The Social Work Profession Board (SWPB) said Friday it has taken note of the current debate around the profession of social work and would like to express its most serious concern to the emergent issue related to non-professionals acting as social workers.

In an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday, Nationalist MP Graziella Attard Previ said that state agencies for social workers are having to resort to ‘quick fixes’ to address the significant shortage of social workers in the country, by bringing in unqualified persons for the role.

This was denied by Family Minister Michael Falzon, who said the government is not recruiting unqualified social workers, but rather employing social welfare professionals who are there to assist.

In turn, the Maltese Association of Social Workers has contradicted Falzon, insisting that “unqualified people” are getting employed as social workers.

In a statement on Friday, the SWPB said social workers have since the inception of the profession worked well alongside other professionals coming from the health, therapeutic and the youth sectors amongst others, but also equally well with non-professionals such as community leaders, mentors as well as the voluntary sector. This is always done in full respect of the benefits every member of the support network brings to the interest of vulnerable persons social workers work with.

The current debate however posits that in recent times a situation came about whereby it has become unequivocally difficulty to discern and have a clear separation of roles between the role of social workers and other employees working alongside them. The social work profession is regulated by Chapter 468 of the laws of Malta.

Moreover, social workers are expected to follow a code of ethics. The Board said it acknowledged that social workers receive rigorous academic and professional training that gives them the knowledge, values and skills that pertain to the profession. Consequently, it is only social workers who are equipped and regulated by the law, who should carry out the roles, functions and duties of a social worker.

Any other employees, such as ‘social welfare professionals’, who are not social workers and who are assigned to perform similar or same work are therefore not liable to any ethical or regulatory scrutiny. Furthermore, they have very little to no training at all in skills in assessment, interviewing and care plans that are essential to social work. For these reasons, it is very important that every service provider ensures that it is only qualified and/or warranted social workers who carry out such roles and interventions.

 The Social Work Profession Board said it is already working on the concerns expressed and remains committed to work with stakeholders and employers to ensure that the social work profession is upheld and respected. Only this will ensure the full respect to all the work done by social workers with the most vulnerable members of our society on a daily basis, whilst ensuring service-users are provided professional and ethical care.