C2Y: Discussions on Child and Youth Care

Threshold Concepts in CYC: A conversation with Dr. Laura Steckley

Dr. Laura Steckely talks about Threshold concepts, what they are, how they are relevant to CYC practice, practitioners, and those we work with. Threshold concepts are ideas central to a field that once understood “transform learning and practice” leading to “new ways of thinking and understanding”. Threshold concepts have been identified and discussed in multiple fields, yet only minimally considered in Child and Youth Care. In this episode Dr. Steckley talks about her research into Threshold concepts in residential care and what she has identified so far.  

Dr Steckley is the Course Director of the MSc in Advanced Residential Child Care at the University of Strathclyde, in Scotland. Prior to becoming a faculty member, she worked in residential treatment in the USA and residential care in Scotland.

Ontario Without a Child Advocate: recording of Nov. 29 press conference from the Ontario Children’s Advocacy Coalition

This episode of Your Right to Speak is a press conference recording that took place on November 29, 2018 organized by the Ontario Children’s Advocacy Coalition. The press conference was in response to a recent decision by the Provincial Government. Below is a press release from the Ontario Children’s Advocacy Coalition regarding the Government’s Decision:

“On November 15, 2018, the Ontario Government announced its intention to discontinue the Ontario Child Advocate’s Office (OCA; formerly known as Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth). This Office ensures young people have a voice about things that affect their lives. This decision is especially devastating for young people living on the margins, Black youth, Indigenous youth, young people living in the care of public institutions like child welfare or youth justice and those with special challenges or disabilities.

The current Ontario government has said that they will transfer some of the functions of the Office of the Child Advocate to the Ombudsman of Ontario, a much larger office that deals with consumer complaints by adults in a wide range of public services, but that has no experience dealing with child welfare, child and youth mental health and youth justice sectors. Young people involved in those sectors are unfamiliar with the Ombudsman, and there are no opportunities for a collective voice. The Child Advocates Office would be subsumed under an institution that deals solely with adults. An independent Office must be maintained to ensure the appropriate support and care of Ontario’s most vulnerable children and youth.

Presently, the Provincial Child Advocate was chosen and appointed by an all-party Committee of the legislature and he reports directly to the legislature through the speaker. This is to ensure that his Office remains independent and is not unduly influenced by the government or at risk of reprisals for releasing reports to the public that are critical of the government’s performance, particularly as it relates to children in its care. Bill 57 introduced by the Progressive Conservative Government would cut three legislative officers which includes the Ontario Child Advocate. Disrupting the independence and authority of the Child Advocate who represents the most vulnerable children and youth in the province without thoughtful consideration of the facts or thorough public consultation demonstrates an unconscionable breach of power.”

Understanding Non-Financial Barriers to Black Queer Youth Transitions from High School to College Pt. 2

This is part 2 of our is a panel conversation with Tanitia Munroe, Karlene Williams-Clark, Dr. Lance McCready, Elise Yusef and Cannary Branco regarding the research project Understanding Non-Financial Barriers to Black Queer Youth Transitions from High School to College. The primary goal of the project was to build an evidence base to guide the work of postsecondary education connectors working with organizations that serve Black queer youth. The guests are a mixture of researchers, community partners, and people interviewed for the research project.

Due to the number of people we went longer than usual with this episode. Rather than playing the whole 1 hour at once, we split the conversation into two episodes, you can listen to part 1 by going to the October 31 2018 episode of CYC podcast.

Arrabon House: Fitting Programming Around Young People

On this episode on Your Right to Speak Salvatore talks with Karen Prosper the Executive Director of Arrabon House and a returning guest Catherine Ellis-Dobson the Assistant Director of Arrabon House. Karen and Catherine talk about what programs and services Arrabon House offer young women and what gaps they have seen in the residential group home setting. Karen and Catherine’s extensive experience shines through as they share their belief in the importance of utilizing a person-focused wellness model and reflect on the most important lessons they have learned thus far.  Let's raise awareness together!  

Understanding Non-Financial Barriers to Black Queer Youth Transitions from High School to College Pt. 1

This episode is a panel conversation with 5 people, Tanitia Munroe, Karlene Williams-Clark, Dr. Lance McCready, Elise Yusef and Cannary Branco. The conversation is about a recent research project called Understanding Non-Financial Barriers to Black Queer Youth Transitions from High School to College. The primary goal of the project was to build an evidence base to guide the work of postsecondary education connectors working with organizations that serve Black queer youth. The guests are a mixture of researchers, community partners, and people interviewed for the research project.

Due to the number of people we went longer than usual with this episode. Rather than playing the whole 1 hour at once, we are splitting the conversation into two episodes, one this month and the second one the last Wednesday of November.

Fitting The Program Around The Youth: Residential Group Homes

On this episode of Your Right to Speak I talked with Catherine Ellis-Dobson who is the Assistant Director at Arrabon House. Catherine talks about some of the gaps in the group home/ residential care system and what needs to be changed. The conversation then turns to how to Child and Youth workers know the residential program is benefiting the youth and how success looks like. Near the end of the episode, Catherin offers advice for new students entering the residential setting. Let's raise awareness together! 

Institutional Care for Children in Trinidad and Tobago, a conversation with Dr. Petra Roberts

Dr. Petra Roberts talks about her oral history research with 24 adults who, as children, grew up in residential institutions in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). Her study sought to learn the positives and negatives of residential care in order to contribute to developing a model of care suited for high need, low resource countries. Dr. Roberts discusses residential care in T&T, some of the unique aspects of care in that nation, the positive and challenging experiences of those who spent time in care, and closes with making some recommendations regarding institutional care for middle- and low-income countries.

Dr. Roberts is currently an assistant professor in the department of Social Work at Algoma University in Sault Saint Marie, Ontario.

CYC Education: A Black Experience with Sabrin Hassan

This presentation by Sabrin Hassan is the final of our uploads from Education Day, prior to the 20th Canadian National CYC conference held in Vancouver, British Columbia this past May. Sabrin discusses her experiences as a Black student going through post-secondary CYC education. Sabrin is a recent graduate of Ryerson Universities Bachelor in Child and Youth Care program.

The trauma informed Child and Youth Care classroom with Donna Reid

Today’s episode is by Donna Reid, who speaks about considering alternative delivery models to the teaching of material related to trauma. Her presentation integrates research and conversations with faculty, and students, and applies the eight principles of trauma towards transforming the CYC classroom and the student experience.

Donna Reid is a Professor in the CYC program at George Brown College in Toronto. Her practice incorporates clinical assessment and treatment, group work and community-based support for youth experiencing emotional and behavioral difficulties connected to emotional dysregulation, adoption and developmental trauma. This presentation is based on research she has been doing for the past year looking at trauma and CYC education.

Threshold Concepts in CYC Education

This week is the eighth in our uploads from Education Day, prior to the 20th Canadian National CYC conference held in Vancouver, British Columbia this past May. Today’s episode is by Graham McPheat. presenting on Threshold Concepts in CYC Education. Threshold concepts are central concepts in a given discipline which are transformative but also troublesome. They are important because they shape thinking and practice, but they are often difficult to grasp. His presentation concerns a research project led by Laura Steckley which explored the relevance of threshold concept theory to child and youth care and began the process of identifying potential threshold concepts in the field.

Graham McPheat worked in residential child care practice in Scotland for 10 years before moving into post-secondary education. He is currently the head of Learning and Teaching in the School of Social Work & Social Policy at the university of Strathclyde in Scotland. He teaches in the Masters of Science in Child and Youth Care Studies. 

How Do We Know? A duet from Shadan Hyder and Colleen Snell

This week is the seventh in our uploads from the 20th Canadian National CYC conference held in Vancouver, British Columbia this past May, and is by Shadan Hyder and Colleen Snell. While the presentation is by two people, the voice you’ll hear most, is Shadan’s. Colleen is primarily dancing with Shadan.

 This presentation was originally part of larger project, which began by questioning whether empathy and caring can be taught; asking if it is possible to value and trust instinctual wisdom, care ethics, love, relational knowing, or inter-subjective practices within academic institutions. Exploring the incongruence between preparing students for CYC practice within traditional academia the duet demonstrates personal narrative as a position of wisdom.

Shadan Hyder is an advocate, a practitioner, and currently finishing her MA in CYC at Ryerson University in Toronto. Colleen Snell is a dancer, choreographer, and the Artistic Director of Frog in Hand Productions, a dance company based in Mississauga Ontario. To learn more about Frog in Hand please visit www.froginhand.com

Self as CYC Educator, an arts-based reflection from Matty Hillman

This week is the fifth in our uploads from the 20th Canadian National Child and Youth Care conference held in Vancouver, British Columbia this past May. In this episode, Matty Hillman talks about transitions he has gone through as a CYC Student. A Muralist. Community Citizen. CYC Practitioner. And now as an Educator.

Matty Hillman is a Child and Youth Care instructor in the Human Services program at Selkirk College in British Columbia. the traditional territory of the Sinixt people. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Child and Youth Care from the University of Victoria. His research interests include, sexual violence prevention and response on post-secondary campuses, healthy masculinities and critical youth mentorship. As a muralist, he is especially interested in the intersection of youth work and public art - exploring the opportunity these complimentary practices create for empowerment, community building and social justice advancements.

Reflections on being a part of the CYC Education Process: Challenges, innovations & Changes, Shared Wisdom

This week is the fourth in our uploads from the 20th Canadian National Child and Youth Care conference held in Vancouver, British Columbia this past May. This session discusses CYC education practicums and is presented by Pamela Nicholls and Dr. Rob Lees. Pamela Nicholls is speaking as a 4^th year practicum Student at the University of the Fraser Valley. Dr. Lees, is a faculty at the University of the Fraser Valley.

CYC Education in Rural and Remote Settings with Kelly Shaw, Jenny Oliver, and Ocean Wyatt

The focus of this presentation is the complexity of delivering CYC Education in rural and remote Canada. Kelly Shaw is a faculty member in the Child and Youth Care [CYC] diploma at the Nova Scotia Community College [NSCC] and Director of Care for Atlantic Youth. Jenny Oliver and Ocean Wyatt are both CYC students from Nain, Labrador. 

Learning from Life, Teaching to Care, A presentation from Joe Blake

This week is the second in our uploads from the Canadian National Child and Youth Care conference in Vancouver, British Columbia this past May. Today’s presentation is by Joe Blake who speaks about his experiences as Child and Youth Care student through to being a CYC instructor.

Joe Blake is a graduate of the Master’s and Bachelor of Arts in Child and Youth Care Program from Ryerson University (Honors) as well as the Child and Youth Worker Program at George Brown College. Joe’s interests in the field particular lie in the areas of the youth criminal justice system, restorative practices, social justice and youth advocacy.