Program Overview

Program Overview

The Social Service Worker program combines academic study with practical experience to provide graduates with the skills, knowledge and attitudes required to work in the diverse and complex field of community and social services. The program focuses on the development of front-line interviewing and counselling skills that will prepare students to work with individuals and groups in a variety of social service settings, including group homes, women’s shelters, addiction and mental health facilities, employment programs and services for seniors.

Intakes and Availability

• September 2025: Open (Domestic and International)
• January 2026: Open (Domestic and International)

Admission Requirements

• Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or Mature Student Status
• Grade 12 English (C or U)

Program Details

This program combines classroom work with practical experience to provide students with the skills, knowledge and attitudes required to work in the diverse and complex field of community and social services. It focuses on the development of front-line interviewing and counselling skills that will enable students to work with individuals and groups in a variety of social service settings.

Program Learning Outcomes

1. Develop respectful and collaborative professional and interpersonal relationships that adhere to professional, legal, and ethical standards aligned to social service work.
2. Record information accurately and communicate effectively in written, digital, verbal and non-verbal ways, in adherence to privacy and freedom of information legislation, in accordance with professional and workplace standards.
3. Integrate a practice framework within a service delivery continuum, addressing the needs of individuals, families and communities at micro, mezzo, macro and global levels, and work with them in achieving their goals.
4. Plan and implement accessible and responsive programs and services, recognizing the diverse needs and experiences of individuals, groups, families and communities, and meeting these needs.
5. Examine current social policy, relevant legislation, and political, social, historical, and/or economic systems and their impacts for individuals and communities when delivering services to the user/client.
6. Develop strategies and approaches that support individual clients, groups, families and communities in building the capacity for self-advocacy, while affirming their dignity and self-worth.
7. Work from an anti-oppressive, strengths-based practice, recognizing the capacity for resilience and growth of individuals and communities when responding to the diverse needs of marginalized or vulnerable populations to act as allies and advocates.
8. Develop strategies and approaches to implement and maintain holistic self-care as a member of a human service profession.
9. Work with individuals, groups, families and their communities to ensure that service provider strategies promote social and economic justice, and challenge patterns of oppression, discrimination and harassment, and sexual violence with clients, coworkers and communities.
10. Develop the capacity to work with the Indigenous individual, families, groups and communities while respecting their inherent rights to self-determine, and to identify and address systemic barriers that produce ill-effects, developing appropriate responses using approaches such as trauma informed care practice.

Tuition

• Year one domestic: $3,188 (CAD)
• Year one international: $15,775 (CAD)

Semester 1 Courses

• Communication Foundations (COMM 1100)
• Field Placement Preparation (FDPL 1103)
• Indigenous Populations (INDG 1100)
• Principles Of Psychology (PSYC 1119)
• Lifeskills (SSWK 1100)
• Professional Practice (SSWK 1101)
• Interviewing and Counselling Skills 1 (SSWK 1102)

Career Options

• Addictions counsellor
• Case manager
• Crisis worker
• Disability support worker
• Employment counsellor
• Intake worker
• Mental health worker
• Residential counsellor
• Shelter worker
• Youth counsellor
• Community development worker

Experiential Learning

The program includes over 450 hours of field placement experience under the supervision of qualified professional practitioners in two different placement settings.

Tech Requirements

• Processor: i3
• RAM: 4GB
• Storage: 256GB SSD
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional or Education x64 SP1
• Internet Browser: Internet Explorer 11 or Google Chrome (newest version) or Firefox (newest version)
• Network Adapter: 802.11ac 2.4/5 GHz wireless adapter
• Camera: Webcam/built-in camera
• Internet connection

Program Transfer, Degree Completion and Additional Credentials

Qualified graduates can go on to take Durham College’s Addictions and Mental Health or Victim Justice and Interventions graduate certificate programs. Graduates can also receive advanced standing towards the Bachelor of Community Mental Health and Honours Bachelor of Behavioural Science degree programs. Graduates are eligible for membership with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW).