As part of its duty to serve and protect the public interest, the College is required to have a formal complaints process, which gives members of the public the ability to have their complaint about a social worker or social service worker’s conduct or action submitted to the College’s Complaints Committee.
The Complaints Committee – on which Council members serve – is composed of experienced social workers, social service workers and members of the public. The Committee reviews complaints made by the public about professional misconduct, incompetence and/or incapacity of College members and determines the appropriate regulatory response. The complaints process provides fairness to both the individual making the complaint and the College member who is the subject of the complaint.
All complaints against members are considered by the Complaints Committee, however, not all complaints are investigated. The College’s governing legislation allows the Complaints Committee to refuse to investigate a complaint if in its opinion the complaint does not relate to professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity on the part of a member, or if the complaint is deemed to be frivolous, vexatious or an abuse of the College’s process.
For full details regarding the College’s complaints process and to learn more about the role of the Complaints Committee, please visit the College website. For all other complaints-related inquiries, please contact the Complaints and Discipline Department at investigations@ocswssw.org.