UPDATED<\/strong>: July 2024<\/p>\n One of the ways that the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø ensure that members of the public receive competent and ethical professional psychological and behavioural services from qualified providers, is to ensure that all applicants for registration be of good character.<\/p>\n All applicants to the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø are required to complete a Declaration of Good Character\u00a0<\/em>as part of their application. The Declaration of Good Character requires applicants to provide details about their past conduct.<\/p>\n Good character also is an on-going expectation of members of the College, who are required to provide declarations of their conduct to the College as part of the annual membership renewal process.<\/p>\n The purpose of this document is:<\/p>\n This policy applies to all applicants of the following classes of certificates of registration offered by the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø:<\/p>\n The following legislation identifies registration requirements in relation to an applicant\u2019s past conduct:<\/p>\n 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø and Applied Behaviour Analysis Act, 2021<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0O. Registration Reg. 193\/23 Section 3. 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n 3. The following are registration requirements for all certificates of registration:<\/p>\n i. a conviction for a criminal offence or an offence related to the regulation of the practice of the profession. A \u201cyes\u201d answer by an applicant to any question or questions in the\u00a0Declaration of Good Character\u00a0<\/em>will not necessarily result in a refusal to register. However, the College\u2019s Registrar will request further details from the applicant for any questions answered in the affirmative.<\/p>\n The Registrar initiates a review of an applicant\u2019s Good Character in cases where:<\/p>\n Following a review, where the Registrar has reasonable doubts about whether the applicant is likely to practice the profession of psychology safely and ethically, the applicant will be notified in writing that the Registrar has referred the applicants application to the Registration Committee for a further review (and decision) with respect to the applicant\u2019s eligibility for registration.<\/p>\n The College recognizes the presence of historic and persistent injustice in the Canadian criminal justice system towards marginalized groups, and is committed to taking that context into account when evaluating previous convictions as a reflection of character.<\/p>\n The applicant will be notified of the referral of their application to the Registration Committee in writing and will be provided with a period of at least 30 days to submit any supporting documentation to the Registration Committee.<\/p>\n The following are some examples of supporting documentation that the applicant may provide to the College upon submission of their application for registration, or upon receiving written notification that their application has been referred to the Registration Committee:<\/p>\n Supporting documentation will form the material to be reviewed by the Registration Committee before a decision on registration is made. Should the applicant find that additional time is needed in order to arrange for supporting documentation to be sent to the College, the applicant must contact the College directly to request an extension.<\/p>\n Decisions are made in the public interest. When undertaking a review, the Registration Committee will consider each application on a case by case basis, and will consider all of the information provided. Should the Committee find that additional information or clarification of any information is necessary before a decision can be reached, the Committee will notify the applicant in writing. The applicant will then be afforded a period of additional time to supply any requested additional information or clarification.<\/p>\n The Registration Committee will consider the following criteria when reviewing the applicant\u2019s information:<\/p>\n 1. The nature of the conduct in question:<\/p>\n a. The seriousness of the conduct ; 2. Honesty of the applicant<\/p>\n a. Did the applicant make an honest declaration in their\u00a0Declaration of Good Character<\/em>?; or 3. Resulting actions taken by the applicant<\/p>\n a. Was there any remediation or rehabilitation taken by the applicant? ; Following their review, the Registration Committee will make a decision on the applicant\u2019s eligibility for registration with the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø.<\/p>\n The following are the potential Committee decisions:<\/p>\n In all cases applicants will be provided with a written notification of the Registration Committee\u2019s decision including the reasons for its decision.<\/p>\n\n
To whom does this policy apply?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Relevant Legislation<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\nii. a finding of professional misconduct, incompetency or incapacity, in Ontario in relation to another health profession or in another jurisdiction in relation to the profession or another health profession.
\niii. a current proceeding for professional misconduct, incompetency or incapacity, in Ontario in relation to another health profession or in another jurisdiction in relation to the profession or another health profession.<\/p>\nWhen is a more detailed review of an applicant\u2019s Declaration of Good Character initiated?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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What types of supporting documentation can the applicant provide?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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How does the Registration Committee undertake the review?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
What criteria are used to assess the information provided by the applicant both in the Registrar\u2019s initial review and in the Registration Committee\u2019s review?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\nb. Duration and frequency of the conduct ;
\nc. How long ago the incident(s) occurred ;
\nd. How the incident(s) is relevant to professional practice ;
\ne. Whether there is a potential risk to the public posed by the applicant\u2019s conduct ; and
\nf. Whether there were any mitigating circumstances.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
\nb. Did the College learn of the applicant\u2019s conduct by some other means e.g. from another regulatory board, or from an academic institution.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
\nb. Was there an expression of remorse from the applicant? ;
\nc. Was the applicant able to subsequently practise the profession of psychology following the incident(s) with no further evidence of issues of conduct occurring?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nWhat are the potential outcomes of the Registration Committee\u2019s review?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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How will the Registration Committee communicate their decision to the applicant?
\nWhat recourse does the applicant have if they are refused registration?<\/strong><\/h4>\n