About Us
About Our Organization
We are BC’s professional association of Child and Youth Care students, workers, allied practitioners and organizations. We want to centre our work on valuing and respecting young people, their diverse lived contexts and the communities that support them.
Our Mission & Vision
The CYCABC is an organization of Child and Youth Care (CYC) practitioners established to represent and promote professional practice of CYC in British Columbia and the broad spectrum of service delivery to children, youth, families and communities.
The CYCABC is dedicated to uniting all Child and Youth Care (CYC) practitioners with the common vision of enhancing the CYC profession in BC, as well as ensuring the provision of diverse quality services for children, youth, families and communities.
Our Objectives
To enhance and promote the profession through the adoption of standards of practice for our members and move toward regulation of the profession within the province.
To improve and promote public understanding of Child and Youth Care as a profession.
To promote public awareness of issues affecting children, youth and families In British Columbia by maintaining grassroots connections with those we serve.
To create a community of child and youth care professionals to act as a support for one another and to enhance the identity of the profession.
To act as vehicle that brings together all child and youth care practitioners to share and exchange knowledge, ideas and concerns.
To serve as an educational forum for the exchange of ideas and information between persons, agencies and programs involved in providing CYC services and training.
To form liaisons with other organizations which have similar objectives and interests for the purposes of support, information gathering and exchange.
Scope of Practice
The practice of Child and Youth Care occurs within the context of therapeutic relationships with children and youth who are experiencing difficulties in their lives. Intervention takes place within the family, the community and other social institutions, and centres on promoting emotional, social and behavioural change and well-being within the context of daily living.
Definition of Child and Youth Care
Child and Youth Care practitioners work with children, youth and families with complex needs. They can be found in a variety of settings such as group homes and residential treatment centres, hospitals and community mental health clinics, community-based outreach and school-based programs, parent education and family support programs, as well as in private practice and juvenile justice programs. Child and Youth Care workers specialize in the development and implementation of therapeutic programs and planned environments and the utilization of daily life events to facilitate change. At the core of all effective child and youth care practice is a focus on the therapeutic relationship; the application of theory and research about human growth and development to promote the optimal physical, psycho-social, spiritual, cognitive, and emotional development of young people towards a healthy and productive adulthood; and a focus on strengths and assets rather than pathology.