C2Y: Discussions on Child and Youth Care

This is part two of a special two-part discussion examining the topic of death. In this second episode Dr. Mary Vachon talks about the death of children. She discusses about how to work with children who are dying, how to support caregivers whose children are dying, and suggestions on caring for ourselves as we work in this very difficult area.

Dr. Vachon is a Registered Nurse/Ph. D. psychotherapist in private practice with a focus on death and dying. She has been working in this area since the late 1960s and has published over 170 scientific articles and book chapters in the areas of bereavement, occupational stress in health care professionals, dealing with life-threatening illnesses, and spirituality; among other related topics.

In a special two-part discussion over the September and October episodes, C2YPodcast will be examining the topic of death with Dr. Mary Vachon. This first episode will deal with the death of a caregiver. Dr. Vachon offers suggestions on preparing a young person for the death of a parent, what responses one might see after the death, and how to support the child/youth/young adult as they grow up without that parent. 

Dr. Vachon is a Registered Nurse/Ph. D. psychotherapist in private practice with a focus on death and dying. She has been working in this area since the late 1960s and has published over 170 scientific articles and book chapters in the areas of bereavement, occupational stress in health care professionals, dealing with life-threatening illnesses, and spirituality; among other related topics.

16,000 children are in care in Scotland. What works for their care and what doesn’t? John Paul Fitzpatrick discusses the results of his research looking at young people in care under “home supervision”. He discusses efficacious processes for supporting young people, educational outcomes for young people in care, and models of youth participation. Mr. Fitzpatrick is the Knowledge Exchange Lead of the Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children, and is an Associate Dean at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.

During the interview Mr. Fitzpatrick mentions a program that successfully uses youth participation. The program is called Who Cares Scotland, here is the website: http://www.whocaresscotland.org

July is “C2Ypodcast video month”. Each July C2Ypodcast.org will post several videos related to child and youth care. This month’s theme is Care of The State. Here are the links:

David’s Story: Home supervision, My life, My education and Me.

A lecture by John Paul Fitzpatrick about his doctorial research of children with state involvement who remain in the home.

http://www.celcis.org/resources/entry/davids_story_home_supervision_my_life_my_education_and_me 

Lemn Sissay

Lemn Sissay is a poet based in the UK. He went into care right after birth, during the 60’s. The links are to his website, there you can find a TED Talk video, a couple videos about his story and a radio drama called “Child of the State”.

http://lemnsissay.com/broadcast-2/video/

http://lemnsissay.com/broadcast-2/radio/  In particular check out Child of the State 

Guardian scholars

This is a video from the New York Times about a USA program for people in care entering the post-secondary educational system.

http://www.nytimes.com/video/education/100000002524084/guardian-scholars.html

ReMoved

A short drama about a young child who goes into care. This video was developed to help train new foster parents. “Trigger alert” this video is quite sad.

http://vimeo.com/73172036 

If you know of other related videos available online, please post the links in the comments section below.

The new child and youth care vocational standards for all colleges in Ontario requires graduates to “demonstrate the ability to advocate for the rights of children, youth and their families and maintain an anti-oppression perspective and cultural competence in diverse cultural contexts”. What is anti-oppression? How does oppression impact young people in the social services sector? Is the social service system inherently oppressive? How can service providers be anti-oppressive? 

Rebecca Ward, from the faculty of Child and Youth Work, at Confederation College, in Thunder Bay, Ontario and Wanda MacArthur a Manager of Children’s Services at the Children’s Aid Society of the District of Thunder Bay discuss these questions and provide several suggestions on anti-oppression in child and youth care practice.

Dr. Mark Totten discusses how young people become gang involved and why this is the path that some people take. He talks about evidence based early interventions to prevent gang involvement, what life is like being a member of a gang and what is effective in helping people to exit gang life. Dr. Mark Totten is a professor of Criminal Justice at Humber College, the author of numerous reports, articles, and books including Nasty Brutish and Short: The Lives of Gang Members in Canada; When Children Kill; Guys, Gangs and Girlfriend Abuse; and most recently Gang Life: Ten of the Toughest Tell Their Story. To learn more about his work and to read some of his academic publications please visit http://www.tottenandassociates.ca

By teaching young people the arts, you are transforming the world. This is how Dr. Mary Stone Hanley frames Culturally Relevant Arts Education (CRAE). Dr. Hanley passionately argues that working with young people is political and creating art is a political act. She believes that everyone who works with young people need to be aware of social justice issues. She has written that through the arts marginalized, racialized and or oppressed children and youth can “be creative and critical change agents who challenge demeaning perceptions and practices”. Dr. Hanley discusses specific examples of culturally relevant art projects she has been part of, explains the theory behind CRAE, and shows “a way out of no way”.

Dr. Hanley is a performer, poet, educator, playwright and artivist. She is the author of numerous articles and most recently co-edited a book called Culturally Relevant Arts Education for Social Justice: A Way Out of No Way. For more information about Dr. Hanley please visit Hanley Arts at MaryStoneHanley.com.

In this conversation Dr. Gerry Fewster discusses what “self” is in the context of child and youth care (CYC). Dr. Fewster also talks about how invitations to those we work with help build relationships, what makes CYC different from other professions, and his concerns for CYC going forward. Dr. Fewster has been working with children and youth since the early 60s in multiple roles including street worker, teacher, psychologist, and executive director of a residential program. He’s written several books and many articles. To read some of his writing visit CYC-Net.org.

In this conversation Dr. Pamela Richmond talks about boundaries as routes to building relationships with those we work with (children, youth and colleagues). She explains the difference between boundary crossings & violations, how context informs practices and how boundaries shift (and don’t) in the virtual realm.  

Dr. Richmond is an associate professor at Colorado State University-Pueblo where she teaches introductory and practice courses in the social work program. She has worked with youth in residential treatment, group home, prevention, and psychiatric settings. Dr. Richmond also publishes & presents on the topic of boundaries in professional relationships.

Dr. Siegi Schuler discusses current evidence-based practices for adolescents who sexual offend why it is important to work with this population. 

Dr. Schuler is the Clinical Director of the Halton Trauma Centre, he has a private practice; teaches at the University of Toronto as well as Ryerson University and consults widely with hospitals, child welfare agencies, treatment programs and detention facilities. In his work he has developed an expertise in adolescent who sexually abuse. For more information about Dr. Schuler please visit www.leasidetherapycentre.com/siegi-schuler

Here is a link for “Responding to Adolescent Sexual Offending: Recommendations for a Regional Protocol” an evidence-based practice manual designed for Ontario the Dr. Schuler co-authored.

Mr Hershel Russell introduces different understandings of gender and how to support young people who are "gender-independent" or trans*. This interview may be particularly interesting to parents of young "gender non-conforming" children and those who work with parents. Hershel Russell is a trans-male psychotherapist, educator and activist who specializes in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender counselling. To learn more about the work that Hershel does you can visit his website at www.hersheltoronto.ca.

Wolfgang is out of Canada at the moment and so there is not a full interview this month. Instead here are a couple links for videos related to working with children or youth.

The Many Faces of Child and Youth Work:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R53z9SkddFk

Kaņieris Riga Youth Centre:

http://vimeo.com/rigayoung

Jack Phelan talks about common child and youth care practices, discusses “truths” that are held by many and how to avoid what he sees as bad practices. Jack has been doing, teaching, and writing about child and youth care work for over three decades. Jack’s most recent writing focuses upon applying theory in life space situations and developing CYC program ideas that meet the complex needs of the youth and families.

How do we work with young people in a strength-based way? What does “fostering resilience” look like in practice? How does context inform the choices that young people make? Dr. Michael Ungar shares anecdotes and research to help explain what resilience theory is and discusses how to turn theory into action. Dr. Ungar is a family therapist and a professor of Social Work, at Dalhousie University. He has written 11 books, published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and is the lead researcher in an international study on resilience in youth. To learn more about Dr. Ungar’s work please visit http://www.michaelungar.com http://cyccnetwork.org/en/ and http://resilienceresearch.org.

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.