Child and Youth Care Program (Accelerated) at George Brown College

In the Child and Youth Care (Accelerated) program, you will have the opportunity to learn how to support at-risk children, youth and families by developing therapeutic skills and abilities. Over the course of 16 consecutive months (four semesters), you will learn how to build therapeutic relationships with clients and collaborate with a professional team as you develop skill sets to create a professional identity as an agent of change.

SCOPE OF PRACTICE INCLUDES:

• assessing risk and developmental needs of vulnerable children and families
• designing and implementing therapeutic intervention
• crisis intervention and safety planning with children, youth and their families
• developing therapeutic relationships within challenging contexts
• applying group and systems theories in milieu work
• fostering resilience and applying a strength-based approach to assessment and intervention

PROGRAM STANDARDS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Develop and maintain relationships with children, youth and their families applying principles of relational practice and respecting their unique life space, cultural and human diversity.
• Assess and respond to the strengths and needs of children and youth, including complex responses impacted by developmental, environmental, physical, emotional, social and mental health challenges in order to promote positive change.
• Analyze and evaluate the impact of the inter-relationship among family, social service, justice and community systems on children, youth and their families and use this information in the planning of holistic care and in the reduction of systemic barriers.
• Plan, implement and evaluate interventions using evidence‐informed practices in the areas of therapeutic milieu and programming, and group work to promote resiliency and to enhance development in children, youth and their families.
• Advocate for the rights of children, youth and their families and maintain an anti-oppression perspective and cultural competence in diverse cultural contexts.
• Apply communication, teamwork and organizational skills within the interprofessional team and with community partners to enhance the quality of service in child and youth care practice.
• Develop and implement self-care strategies using self-inquiry and reflection processes to promote self- awareness and to enhance practice as a child and youth care practitioner.
• Use evidence-based research, professional development resources and supervision models to support professional growth and lifelong learning.

YOUR CAREER

Child and Youth Care graduates are eligible for membership in the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Counsellors (OACYC), the professional association representing Child and Youth Care Practitioners in the province of Ontario.

Our graduates find employment as workers in:

• treatment centres
• group homes
• hospitals
• youth shelters
• schools
• community-based treatment programs