CSSHSA is pleased to announce the launch of our online, self-paced Violence Prevention for Social Services training, designed to support workplace safety by helping prevent violent incidents and equipping community social services workers with practical violence prevention skills.
Developed with funding from the BC Government, support from SWITCH BC, and in collaboration with our Advisory Panel and subject matter experts from member organizations and unions, this online course provides workers with the knowledge and skills to recognize, prevent, and respond to verbal and physical violence in the workplace, helping to protect themselves, their colleagues, and the people they support.
This course marks Phase I of the Violence Prevention Training Initiative. Throughout this year, we will continue collaborating with our Advisory Panel and subject matter experts to develop Phase II, which will focus on instructor-led training, including physical interventions. Our goal is to provide our member organizations across British Columbia with a high-quality alternative to MANDT and NVCI for violence prevention training.
Does the online Violence Prevention for Social Services training meet WorkSafeBC regulations?
Yes, this course meets the requirements for violence prevention training in British Columbia when it is combined with training on your organization’s workplace-specific policies and procedures.
Employers are responsible for ensuring that workers are instructed on the policies, procedures, and practices specific to their workplace. For example, if your organization has procedures related to site access, weapons in the workplace, or responding to violent incidents, you must communicate these procedures to workers and document that the training has been provided.
Completing the Violence Prevention for Social Services course alone does not satisfy all employer obligations under WorkSafeBC requirements. A WorkSafeBC prevention officer may issue an order under Section 4.30 if an employer cannot demonstrate that workers have also received training on the organization’s workplace-specific violence prevention policies and procedures.
How often will social service organizations have to complete the course?
Stay tuned, in the fall, we will work with our Advisory Panel and member organizations to develop risk based recommendations for community social services. Stay tuned as we launch Phase II of violence prevention course development.
Does the online Violence Prevention for Social Services Training include content and scenarios for social services sector?
Yes. We worked worked in collaboration with subject matter experts from our member organizations, including union and employers to develop relevant scenarios for a broad range of social service organizations.
Where do I take the Violence Prevention for Social Services course?
The online course is available through the CSSHSA Learning Centre for all member organizations. Please follow up Learning Centre Registration process to make this course accessible for all your workers. Future updates to the Learning Centre will allow third-party LMS providers to host the course but this feature is not currently available to member organizations.
How often will the online Violence Prevention for Social Services training be updated?
We will review the curriculum regularly and update the curriculum as required in consultation with with employers and unions.
What about CSSHSA members that follow the HEABC collective agreement, will they have access to this training?
Last year, the government transferred nearly 40 Supportive Housing Agencies to Community Health. These agencies will soon follow the HEABC collective agreement which specifies that employers take the mandatory Provincial Violence Prevention Curriculum (PVPC). This curriculum was recently updated by SWITCH BC and will be available shortly on the CSSHSA Learning Centre. We recommend that the employers speak with their collective bargaining representative and consider taking the Violence Prevention for Social Services online training as the examples are more suitable for the social services sector than the PVPC online training.
THANK YOU. CSSHSA wishes to thank our employer and union Advisory Panel members as well as all our working group members that supported us in the development of this curriculum. This work would not be possible without you and the commitments made by our Board and the funding from the Social Services Roundtable.