in the capacity of social workers performing social service functions for the major part of their work but are without social work qualifications. Programme Executives/ Youth Workers who are not social work trained but are performing social service 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. 15. Are registered social workers better than registered
social service practitioners? 16. What happens if a practising social worker or
social service practitioner 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. 17. How often is the accreditation status renewed
and
what are the requirements for renewal? Accreditation
status is renewed every two years. Registered Social Workers-Provisional,
Registered Social Workers and Registered Social Service Practitioners must
fulfill 160 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Credits during the
two-year period to qualify for renewal. Please refer to the CPE Matrix on this
website for details on how the credits can be accrued. 18. Is there a fee chargeable for accreditation and
renewal? No fees will be levied for accreditation and renewal. As there is a window period of 3 years from 1 April 2009 to 30
March 2012 for social service practitioners to be accredited, they are
encouraged to take up a degree or graduate diploma in social work to qualify
for accreditation as a social worker if they do not qualify for accreditation
as a social service practitioner during this period.
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