Consultation underway for the enactment of social work legislation

Apr 07, 2021 News

Director of Social Services, Whentworth Tanner.

Kaieteur News – A series of consultations is underway to enact legislation to guide social work practices in Guyana. The discussions will include input from several stakeholder organisations, including the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, as well as, the University of Guyana.
Director of Social Services, Whentworth Tanner, told Kaieteur News that the Ministry has been moving towards creating a Social Work Act, which will allow for the licensing of those employed in the field locally.
He had explained that the Act will guide social workers and educate them on how to resolve challenges better.
According to Tanner, this will help to keep social workers accountable for the services they provide and “ensure that persons cannot practice if they are not abiding by the guidelines set out in the social work standards.”
At present, social workers are guided by a policy which was drafted since the 1970s. In addition, the Ministry had developed standards to guide the workforce with the requirements and expectations of quality social work practices.
The current social work practice standards establish that continuous refresher courses are essential to ensure that they are on top of their game when interacting with the public. Among other requirements, the practice standards entail the core values of respect for clients and colleagues, integrity when handling clients’ information and excellence when moving up the ladder to professional success.
Given the need for consistency in the practice of social work, the Ministry of Human Services has been pushing for improvement of services offered to citizens. Back in 2016, the Ministry first moved to regularise social work in collaboration with the University of Guyana, the Guyana Association of Professional Social Workers (GAPSW) and donor partner, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Together, the stakeholder agencies created the social work practice standards.