C2Y: Discussions on Child and Youth Care

Residential Childcare in Bangladesh: A conversation with Tuhinul Islam

In this interview Dr. Tuhinul Islam discusses his research into residential childcare in Bangladesh, the first scientific research on this topic in the country. His study reveals some surprising finding regarding which residential care programs result in the “best outcomes” for children and youth who go through the care system. Dr. Tuhinul Islam talks about his work with children of sex workers, the difference between Government, NGO and faith based care systems in Bangladesh, and the role of stigma & community in residential childcare. Dr. Tuhinul Islam is the Assistant Director of Society for Social Service in Tangail, Bangladesh.

Suicide Interventions: A conversation with Sonia McDonald

This conversation identifies “invitations” that may suggest a child or youth is considering suicide, this is followed by direction on what, and what not, to say to the young person. Wolfgang interviews Sonia McDonald, a child and youth worker (CYW) in Ontario and a certified trainer with Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) created by LivingWorks. LivingWorks was started in Canada in the mid 1970s. Since then they have helped develop and deliver suicide training in multiple continents for close to a million caregivers. For more information about ASIST see LivingWorks.net, and for training in Ontario you can email Sonia directly at soniamc@rogers.com.

Thank you to Francis Felice for help with editing and technical support.

Social Pedagogy: A conversation with Sylvia Holthoff

In this podcast Sylvia Holthoff of ThemPra talks about Social Pedagogy, explaining how this approach of working across the lifespan is used in Europe. We also discuss what child and youth care practitioners outside of Europe can learn from Social Pedagogy and where there is overlap between this approach and various other ways of working with young people. For more information about Sylvia and Social Pedagogy please visit ThemPra.org.

Living, and Raising Children, on the Autism Spectrum: A conversation with Nancy Getty

After her son was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, Nancy Getty was herself assessed. Nancy shares what it is like to live on the autism spectrum and to raise twins who have both been diagnosed having Aspergers Syndrome. Nancy invites us into the culture of Autism and shares insights into how she sees and navigates the world. Nancy also offers specific and concrete suggestions on how to work with children and families on the autism spectrum. A rare opportunity to hear what works and what does not from one wise person’s perspective. For more information about Nancy Getty you can visit http://www.aspergerrus.com.

A special thank you to Francis Felice for help with this episode’s production.

Current Trends & Critical Questions in Youth Work: A conversation with Dana Fusco

In this interview Dr. Dana Fusco talks about workforce trends in youth work. Specifically, she critically discusses the move towards defined competencies, the credentialing of youth work, and post-secondary education youth work programs in the USA. She identifies the impetus for and benefits of these trends as well as the risks that youth work may face because of them. Dr. Fusco is the editor of “Advancing Youth Work: Current Trends, Critical Questions”. She is Associate Professor of Teacher Education, York College, City University of New York. You can learn more about her work at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Advancing-Youth-Work-Current-Trends-Critical-Questions or follow her Twitter feed “youthworkadv”.

Detached Youth Work: A conversation with Graeme Tiffany

In this interview Graeme Tiffany explains what Detached Youth Work is. Graeme looks at the history, the risks this work currently faces, as well as benefits of this approach. He challenges us to think about voluntary association in relationships between young people and service providers (of all types). Graeme Tiffany is the vice-chair of the Federation for Detached Youth Work. To learn more about Graeme’s work and see a list of his publication visit http://www.graemetiffany.co.uk.

The sound in this podcast is difficult at points. I hope you will listen through these moments; what Graeme has to say is certainly worth it.

Workplace Violence in CYC practice: A conversation with Vaughan Bowie

Vaughan Bowie begins the conversation talking about youth work in Australia. He then discusses the causes, and ways of addressing, workplace violence in the child and youth care field. Mr. Bowie has over 40 years working with young people in numerous settings and was one of the first people to write about workplace violence as it relates to child and youth care practitioners. Mr. Bowie has written and edited several books in addition to publishing numerous articles on the topic. To find out more about Vaughan Bowie and see a complete list of his publications visit http://vaughanbowie.com.

Using Art with Traumatized Children in the West Bank: A discussion on the Freedom Theatre

Today’s podcast is with Faisal Abu Aiheja of The Freedom Theatre located within the Jenin Refugee Camp in the West Bank. The Freedom Theatre is cultural centre that works with children, youth and adults "in which they are free to express themselves, to explore their creativity and emotions through culture and arts” (http://www.thefreedomtheatre.org). Faisal speaks about the experiences of young people growing up in Palestine and the work that the freedom theatre does to support these children and youth.

Youth Transitioning Out of Care in Jordan: A conversation with Rawan Ibrahim

In this interview, Dr. Rawan Ibrahim discusses the many challenges that youth transitioning out of care in Jordan experience. Challenges that are both unique to their particular cultural context and those similar to youth from care in other parts of the world. Dr. Ibrahim is a service provider, researcher, and a strong advocate for the rights of young people in care. She is also one of only four people in Jordan to receive a PhD in social work.

Conversations With Youth From Care in Amman, Jordan

This podcast is a series of interviews with different young people who grew up in care in Jordan. All of the people interviewed were at a protest camp set up across from the Prime Ministers residence in Amman, the capital of Jordan. The protest was to demand changes to the way young people are taken care of by the state and to increase supports when they transition out of care. There are three separate interviews, two of them one-on-one and the middle interview with a group of young men at the protest camp. The interviewees discuss what it is like to grow up in care, why they are protesting, and what changes they would like to see in the way children and youth are cared for.

Working with Bedouin Youth in Israel: A conversation with Jamal Alkirnawi

This interview is with Jamal Alkirnawi, Jamal talks about working with young Bedouins in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Jamal discusses the New Dawn, an organization he started to address multiple needs of this population. He also speaks about his work with young Arab university students and the challenges many young people face transitioning from a semi-nomadic collectivist society.

Youth Participatory Action Research: A conversation with T & Dion, two youth researchers

T and Dion explain what Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) is and how the Ella Baker Center's Heal the Streets program uses YPAR. They also discuss the YPAR projects that Heal the Streets have done on teen joblessness, racial profiling, and their most recent one using Forum Theatre.

The Self in Child and Youth Care, a conversation with Michael Burns

Michael Burns argues that to effectively work with children and youth, one must first know one’s Self. The author of six books related to the field of child and youth care, talks about his recently completed The Self in Child and Youth Care: A Celebration. In this podcast Michael Buns discusses his own journey to child and youth work, offers suggestions on how to use self when working with young people, provides guidance for teachers and students who want to use this book in a formal education context, and explains why knowing thy self really does merit celebration.

Using Comics to Change Behavior, a conversation with Sean Muir of The Healthy Aboriginal Network

This episode is a conversation with Sean Muir the founder and executive director of The Healthy Aboriginal Network (HAN). The Healthy Aboriginal Network creates “Culturally Appropriate, Certified Aboriginal” comic books. Each comic deals with a different topic that directly affects aboriginal communities across Canada. Sean talks about issues facing aboriginal youth, how HAN started, and the impact of using comics on changing behaviours.

Youth Leaving Care Hearings, a conversation with Rasheeda and Wendy

In November 2011, for the first time in the history of Canada, people currently and formally living “in care” had hearings at a provincial legislature. Organized and run by young people, the Office of the Ontario Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth held the hearings over two days at Queens Park, the location of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Wendy and Rasheeda, two of the young people involved in making the hearings happen, talk about the hearings, the report that came from the hearings, called My Real Life Book (click on link to go to website and download a copy of the report), and responses to the report.