Actions and Commitments

Call to Action # 1 : Child Welfare (1-5)

Université de Sherbrooke School of Social Work

June 5, 2024

Founded in 1967, the School of Social Work now offers training programs in social work and gerontology. With a team of 15 professors, some 30 lecturers and a committed team of support staff and professionals, the School welcomes and accompanies nearly 500 students annually in its programs at all three levels of study.

The Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE) recognizes the training programs offered in Sherbrooke.

School of Social Work Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation 

The School of Social Work does not make any explicit commitment to Truth and Reconciliation

TRC Call to Action # 1

We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to commit to reducing the number of Aboriginal children in care by: 

  1. Monitoring and assessing neglect investigations
  2. Providing adequate resources to enable Aboriginal communities and child-welfare organizations to keep Aboriginal families together where it is safe to do so, and to keep children in culturally appropriate environments, regardless of where they reside.
  3. Ensuring that social workers and others who conduct child-welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the history and impacts of residential schools.
  4. Ensuring that social workers and others who conduct child-welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the potential for Aboriginal communities and families to provide more appropriate solutions to family healing.
  5. Requiring that all child-welfare decision makers consider the impact of the residential school experience on children and their caregivers.

Mandatory Course: None

Baccalauréat en service social – Programmes et admission – Université de Sherbrooke (usherbrooke.ca)

Faculty of Social Work Commitment to Call To Action # 1: 3, 4 and 5: 0 out of 3 = 0%

3History and impact of residential schools (theory)
 No. Not specifically addressed.
4Potential for Aboriginal communities and families to provide more appropriate solutions to family healing (practice)
 No. Not specifically addressed.
5All child welfare decision makers consider the impact of the residential school experience on children and their caregivers
 No. Not specifically addressed.

Compliance with CASWE/ACFTS Statement of Complicity and Commitment to Change

At the May 27th, 2017 Board meeting, the Board of Directors of CASWE-ACFTS committed to ensuring that social work education in Canada contributes to transforming Canada’s colonial reality and approved a “Statement of Complicity and Commitment to Change”. “This is an important step in engaging social work education in the reconciliation process and supporting the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action” affirms CASWE-ACFTS President, Dr. Susan Cadel.
Of the 12 actions articulated in the “Statement of Complicity and Commitment to Change, the following two are directed at Schools of Social Work
7Will encourage institutional members to post a territorial acknowledgement on their School’s website and post a link to the CAUT guide to territorial acknowledgement on the CASWE-ACFTS website to assist Schools with this task
 We recognize that the Université de Sherbrooke’s main campus and Health campus are located on the ancestral territory of the W8banaki Nation, the Ndakina.Land Acknowledgement is not located on the School of Social Work website, but on the following section of the website:La reconnaissance territoriale – Autochtones – Université de Sherbrooke (usherbrooke.ca)
8Will encourage and support Canadian schools of social work in revising mission statements, governance processes, curriculum, and pedagogy in ways that both advance the TRC recommendations and the overall indigenization of social work education
 No. Not explicitly addressed.
NOTE:
All content has been submitted to the respective faculty for validation to ensure accuracy and currency as of the time of posting. Université de Sherbrooke School of Social Work DID NOT RESPOND to multiple Indigenous Watchdog inquiries.

Managing Editor: Douglas Sinclair: Publisher, Indigenous Watchdog
Lead Researcher, Julia Dubé