Child & Youth Care (CYC)

The mission of Seneca Polytechnic's Child and Youth Care Program is to offer students’ academic, applied and transformative learning opportunities firmly rooted in relational practice, which prioritizes interpersonal relationships. With a comprehensive curriculum that encompasses teaching a diverse array of prevention, intervention and treatment strategies, the program strives to facilitate positive change for children, youth, families and communities.

This program has been approved as an Ontario college credential as required by the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security.

As a graduate, you will be prepared to reliably demonstrate the ability to:

• Develop and maintain therapeutic relationships with children, youth, and their families, respecting their unique life spaces, and applying the principles of relational practice to meet their needs.
• Assess the strengths, developmental and holistic needs of children, youth, and their families, using methods grounded in theoretical frameworks, research, and therapeutic practices, to develop care and intervention plans.
• Develop and implement care and intervention plans appropriate for the therapeutic milieu using evidence-informed practices and research to provide support for children, youth, and their families.
• Use equitable and inclusive approaches that are anti-colonial, anti-oppressive, anti-racist, and strength-based frameworks, as well as cultural humility, to create positive and sustainable solutions and respond to inequities and to systemic barriers experienced by children, youth, and their families.
• Advocate for, and in solidarity with, children, youth, their families, and communities through their participation in the development and implementation of care and intervention plans that uphold their rights.
• Employ communication, collaboration, and relational skills with the interprofessional team and with community partners to ensure and enhance the professionalism of practice.
• Engage in self-inquiry, relational inquiry, and critical reflection to develop strategies for learning and the practice of self-care, as a practitioner.
• Use professional development resources and supervision to increase professional capacity, learning and leadership skills.
• Adhere to relevant legislation and Child and Youth Care standards of practice, competencies, and codes of ethics as a practitioner.
• Practice in a variety of contexts and settings, respecting needs for developmental growth, safety, wellbeing, and agency, while addressing the varying age and developmental ranges of children, youth, and their families.
• Employ crisis prevention and intervention techniques, and harm-reduction principles, with children, youth, and their families in the provision of care, to ensure their safety, resolution of crises, and reparation of relationships.
• Develop the capacity to work with children, youth and families who identify with Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities, as well as people in 2SLGBTQQIPAA and disabled communities, by identifying systemic inequities and barriers, integrating practices such as trauma-informed care, and respecting their inherent rights to self-determine.