Competencies for Professional Child and Youth Work Practitioners

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the NACP, as well as a summary of the competencies necessary for fully professional practice across the various settings in which child and youth care professionals work. Competencies for Professional Child and Youth Work Professionals, (Revised 2010), with a complete description of the project can be found at www.acycp.org or www.cyccb.org/competencies. This document is the result of many years of work by North American Child and Youth Care Professionals. Initial development was undertaken by the North American Certification Project (NACP) and, sponsored by the Association for Child and Youth Care Practice (ACYCP). The NACP arose from a broad opinion that North American certification for child and youth care practitioners was urgently needed. GuIDInG FOunDATIOnS OF THE PrOJECT The project was guided by the following description of the field and guiding principles. Description of the Child & Youth Care Field Professional child and youth care practice focuses on infants, children, and adolescents, including those with special needs, within the context of the family, the community, and the life span. The developmental ecological perspective emphasizes the interaction between persons and their physical and social environments, including cultural and political settings. Professional practitioners promote the optimal development of children, youth, and their families in a variety of settings, such as early care and education, commu

Child and Youth Care - The Enhancement of Praxis: Theory to Practice or Theory vs Practice

“…Various bodies and organizations such as the Canadian Council of Child and Youth Care Associations (CCCYCA, 2014) or the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care (OACYC, 2017) help define core principles and approaches in the field. The field of CYC offers adult mentor relationships to infants, children, and youth that are focused on promoting positive development in settings such as communitybased child and youth programs, family support, school-based programs, mental health, child welfare, clinical settings, and juvenile justice programs (Mattingly & Stuart, 2010). CYC's embody the passion and commitment to fostering positive relationships, caring, and meaningful engagement in the lives of children, youth, and families (Fewster, 1990;Freeman, 2013;Garfat, 2008;Gharabaghi & Anderson-Nathe, 2012;Kruegar, 2002;Stuart, 2009).…”

“…Krueger (1990) stated that practitioners further develop professional characteristics such as empathy, trust, security, compassion, and sympathy, which are strengthened by understanding the nature of life-space interventions involving young people through direct practice. Today, CYC workers utilize life space interventions in numerous setting including but not limited to: schools, hospitals, community-based programs, juvenile justice programs, child welfare, family support and clinical settings (Mattingly, 2010;VanderVen & Torre, 1999).…”

Procesos de innovación y mejora en el ámbito de la intervención familiar. El papel de las y los profesionales en la incorporación de buenas prácticas basadas en la evidencia

“…La revisión de los principales modelos de competencias profesionales relativas al trabajo con familias (e.g., Mattingly, Stuart y VanderVen, 2002;National Parenting Education Network, 2014;Rycus y Hughes, 2000) pone de manifiesto la existencia de tres grandes grupos de competencias profesionales en el ámbito de la intervención familiar: aquellas dirigidas a la profesionalización en los servicios; aquellas que se refieren a las relaciones que establecen los y las profesionales en su trabajo con las familias; y aquellas relacionadas con la coordinación con otros profesionales o servicios (Rodrigo et al, 2021).…”

Systemic Reflexivity in Residential Child Care: A Pedagogical Frame to Empower Professional Competence

“…Researchers, professional associations, and experts have developed principles, requirements, and standards about child protection and care, and emphasized the need for trained and experienced workers endowed with complex relational capacities (Garfat, 2013;Gharabaghi, 2020;Mattingly et al, 2012). It is by and large recognized that care workers play a critical role in RCC outcomes (Knorth et al, 2010).…”