Child and Youth Care - St. Clair Colle

The Child and Youth Care program at St. Clair College equips graduates with the knowledge and skills to work with children, youth, and families in various settings. It emphasizes a relational approach to developing therapeutic relationships, assessing needs, creating care plans, and advocating for their well-being. The program focuses on addressing the complex challenges faced by children and youth, embracing anti-oppressive and strength-based principles while adhering to professional codes of ethics.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The Child and Youth Care program at St. Clair College is a three-year Ontario College Advanced Diploma program designed to equip graduates with the knowledge and skills to work with children, youth, and their families in various settings. The program emphasizes a relational approach to developing therapeutic relationships, building on strengths and capacities to promote optimal development and facilitate positive changes.

Objectives:

The program aims to develop graduates who can:

Develop and maintain therapeutic relationships with children, youth, and their families, respecting their unique life spaces, and applying the principles of relational practice to meet their needs.
Assess the strengths, developmental and holistic needs of children, youth, and their families, using methods grounded in theoretical frameworks, research, and therapeutic practices, to develop care and intervention plans.
Use equitable and inclusive approaches that are anti-colonial, anti-oppressive, anti-racist, and strength-based frameworks, as well as cultural humility, to create positive and sustainable solutions and respond to inequities and to systemic barriers experienced by children, youth, and their families.
Advocate for, and in solidarity with, children, youth, their families, and communities through their participation in the development and implementation of care and intervention plans that uphold their rights.
Employ communication, collaboration, and relational skills with the inter-professional team and with community partners to ensure and enhance the professionalism of practice.
Engage in self-inquiry, relational inquiry, and critical reflection to develop strategies for learning and the practice of self-care, as a practitioner.
Use professional development resources and supervision to increase professional capacity, learning, and leadership skills.
Adhere to relevant legislation and Child and Youth Care standards of practice, competencies, and codes of ethics as a practitioner.
Practice in a variety of contexts and settings, respecting needs for developmental growth, safety, wellbeing, and agency, while addressing the varying age and developmental ranges of children, youth, and their families.
Employ crisis prevention and intervention techniques, and harm-reduction principles, with children, youth, and their families in the provision of care, to ensure their safety, resolution of crises, and reparation of relationships.
Develop the capacity to work with children, youth, and families who identify with Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities, as well as people in LGBTQ2+ and disabled communities, by identifying systemic inequities and barriers, integrating practices such as trauma-informed care, and respecting their inherent rights to self-determine.

Program Description:

The Child and Youth Care program focuses on understanding and addressing the complex needs and challenges faced by children, youth, and their families. These challenges can include socioeconomic factors, systemic factors, mental health, trauma, cognition, learning, developmental exceptionalities, and involvement in the justice system. Graduates of the program demonstrate an understanding of and ability to adhere to values and guiding principles in their practice, including:

A belief in child and youth-centred, holistic, developmental, and ecological perspectives
A commitment to anti-oppressive practice, anti-racist practice, cultural safety, and cultural humility
Knowledge of evidence-based, evidence-informed, trauma-informed, and strength-based interventions
A focus on self-awareness and self-advocacy and the promotion of resiliency

Teaching:

Interactive classroom work
Development of clinical observation and reporting skills
Understanding and development of therapeutic relationships
Extensive full-time field placement experience in each year of study, integrating theory with practice (First Year: 240 hours; Second Year: 480 hours; Third Year: 480 hours)

Careers:

Child and Youth Care graduates are valuable members of inter-professional teams and can expect to work with children, youth, and their families across a variety of settings, including:

Community-based child and youth development programs
Parent education and family support
School-based programs
Community mental health
Group care
Live-in treatment centres
Day and live-in treatment programs
Early intervention
Home-based care and treatment
Private practice
Clinical facilities
Child and youth mental health and psychiatric centres
Rehabilitation programs
Paediatric health care
Child protection
All faculty are experienced Child and Youth Care practitioners.
All faculty hold Child and Youth Care credentials and are members of the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care.
Graduates of the Child & Youth Care program with a minimum GPA of 3.0 may be eligible to block transfer into Year 3 of Degrees in Disability Studies, Psychology, and Social Work at the University of Windsor.
The program has earned accreditation from the Child and Youth Care Educational Accreditation Board of Canada (CYCEAB).
St. Clair College is an Organisational Member of the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care (OACYC).