About the OACYC

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ABOUT THE OACYC

The Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care (OACYC) is the professional association representing Child and Youth Care Practitioners (CYCP) in the province of Ontario, Canada.

Over the past 50 years, the practice of Child and Youth Care in Ontario has expanded its professional competencies and strengthened its skills and is now considered the gold standard for working with the very special needs of children and youth. Child and Youth Care Practitioners are found in such professions as early care and education, community-based child and youth development programs, parent education and family support, school-based programs, community mental health, group homes, residential centres, rehabilitation programs, paediatric health care and youth justice programs.

The OACYC provides professional standards, regulations, support, and a Code of Ethics to its members thus ensuring integrity, accountability, and excellence. The major difference between OACYC members and other CYCPs is one of professional and public concern that the children, youth, and families in Ontario are safe and cared for at the highest standard.

All professional OACYC members have:

Proven their initial educational/training qualifications to an external body
Are required to stay current in the field therefore Membership is conditional on the completion of annual professional development activities
Provide their signature of agreement to abide by the OACYC Code of Ethics
Are accountable to the OACYC Code of Ethics. The OACYC has a Complaints and Discipline process available to members and the public
Have access to the professional resources of the OACYC, including a network of over 1,000 practitioners in Ontario and beyond
Are dedicated to providing excellent care for children, youth, and families

The OACYC provides current professional development opportunities through conferences, resources, networking, and peer recognition to promote the improvement of professional knowledge and skills. We also distribute a members-only newsletter that identifies trends in the field, seminars and resources to keep members current in the profession. We encourage interested parties – both practitioners and supporting organizations – to join today in support of our mission.

OUR BELIEF

We believe that all children, youth and families, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexuality, ability, trauma, oppression, or socio-economic status deserve and have the right to reach their full potential. We stand in solidarity with those with whom we work and their communities to support personal growth and social change. We believe in the transformational nature of utilizing daily life events to build genuine, respectful and caring relationships with young people and caregivers through which we are able to nurture strengths, abilities and foster overall change.

EQUITY AND INCLUSION STATEMENT

The OACYC is dedicated to addressing and seeking solutions for concerns regarding inequity and exclusion that are a result of the history and legacy of colonization, anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Black racism, ableism, and all other forms of oppression.

The OACYC’s Equity and Inclusion Committee (EIC) comprises OACYC members and non-members who strive to engage communities in meaningful dialogue encompassing anti-oppressive practices and cultural awareness, while addressing physical, attitudinal and communication barriers.

To this end the OACYC will:

provide members with resources that support increased engagement with inclusive and equitable practices, and we will work to engage members and future members who belong to communities that have experienced marginalization and oppression.
work to ensure that all Association activities, resources, and policies are inclusive and accessible by actively seeking out perspectives that have historically been excluded from our field and from this Association.

We acknowledge that OACYC practices are inheritors of this history and we strive to become more intentional and reflective in relation to current practices. This work can only be successfully undertaken with the full participation of Child and Youth Care Practitioners across the country and worldwide.

SCOPE OF PRACTICE

We have updated our Scope of Practice on November 20, 2021.

Click here for a standard PDF version of our Scope of Practice
Click here for a Plain Text version of our Scope of Practice
Click here for a Large Text version of our Scope of Practice
Click here for a High Contrast version of our Scope of Practice

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care would like to acknowledge that our work takes place on Indigenous territories across the province of Ontario, which encompasses 46 treaties and other agreements with many First Nations communities.

In addition, we would also like to acknowledge that the Association’s main office is located in Toronto/Tkaronto. We acknowledge the ancestral traditional territories of the Ojibway, Anishnabeg, Mississaugas of the New Credit, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee, Chippewa, and Métis First Nations Peoples and that it is under Treaty 13.

“The Dish with One Spoon” Wampum Belt Covenant: “The “Dish”, or sometimes it is called the “Bowl”, represents what is now southern Ontario, from the Great Lakes to Quebec and from Lake Simcoe into the United States.

This covenant is between many nations including the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas of the Credit River, the Chippewa, the Wendat and Haudenosaunee First Nations. The members of this covenant shared in the resources of this land as well as its protection.

“We all eat out of the Dish, all of us that share this territory, with only one spoon. That means we have to share the responsibility of ensuring the dish is never empty, which includes taking care of the land and the creatures we share it with.” (Ryerson University, n.d.)

Some of us have arrived here by choice as immigrants or seeking asylum from unsafe homes, while some of us have arrived here through forced displacement via various political actions such as through the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

Many of us descend from people who have arrived here by choice and have benefitted from the displacement, genocide and forced assimilation of Indigenous peoples. As this continues to this day, we must be vigilant in dismantling systems that permit these atrocities to continue.

We acknowledge the systemic abuse of Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island/North America and are in solidarity for land, water and rights protections.

We recognize that the contributions and historic importance of Indigenous Peoples must also be clearly and overtly connected to our collective commitment to make the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action (T.R.C.) as well as the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (M.M.I.W.G.) real in our communities and in our work.

We recognize that Land Acknowledgements are not enough. That words must be followed up by actions. We must become comfortable with speaking out about colonial systems that actively harm Indigenous peoples today. This includes governments, educational institutions, policies and even within our own field of Child and Youth Care and practices we may have embraced for many years.

We need to build meaningful relationships with Indigenous members, young people and Nations to support and amplify issues identified by the Nations, as directed by them.

It is imperative that we look within ourselves as individuals and practitioners; understand our privileges and how we can utilize them to educate ourselves and others. In addition, we must understand and repair harms we may have incurred through our action or inaction, and commit to become driving forces in challenging colonialism, and becoming supportive allies to Indigenous Nations as they see fit. This is not a one-time action, but a committed journey.

This is a living document and will be amended periodically to reflect the ever-changing conditions of colonialism, Child and Youth Care and how they impact Indigenous Nations across Ontario.

References

Duric, D. (2017). The Toronto Purchase Treaty No. 13 (1805). Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations. Retrieved from http://mncfn.ca/torontopurchase/

Indian Time Newspaper. (2010). The Dish with One Spoon. Retrieved from https://www.indiantime.net/story/2010/08/05/cultural-corner/the-dish-with-onespoon/7510.html

Ryerson University. (n.d.). Land Acknowledgement. Aboriginal Education Council. Retrieved from https://www.ryerson.ca/aec/land-acknowledgment/

For the downloadable PDF version of this document please click here.

For the large print downloadable PDF version of this document please click here.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The OACYC is governed by a volunteer board of directors which are appointed by the OACYC membership at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for a term of one year. Each year, the board will be appointed to govern until the following AGM. Generally, board members make a minimum two-year commitment to the board.

Coura Niang

President

Coura Niang is a Professor at Humber College in Toronto. She has extensive experience working in school settings, community and residential settings. Coura stands for equity and inclusion and strives to influence other change-makers to move intentionally and with integrity. She obtained her degree in Child and Youth Care from Ryerson University in 2011, and her Masters in Applied Disability Studies from Brock University in 2016.

Resides in Peterborough – on Nogojiwanong, (“place at the foot of the rapids” in Anishinaabemowin), traditional territory of the Michi Saagig peoples.

Adrien McKenna

Treasurer; Advocacy & Legislation Committee Co-Chair

Adrien McKenna CYW, MA CYC has been a Child and Youth Care Practitioner since 2001. Adrien has experience in numerous settings, including residential care, education, and mental health. Currently, she works in outpatient services in a child and youth mental health program providing parent support. Adrien is the current Treasurer for the OACYC and she is co-chair of the Advocacy & Legislation Committee. She is also a member of the Accessibility Advisory Council of Haldimand-Norfolk County. Adrien has previously been an instructor at Mohawk College. She recently obtained a Master of Arts from X University in Child and Youth Care. Adrien can be reached at treasurer@oacyc.org.

She resides in Caledonia – on Haldimand Tract, land promised to the Haudenosaunee people of Six Nations, which includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. This territory is the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishnaabeg, and Haudenosaunee Peoples.

Joy Henderson

Secretary; Equity and Inclusion Co-Chair

Joy Henderson is a graduate of the Child and Youth Worker program at George Brown and Child and Youth Care at X University. She is an Afro-Lakota practitioner who works as a part time instructor at Humber and works with young people in Scarborough, which is on the territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and Wendat. She brings her work on dismantling colonial systems and Indigenous and Black centered approaches to Child and Youth Care, hoping to challenge our profession to centre intentionally marginalized communities. She is also a mother to three teenagers and any free time she has, she is pursuing her second career as a chaffeur to said teenagers.

Christina Carr

Vice President; Advocacy & Legislation Committee Chair

Christina graduated with an advanced diploma in Child and Youth Work at George Brown College in 2007.

Since then Christina spent 9 years with Toronto Children’s Aid Society in settings that include long term treatment for victims of sexual abuse, admission and assessment of youth with a focus on stabilization and reintegration into the community, along with a role focused on community support for children and families in the Etobicoke region of Toronto. Christina has experience with independent contact work that includes settings such as developmental services, pediatric mental health, as well as residential services for both children and adults. Christina currently works in both emergency and inpatient pediatric mental health with a focus on both independent and group skill building within a DBT and CBT framework. Christina actively engages in policy planning and program development within the Child and Youth Mental Health Program at McMaster Children’s Hospital.

Resides in Hamilton – on the traditional territories of the Erie, Neutral, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Mississaugas.

Luke Smith

Membership Committee Chair
(on leave)

Luke Smith is a graduate of the Algonquin College CYC Advanced Diploma Program and is currently working on his degree in Child and Youth Care from Ryerson University. Luke is based out of the Ottawa area and works as a community based counsellor with youth involved in the criminal justice system. He is also a part-time instructor at Algonquin College in the CYC program. Luke has a passion for working with youth and their families, helping them to overcome the challenges they face and developing the skills they need to succeed.

Resides in Gatineau – on the unceded Algonquin territory of the Anishinaabe people.

Chrissy Deckers

Student Amplifiers Committee Chair

Chrissy Deckers has child and youth care experience in education and mental health settings. Currently, she works as a Professor with Humber College’s Bachelor of Child and Youth Care. Chrissy has completed a Doctorate of Education, a Master of Arts in Child and Youth Studies, a Bachelor of Arts in Honours Psychology, and an Advanced Diploma in Behavioural Science.

Resides in Barrie – on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg people. The Anishinaabeg people include the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Pottawatomi Nations, collectively known as the Three Fires Confederacy.

Benjamin Schifman

Organization & Policy Committee Chair

Benjamin Schifman (he/him) graduated from the Child and Youth Worker program at George Brown College in 2004. Benjamin’s dedication to the professional standards upheld by the OACYC is evident in the work he does everyday supporting Youth and mentoring educators throughout the Toronto District School Board. For the past 10 years, Benjamin has worked as an Itinerant Child and Youth Care Practitioner and has been involved in the development and delivery of inclusive programming to target the needs of students and their families on individual, class-wide and school-wide levels. Benjamin is proud to have co-developed and delivered programming to bring awareness to the issues of Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-2SLGBTQ+ as well as Anti-Indigenous, Anti-Black and all other forms of racism. Benjamin strives to always be an ally/accomplice and as a lifelong learner, is devoted to unlearning his inherent biases and decolonizing his practice. He identifies as able-bodied, cisgendered, white passing, Semitic, feminist and male. Benjamin is a devoted partner and parent to two brilliant, creative and hilarious neurodivergent children and one chocolate Labrador retriever.

Benjamin resides in Vaughan, Ontario on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the New Credit, the Anishinabe, the Haudenosaunee and Wendat Peoples. He is grateful to be able to live, learn and work on these lands.

Frincess Arbour

Communications Committee Chair

Frincess Graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Child and Youth Care from Centennial College and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child and Youth Care with a minor in Disability Studies from Toronto Metropolitan University. In pursuit of continuous growth and expertise, Frincess will commence her Master of Arts in Child and Youth Care in the upcoming Fall.

She is a Child and Youth Worker at the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and a Community Support Worker at Lumenus Community Services. She has developed skills in providing comprehensive care and support to children, youth, and families in need.

Frincess was a Student Amplifier during her second and third years at Centennial College’s CYC program. Since then, she has contributed as a Board Director to the Equity and Inclusion Committee, Student Amplifier Committee, and Social Media Committee.

Frincess resides in Port Hope – The traditional and treaty lands of the Williams Treaties First Nations, specifically the Gunshot Treaty signed with the Mississauga First Nations of Alderville, Curve Lake, Hiawatha and Scugog Island.

Lauren Lé Blanc

Director

Lauren is a resilient, highly motivated and determined individual. As testament to her drive and determination she has obtained a bachelor’s degree along with training in Human trafficking, Sexual Exploitation, Child Welfare, Trauma Counseling, Mental Health & Addictions. In addition to her formal education, she has obtained multiple certifications including Agile Scrum Master, Lean Management, Non-profit Organizational Strategy, Developing/ Evaluating Organizational Policies Programs & Procedures.

In her current role as a Certified Family Mediator, she specializes in High Conflict Mediation with an interest in Child Protection. Being a former crown ward of the Toronto Children’s Aid Society. Lauren has been impassioned & emboldened to make a positive impact on society & is the Co-founder of Generation Seven Community Support Services. This non-profit organization strives to bridge the gap in provisioning services to youth within/ transitioning out of the child welfare system through raising awareness and bolstering existing service offerings across the GTA.

In her spare time Lauren enjoys yoga, sandboarding, volunteering, mentoring, reading, learning new skills and spending time with those she loves.

She Currently resides in North York Toronto. We acknowledge that North York is the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, Haudenosaunee and most recently, the Mississauga’s of the Credit River. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by treaty 13

Jennifer Wiatrzyk

Director

Jennifer Wiatrzyk has been working in the field of Child and Youth Care since 2003. She has extensive
experience working in various settings including school-based, residential care, family homes, and has community and hospital-based internship experiences. Jennifer holds her Bachelor of Arts in Child and Youth Care from Toronto Metropolitan University and is in the process of finishing her Master of Science in Child and Youth Care Studies from the University of Strathclyde. She believes that violence in schools is impacting our students, so her master’s research is focused on what CYCPs are doing in Ontario to mitigate the effects of exposure to classroom violence for children. Her other passions in the field include addressing self care needs of practitioners, children, youth, and families and educating others on the importance of supporting mental health as the cornerstone of healthy development. Jennifer has always enjoyed sharing her passion of the field with current CYC students which has led to her current positions as a professor in the Child and Youth Care programs at Seneca College in King City and Georgian College in Orillia.

Jennifer resides in Beaverton- on the traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Scugog Island First
Nation and the Mississauga Peoples and the treaty territory of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First
Nation. She is grateful to be able to live, learn, and work on these lands.

Sean Guptill

Director

Sean Guptill (he/him) received his Bachelor’s degree from Humber College’s Child & Youth Care programme. During his third year of the CYC diploma programme at Humber College, he was a student amplifier for the OACYC. Sean began his career as a CYCP in a Toronto youth shelter, where he worked alongside youth and young adults experiencing homelessness. After three years of giving support in the shelter system, he shifted his focus to caring for young people with developmental disabilities and autism. He has over three years of experience developing programming and supporting young people with disabilities in a variety of day programme settings.
Recently Sean combined his experience supporting youth and young adults in the shelter system and working in special needs adult day programmes to create Got Your Back, an adult day programme that assists young people with developmental
disabilities, autism, and/or a dual diagnosis develop life, social and job skills.

Sean resides in Etobicoke – on the traditional lands of the Anishinabewaki , the Wendake-Nionwentsïo, Haudenosaunee, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations peoples.

Office Staff

Aaron Crhak

Office Staff – Webmaster

Aaron Crhak (He/Him) is a graduate of the Child & Youth Care program at Humber College. A long time member of the OACYC and Legislation & Advocacy Committee, he is passionate about the regulation of the field and the work we do.

Aaron wears many hats in his day to day work, splitting his time between technology support/implementation and his work in the education sector in Toronto.

Aaron resides in Etobicoke – on the traditional lands of the Anishinabewaki, the Wendake-Nionwentsïo, Haudenosaunee, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations peoples.

Heather Perl

Office Staff – Office Administrator

Heather is a 2020 Humber graduate from the Child and Youth Care Advance Diploma program and currently pursuing her Bachelor’s in child and Youth Care. She has experience working with kids with disabilities and providing fun summer camp activities for 6-8 weeks allowing them to have an enjoyable summer camp experience. She has worked as a Youth Counsellor with Epilepsy South Central Ontario at the beginning of COVID allowing her to do what she loves supporting anyone I can. She hopes to work with children and youth with disabilities allowing them to live the best life they can and/or those struggling with mental health and addiction issues.

Heather resides in Etobicoke – on the traditional lands of the Anishinabewaki , the Wendake-Nionwentsïo, Haudenosaunee, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations peoples.

Interested in joining our Board of Directors
or one of our Committees?

Please check out the information below and contact recruitment@oacyc.org for more details!

For an accessible version of this document please click here.

HISTORY

The professional association of Child Care Workers was incorporated on August 1, 1969, as the Child Care Workers Association of Ontario (CCWAO). With the development of standardized training programs in community colleges, degree programs, a professional journal, and provincial and national conferences, the profession expanded rapidly throughout Ontario. The role of the CYC also expanded well beyond the traditional residential worker in psychiatric facilities for children and adolescents. With these new roles and status came a new name the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Counsellors and the OACYC was officially born.

Key Highlights

January 1, 1970

Ontario’s first Child and Youth Care Association launched under the name Thistletown Association of Child Care Workers in Rexdale, Ontario.

January 1, 1980

Criteria and accreditation standards are established to become a full member in the CCWAO.

January 1, 1990

The Association adopts a standardized Code of Ethics.

January 1, 2000

Membership in OACYC passes the 2,000 mark.

January 1, 2005

A new and revised Code of Ethics is put into effect.

January 1, 2010

The CCWAO formally changes its name to the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care

January 1, 2017

A formal request for regulation of the Child and Youth Care profession is delivered to the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.

Click here to see the full historical timeline of the OACYC.

About the OACYC