1. Child and Youth Worker Allows for Transition to Further Education
Are you looking for a Child and Youth Worker program that not only equips you with the skills
you need to enter the field after three years but also allows for a seamless transition to obtain
further education? If so, you may want to consider attending Centennial College’s Child and
Youth Worker offering.
Graduates possess a diverse skill set that permits movement across multiple roles and various
contexts, including: residential and day treatment programs, hospitals, young offender
programs, crisis centres, community-based programs and shelters. At these places they are
responsible for enhancing the growth and development of children, youth and their families
within a wide range of therapeutic contexts. Additionally, graduates of Centennial College’s Child
and Youth Worker program can continue their education by applying to Ryerson University’s
Child and Youth Care direct-entry degree program or receive credit towards their university
degree in related disciplines. Child and Youth Worker graduates with a C+ average may also
apply to Vancouver Island University for direct entry into the third year of the Child & Youth
Work degree program. A child protection specialization is also available for a limited number of
students. Lastly, students may apply for membership in the Ontario Association of Child & Youth
Counsellors (OACYC).
The Child and Youth Worker Advanced Diploma program focuses on the principles,
philosophies and characteristics of relational child and youth work practice such as co-creating
relationships, working developmentally and understanding professional boundaries. These focal
points are taught by highly supportive faculty members whose extensive teaching and field
experience allows them to work closely with students to develop their full potential.
Specific courses within the Child and Youth Worker program include: Evidence Based
Programming, Advanced Counselling Skills, Child Abuse, Working with Traumatized Children and
Youth, Crisis Theory and Interventions, Advocacy and Law in Children’s Mental Health,
Professional Recording, Multimodal Therapies in Child & Youth Work and more. The Child and
Youth Worker program curriculum is reviewed and revised annually to ensure that courses and
assignments are based on current research and best practices.
Weaved into these courses is the use of a specially designed communications lab to facilitate
interactive learning activities, counselling simulations and small group observation and
feedback. Finally, supplemental training is provided in Understanding & Managing Aggressive
Behaviour (UMAB).
To round out in-class training, Child and Youth Workers participate in field placements in all
three years that vary between two and four days per week. These experiences allow students to
apply what they have learned while seeing how the field operates. Please note that students
must have a vulnerable sector criminal check prior to field placement. Certain criminal
convictions will disallow placement in these agencies and program completion may not be
possible. Students must also possess a standard first aid and heart saver AED (C) certification.
Lastly for placement, a medical certificate of health is necessary to ensure freedom of
communicable disease.
Applicants to the Centennial College Child and Youth Worker offering, are required to possess at
minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent or are 19 years of age or
older; and have a credit in the compulsory English 12C or U or skills assessment or equivalent.