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AWARDS & CONFERENCES
AWARDS
The 2021 Nomination Deadline is: October 20, 2021.
Awards Nomination Package
The OACYC is proud to present the following four awards: The OACYC Award of Excellence, The Dennis McDermott Career Achievement Award, and the Krista Sepp Memorial Awards; which consist of the Mentoring Award and Horizon Award. In this nomination package, please find a brief description of each of these awards as well as instructions on how to complete a nomination. All completed nomination packages should be submitted to awards@oacyc.org.
Alternative Format Downloads:
Award-Nomination-Package-2021-Standard-Form
Award-Nomination-Package-2021-Plain-Text-Form
Award-Nomination-Package-2021-Large-Text-Form
Award-Nomination-Package-2021-High-Contrast-Text-Form
The OACYC Award of Excellence (2021 winner: Miriam Elbard)
This award is designed to honour individuals who demonstrate excellence in the field of Child and Youth Care. This excellence could, for example, be observed in the following areas:
• Engagement
• Leadership
• Strength-based approaches
• Creativity
• Advocacy
In addition, the nomination should provide examples of the nominee’s active promotion of the spirit of Child & Youth Care, commitment to professional development, and ethical practice.
The Dennis McDermott Career Achievement Award (2021 winner: Rick Kelly)
This award is designed to recognize and honour individuals who have achieved significant accomplishments over the course of a lengthy career in the field of Child and Youth Care. In order to be eligible for this award, nominees must have considerable career achievement and actively supported the OACYC, all while working in the field of Child and Youth Care for no less than 20 years.
In addition, the nomination should provide examples of the nominee’s active promotion of the spirit of Child & Youth Care, commitment to professional development and ethical practice.
Krista Sepp Memorial Awards
The Krista Sepp Memorial Awards were established by Kinark in 1991 to honour the memory of Krista Sepp, who lost her life on February 3, 1989, while performing her duties as a Child and Youth Worker (CYW). For the past 25 years, supported by agencies across the province, the awards have honoured the work of Child and Youth Care Practitioners (also known as Child and Youth Workers, Child Care Workers and Child and Youth Counsellors) in Ontario.
Two Child and Youth Care Practitioners (CYCP) who have made exemplary contributions to the field of practice and who embody the values that Krista was known for, will be honoured. Nominations for the Horizon and Mentoring Awards are received from across Ontario from agencies working in the areas of child and youth mental health, child welfare, youth justice, education and health.
Mentoring Award (2021 winner: Mark Humphries)
The Mentoring Award honours the ongoing excellent contributions of direct service staff with more than five years of experience and a diploma or degree in Child and Youth Care (CYW, CCW, CYC) or OACYC membership.
Horizon Award (2021 winner: Warren Duncan)
The Horizon Award recognizes excellent work of direct service staff with up to five years of experience and a diploma or degree in Child and Youth Care (CYW, CCW, CYC) or OACYC membership.
 Shelley Hill 2019 OACYC Award of Excellence |  Danielle Aziz 2019 Dennis McDermott Career Achievement Award |
 Carly Osmond 2019 Krista Sepp Horizon Award |  Juanita Stephen 2019 Krista Sepp Memorial Award |
 Heather Snell 2017 OACYC Award of Excellence At the OACYC Conference in Toronto in June 2017, we recognized Heather Snell with the 2017 OACYC Award of Excellence. |  Theresa Fraser 2017 Dennis McDermott Career Achievement Award Recipient At the OACYC Conference in Toronto in June 2017, we recognized Theresa Fraser with the Dennis McDermott Career Achievement Award. |
 Sarah Charlebois 2017 Krista Sepp Memorial Horizon Award Sarah Charlebois of Vanier Children's Services in London, Ontario, accepting the Krista Sepp Horizon Award from Mark Wakefield, Past Chair, Kinark Board of Directors, Greg Glenn, Chair, Kinark Board of Directors and Michelle Shelswell, Vice President, Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care. |  Don Hunter 2017 Krista Sepp Memorial Mentoring Award Don Hunter, recipient of the Krista Sepp Mentoring Award listens as his nominator and colleague Gillian Rowney speaks glowingly of his tremendous career accomplishments achieved in his work at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario. Also pictured, Mark Wakefield, Past Chair, Kinark Board of Directors, Greg Glenn, Chair, Kinark Board of Directors and Michelle Shelswell, Vice President, Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care who were on hand to present the award. |
 Rebecca Ward 2016 OACYC Award of Excellence At the OACYC Conference in Thunder Bay in May 2016, we recognized Rebecca Ward with the 2016 OACYC Award of Excellence. |  Wanda McArthur 2016 Dennis McDermott Career Achievement Award Recipient At the OACYC Conference in Thunder Bay in May 2016, we recognized Wanda MacArthur with the Dennis McDermott Career Achievement Award |
 Bill Carty 2014 OACYC Award of Excellence We presented the first OACYC Award of Excellence to Bill Carty in June 2014 at our Provincial conference |  Kathy Neff 2014 Dennis McDermott Career Achievement Award Recipient At our Provincial conference in June, We celebrated the winner of the Dennis McDermott Career Achievement Award, recognizing the outstanding lifetime career accomplishments of our member, Kathy Neff and her dedication to the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Counsellors. |
2021 CONFERENCE
2021 OACYC Provincial Conference | May 25-28, 2021
Hosted by Georgian College
Child and Youth Care is shifting in our world; the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care and Georgian College, along with our Conference Committee foresees Child and Youth Care in a Shifting World as a time to gather to nurture our collective spirits. This virtual conference will focus on themes of transformation, innovation, survival and change. COVID-19 has exacerbated and exposed systemic issues, bringing to the forefront the need for discourses that highlight the inequities practitioners work within. The toll on our practices and communities has been significant. We recognize this, and hope to foster spaces in which we share and learn from our myriad of experiences. Please join us from May 26th to May 29th to gain learnings from presentations, guest speakers, keynote speakers, and community.
To view the standard version of the Conference Booklet please click here.
To view the plain text version of the Conference Booklet please click here.
To view the large text version of the Conference Booklet please click here.
To view the high contrast version of the Conference Booklet please click here.