C2Y: Discussions on Child and Youth Care

Drawing upon his own work in residential care and as a foster parent, Dr. Smith talks about care as an action and a disposition. He discusses several theories and aspects related to care, what it looks like in practice, the relationship between care and love, and some of the difficulties regarding care in this current managerialist climate.

Dr. Mark Smith spent about 20 years working in residential care before moving into academia. He has published widely on topics related to residential care, ideas of love in child and youth care, historical abuse in residential care, and in 2018 co-edited a book titled Social Work in a Changing Scotland. Dr. Smith currently teaches at the University of Dundee in Scotland.

In this episode Marleigh Pirnasar talks about working in Northern Quebec after growing up, going to school, and becoming a CYC in southern Ontario. She explains how she had to reckon with her southern geographical privilege, differentiates between cultural competency, cultural humility, and cultural safety, and discusses the necessity of understanding self when working in cultures different from one’s own.

Marleigh Pirnasar is a Child and Youth Care Practitioner who works in Nunavik, northern Quebec.

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.”

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! 

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.

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. 

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

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.

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.

In May, 2018 the Canadian National Child and Youth Care conference was held in Vancouver, British Columbia. Prior to the actual conference was an education day pre-conference. Over the course of the summer we will be posting many of these presentations. This first talk is by Dr. Jaspreet Bal. In her presentation she discusses race in CYC education and considers how and when faculty of color use their bodies to teach.

Dr. Jaspreet Bal is a Professor in the Child and Youth Care program at Humber College in Toronto as well as a Child and Youth Care Practitioner (CYCP). As community organizer, activist and educator, her practice involves radical youth work with underserved populations across North America. Bal serves on the Board of Directors of the Sikh Feminist Research Institute and Kaurs United International, and the advisory board of the Sikh Research Institute.

Today we look at the increasing number of post-secondary programs being delivered online and ask what the impacts on CYC education might be, can there be relational teaching online, what factors are driving these shifts, and what might be the benefits of such moves. To answer these questions, we’ve invited Graham McPheat,

Graham McPheat is 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 (https://www.strath.ac.uk/courses/postgraduatetaught/childandyouthcarestudies/), a program taught through Distance Learning, aimed at child and youth care practitioners from around the world.

Over the months of April and May, a new podcast called Transitioning Home was released. It’s an audio drama created by a group of young queer, trans, racialized, and straight folks who have lived in the Toronto shelter system. Or didn’t, because staying away seemed safer. This episode is an interview with Jordan Hightower one of the creators of the project. In the conversation he talks about the project, making art out of difficult personal experiences, and we need to listen – even when it’s hard.

You can listen to Transitioning Home at:

www.Transhome.org

http://transitioninghomepodcast.podbean.com/

www.facebook.com/transitioninghomepodcast/

This episode is part two of the conversation we started last week with Veronique Church-Duplessis of White Ribbon. To see the full interview description, visit the write up for the April 25, 2018 episode.

To find out more about White Ribbon visit:

Whiteribbon.ca

Itstartswithyou.ca - male role models resources

Draw the Line  SVP for schools - dtl.whiteribbon.ca

Or email:

info@whiteribbon.ca

In March, we had a conversation about gender-based violence and sexually predatory behaviour, particularly in the music industry. After we posted the episode, we received a lot of very thoughtful, helpful, and critically insightful feedback. As a result of the interview and the responses, we made a commitment to have more conversations about gender-based violence and ways of responding to violence. This episode is part-one of a two-part interview with Veronique Church-Duplessis from White Ribbon. “White Ribbon is the world’s largest movement of men and boys working to end violence against women and girls, promote gender equity, healthy relationships and a new vision of masculinity” (taken from their website).

Given the response from the listeners to our last episode. We have decided to post part-two of this conversation next week (May 2) rather than waiting a full month.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to listen and reach out to us after the last episode. To see our initial response to comments we received, please visit our Facebook page facebook.com/CYCpodcast

To find out more about White Ribbon visit:

Whiteribbon.ca

Itstartswithyou.ca - male role models resources

Draw the Line  SVP for schools - dtl.whiteribbon.ca

Or email:

info@whiteribbon.ca

On this episode of Your Right to Speak, I talk with Melanie who is a Masters of Social Work student at York University. Melanie has been focusing her research on mental health in post-secondary education. The conversation starts off with Melanie explaining why it is essential to have a discussion on the topic of mental health in post-secondary settings. The conversation then turns to what Melanie has found in her research and some of the gaps in services offered in the post-secondary environment to assist youth, relating to mental health.   

Let's raise awareness together!