Child and Youth Care Program (C133)

This Child and Youth Care program has earned national accreditation from the Child and Youth Care Educational Accreditation Board of Canada, becoming the first of its kind in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and the third in Canada to do so.

The Child and Youth Care program prepares you to work effectively with children, youth, and families who are experiencing social, emotional, developmental, and behavioural challenges. The program integrates a holistic approach embedding an ecological perspective and principles of human rights, anti-oppressive practice, resiliency, and restorative practice.

Full Description

Prepare for a career supporting children, youth and their families in a variety of settings, including hospitals, group homes, treatment centres, and more, with the Child and Youth Care (C133) advanced diploma program. This three-year program is anchored in the values of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care Code of Ethics.

As a student in this program, you will learn to engage purposefully and effectively with children, adolescents and families.

The focus of CYC work is to support those who struggle with emotional, behavioural, and developmental challenges that impair their abilities to relate to others. The specific focus of this program is to recognize the impact of mental health challenges on children and youth and to design programs to support children and youth and their families.

As a student in this program, you will learn to translate theory into practice to move youth from potential risk to resilience.

You’ll gain practical experience with supervised field placements. In preparation for the field or clinical placement, students will be required to work in multiple small and large groups within classes and community settings.

Your Field Education Options

Field placement plays an important role in the Child and Youth Care program.

All placements will be matched in conjunction with the field placement co-ordinator and the CYC faculty. All placements require the completion of the ParaMed documentation (for example, medical and vulnerable sector check).  During the first year, students will learn foundational skills that they will develop as the course progresses. The subsequent academic courses come to life in a wide range of supervised field placements in the second and third years of the program.

Second-year students can expect to be in placement two days a week (winter semester), and third-year students can expect to be in placement three days a week over 28 weeks (including both the fall and winter semesters).

NOTE: To proceed to field placement, students are required to pass the prerequisite for placement CYCS 1015 – Field Preparation Seminar.

Students will enrol and are required to pass both Field Placement and Field Seminar courses, which are co-requisites. Second-year placement is a prerequisite for third-year placement. The passing grade for all field-related courses is 60 per cent.

Placements may take place in professional settings such as:

• residential care
• hospitals
• shelters
• schools
• after-school programs
• community outreach programs
• day treatment
• youth justice

Students are expected to work both day and evening shifts (not overnight) and may be requested to work on some weekends.

Career & Postgraduate Study Opportunities

Career Options

Child and Youth Care graduates have found employment in:

• treatment centres
• group homes/residential placements
• hospitals
• educational settings
• community-based treatment programs
• shelters
• youth justice