The respondents from Canada engage with children and young people aged 8-30 years who have severe emotional, behavioural or psychiatric difficulties, are in the care of the government for child protection reasons and those who face barriers to education and employment. Others provide training for professionals in the child and youth care field.
Child and Youth Care (CYC) Workers use a variety of approaches to teach and promote positive change in the lives of Canadian children, youth and families. Intervention is individual, based on the specific needs of the children, youth and families, and occurs in the context of a planned environment and the use of daily life events for therapeutic purposes. Various methodologies and models are used within different programmes by different actors, be they state or NGO. A focus is put on coaching life skills & success skills, self-advocacy skills and increasing self-esteem, neuro-diversity concepts are embraced and introduced to the students/clients. Clinical care is based in an attachment model of practice and using a trauma informed approach. All residential programs are based on a trauma-informed, developmental and relational model of group care and include activity programming, life skills, group work, educational support and family support.
Formal education for professionals is provided by higher education bodies, private institutions and vocational training organizations/bodies and range from Undergraduate to PhD. The most commonly held degrees include Bachelor's and Master's in CYC and as well as diplomas from private colleges and degrees in related fields.
Various projects are part of the work of those who responded to the survey. Focused on trauma informed and evidence based practices, attendance, academic success and social inclusion for marginalized students, programmes for supporting foster parents, accreditation for becoming the first post-secondary CYC program in Canada to be accredited by the CYC Educational Accreditation Board of Canada.
Canadian members are interested in establishing collaborations, project partnerships and funding applications with other organizations around the world. Please contact the FICE office for further details.