Child and youth care practitioners work with diverse populations. Students explore concepts of equity, diversity, and inclusion as they relate to culture, race, religion, social class, ability, and gender at the personal, societal, and professional levels. Students examine the impacts of structural inequality on marginalized communities to inform their interactions, engagement strategies, advocacy, and allyship. Students critically reflect on their own ethnocentricity and privilege and how these influence their interactions with children, youth, and families. Through learning activities and case studies, students examine practices and policies that further marginalize young people and families and explore ways of engaging that promote cultural humility and safety.

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Reflective practice and professional development are core skills of child and youth care practitioners. Receiving ongoing professional supervision encourages students to reflect on their skills and areas for growth, to set and monitor professional goals, and to maintain professional ethics. Students develop reflective practice skills as they discuss how they are applying introductory clinical, professional, and personal skills in their placements. They engage in individual and group reflections and participate in activities that foster the integration of theory into equitable and inclusive practice.

Co-requisites: FAM1075

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Child and youth care practitioners intentionally engage with young people using recreation, crafts, and games to enhance healthy development. Students create, modify, facilitate, and debrief activities taking into consideration diverse needs, abilities, race and culture. Students prepare the environment and respond to behaviour to enhance engagement and develop relationships with young people. Students facilitate activities, participate in activities, role play, give and receive feedback, and write about activities. Through practical application of learning students increase their experience and confidence as activity facilitators.

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Children and youth in crisis require professionals to intervene using a trauma-informed, proactive and safe approach. Students build skills using evidence-based interventions that help young people develop coping skills and self-regulation strategies. Using demonstrations and simulations, students identify the stages of crisis and apply de-escalation techniques, restrictive and nonrestrictive interventions, and debriefing strategies to safely manage crises and support young people.

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Field practice experiences offer developing child and youth care students an opportunity to begin to integrate theory learned in the classroom into placement settings. Students complete a field placement in the community where they receive regular supervision as they begin to develop skills related to relational practice and intervention. Students set personal, professional, and clinical goals and monitor and evaluate these goals with the support of their seminar instructor and supervisor throughout their placement experience.

Co-requisites: FAM0079

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Listening and collaboration are central to building therapeutic relationships and supporting change in young people. Students explore person-centred strengths-based, and solution-focused approaches to change with children and youth. Emphasis is on effective listening, developing a therapeutic alliance, and understanding the role of a child and youth care practitioner in supporting change and self-determination. Through demonstrations, role-play, and practice videos, students employ micro-skills of counselling.

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Consistent reflective practice and ongoing professional development are core skills of child and youth care practitioners. Students build upon their professional skills with an increased focus on the development of leaderships skills where students illustrate their knowledge of strength-based interventions, relational practice, self-awareness, and ethical decision-making. They begin to co-facilitate group supervision activities that foster enhanced integration of theory into equitable and inclusive practice and self-reflection.

Pre-requisites: FAM0079

Co-requisites: FAM1275

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Creating and delivering programs that benefit young people is a core skill area of child and youth care practitioners. Students assess strengths and needs from which appropriate goals are developed. Students select and sequence activities to create a goal-oriented, theory-based, barrier-free program for a young person. Through observation, application of concepts, role play and discussion, students develop their ability to create and deliver programs that contribute to the healthy development of young people.

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Extended time with a child and youth care organization allows students to increase fluency of skills and scope of responsibilities in the field. Students increase the depth of their experience by taking on additional responsibilities in the field placement setting. Students continue to develop engagement and programming skills, and with guidance, select and implement strength-based intervention techniques. Personal, professional, and clinical goals are refined as students continue to develop an increased awareness of their unique professional child and youth care identity.

Pre-requisites: FAM1075

Co-requisites: FAM0064

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Childhood trauma, abuse and neglect can be the lived experience of many young people and families served by child and youth care practitioners. Students cultivate their advocacy skills and use reflective practice to explore various ways young people experience and heal from trauma. Through lectures, learning applications and group work, students investigate risk factors, intervention strategies, documentation processes, legal reporting requirements and healing-centered engagement practices.

Pre-requisites: FAM0077 and FAM1064

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Professional child and youth care practitioners are expected to engage in ongoing critical reflection, self-inquiry, and professional development. Students build upon established peer supervision skills with an emphasis on leadership skills related to facilitating group supervision and self-inquiry. They present and discuss practice-related issues that illustrate their knowledge of equitable, inclusive, and professional child and youth care practice. Students receive and analyze peer feedback and integrate these recommendations into their practice at field placements.

Pre-requisites: FAM0064

Co-requisites: FAM1276

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Working in a group milieu is a key component in child and youth care practice. Students explore the process of establishing therapeutic groups, the skills required for effective group facilitation, and how to design and evaluate a group program. Students design, facilitate, and evaluate a psychoeducational group that they implement in a multi-week lab. Through participation in the lab, students observe and document group development, facilitate a group session, and experience the role of group members. Through self-reflection and applied practice, students acquire the skills necessary to develop and facilitate therapeutic groups.

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Exposure to more complex child and youth care settings supports the development of advanced skills through the integration of theory and practice. This placement experience challenges students to apply foundational child and youth care skills in more complex settings. Students build upon their existing strengths and professional CYC characteristics while expanding upon personal, professional, and clinical skills. The emphasis is on the student's understanding of community systems, interprofessional practice and the application of trauma-informed interventions. Students refine relational practice skills and select and apply advanced skills in their placement setting with children, youth, and families.

Pre-requisites: FAM1275

Co-requisites: FAM0098

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Child and youth care practitioners frequently work with young people experiencing challenges with addictions. Students gain basic knowledge regarding substance abuse, addiction, and recovery. Students explore their values and attitudes about the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol. Special emphasis is placed on intervention strategies with youth. Students gain insight, awareness, and the understanding necessary to interact positively with youth experiencing addiction and their families.

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Child and youth care practitioners use strength-based assessment methods to develop goals, to design care and intervention plans, and to select intervention techniques that are responsive to the strengths, development and holistic needs of children, youth and their families. With an emphasis on trauma informed care and respecting a young person's inherent right to self-determine, students learn a variety of strength-based assessment methods and intervention models that can be applied in a variety of contexts to promote optimal development and mental wellness. Using experiential and practical application exercises students apply advanced intervention skills.

Pre-requisites: FAM1064

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Time spent outdoors and in nature supports physical, emotional, and relational well-being. As part of professional Child and Youth Care practice, practitioners intentionally create safe, inclusive, and developmentally responsive experiences for in a variety of environments for young people and their families. In teams, students design and co-facilitate outdoor-based therapeutic and recreational activities, applying skills in planning, budgeting and program adaptation for diverse abilities and group needs. Students participate in an immersive, multi-day overnight camping experience where they engage in experiential learning, leadership development, and reflective practice while demonstrating teamwork, facilitation, and adherence to safety procedures in outdoor settings.

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Group programming is a valuable tool for Child and Youth Care practitioners to help meet the needs of children and youth. Students apply their knowledge of participant selection, program design and evaluation, and group facilitation to develop a multi-session group program on a topic of their choice, grounded in current research. Working in partners, with individualized support from the course instructor, students complete a series of workshops and assignments that result in a program manual marketable to social services and the community.

Pre-requisites: FAM1081

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Supervised practice at the level of a graduate affirms work-place readiness for the child and youth care practitioner. This culminating placement experience prepares students for employment in the child and youth care field. In the placement setting, students apply vocational skills at an employment-ready level, indicative of an understanding of each child, youth, and family's unique life space, ecology, and social location. Final personal, professional, and clinical goals are set and evaluated with an emphasis on system navigation, advocacy, strength-based assessment, intervention, and interprofessional collaboration.

Pre-requisites: FAM1276

Co-requisites: FAM0107

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Employment-ready child and youth care practitioners are required to consistently apply facilitation, leadership, collaboration, reflective practice, and self-inquiry skills. Students display proficiency in peer supervision, critical reflection, ethical decision- making and leadership skills. Students lead discussions that focus on the cumulative integration of theory into equitable and inclusive child and youth care practice.

Pre-requisites: FAM0098

Co-requisites: FAM0099

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.

Child and youth care practitioners are integrated in the support provided to families in various milieus. The impact of culture, privilege and attachments on the family unit is explored. Students apply a strengths-based relational approach in response to the diverse needs of young people and their families. Students practise using an ecological perspective to assess key issues that impact families and to practise skills that facilitate the involvement of all family members in their goals and intervention plans. Through case analysis and simulations, students advocate for family services and support families in their understanding of the roles of the systems and services which they are accessing.

Pre-requisites: FAM1306

There are no classes currently scheduled for this course.