If you pursue a community support worker (CSW) diploma, you’ll be eligible for a variety of meaningful, rewarding careers. One option for those trained in community support work is devoting your career to adult protective services.
In Canada, adult protective services refer to the essential work of helping some of our country’s most vulnerable adults achieve their best quality of life, as well as the respect and independence they deserve. It involves supporting people with learning disabilities, physical challenges, or other special needs—helping them access everything from public transit to healthcare plans to employment, and providing day-to-day support in their own homes and community centres.
Not sure if you’ll thrive in this career? This basic guide can help you decide if the CSW adult protective services path might be for you:
Adult Protective Services Throughout Canada
Throughout Canada and particularly British Columbia, adult protection has been a legislative focus in recent years. The BC government has been taking more and more steps to “strengthen the rights of vulnerable adults,” according to BC Minister of Justice Shirley Bond.
This involves passing laws and recommendations about appointing legal guardianship, clarifying the definitions of “mental incapability,” and acknowledging the importance of individualized support for people who fall under BC’s Adult Guardianship Act.
These principles have been adopted across the country, as far aloft as Nova Scotia, where the Adult Protection Act now protects those 16 or over with significant need for adult protection workers and their services. Canada is now a worldwide leader in adult protection, due to the countless workers in CSW jobs who help those in need nationwide.
How CSW Training Prepares You for Adult Protection Jobs
Community support workers in adult protective services must handle an array of duties and responsibilities, though requirements vary from province to province. In every case, a CSW employed in adult protective services must provide the reliable, compassionate work of helping clients manage their financial resources, stay healthy, and become active in their own communities.
If you pursue this path, you’ll be able to help others develop problem-solving and essential life skills, like budgeting and cooking, and connect them with other social supports that can help them reach their full potential.
It takes specialized training and knowledge of governmental support funding systems to make this possible. With the right training, you can and beyond.
Wage Outlook for Community Support Workers
Jobs in adult protective services are in high demand throughout Canada. With the right certification, you’ll be eligible for secure employment in the work environment of your choice, ranging from group homes to rehabilitation centres to individual domestic houses of clients and more.
Professionals in this career begin with an entry-level wage of $18/hour, while the average salary is $32,360, according to data gathered from graduates of Stenberg’s CSW program.
Making a Meaningful Difference with CSW Training
Many clients you may encounter will have been looked after by loved ones who have now passed on, like parents or older siblings, leaving these individuals to navigate adulthood without their guiding support.
Good community support worker courses will teach you everything you need to know to step in and provide the customized care nobody else can. If you’re flexible, patient, and passionate about helping others, this training can turn you into the kind of professional that employers and clients are looking for.
With a CSW career in adult protective services, you can truly make a difference in your community, one deserving individual at a time.
Are you interested in making a meaningful difference in your community?
Visit Stenberg to learn more about our CSW training program!
