CYC related trainings will be listed here. Any cost and time may be at the students’ expense. We will also post information and pictures of previous trainings.

If you are interesting in training and development opportunities please contact David Connolly at david.connolly@senecacollege.ca

The Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care - 2023 Belong Conference

The Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care recently held the provincial conference at Niagara College. The theme of the conference was Belong 2023! It included the Educator’s day on Wednesday with a wine and cheese in the evening. The conference officially started on Thursday morning with opening keynote speaker - Dr. Beverly Jean, Assistant Professor in the School of Child and Youth Care at Toronto Metropolitan University. Dr. Jean’s keynote focused on fostering healthy racial identity development amongst Black children and youth and the role of anti-oppressive praxis for child and youth care practitioners working with marginalized children and their families. 

The closing keynote speaker was Crystal Doolittle, who is the current Director of Family Well Being with the Association of Native Child and Family Services Agencies of Ontario (ANCFSAO). Crystal’s keynote provided an Indigenous world view and discussed how to build advocacy approaches with the people we service. Crystal comes from the Mohawk Nation and is a member of the Six Nations of the Grand.

There were many excellent workshops that provided opportunities for sharing, learning, and connection. It was wonderful to have such a large group of Seneca Child and Youth Care Students and Faculty participating in the conference. A special thank you to Seneca's Alumni Infinity Program that helped sponsor the CYC students through the Student Experience Program.

Left to Right  - Jenn D., Abby MP, Coura N. (President of OACYC), Hiromi P., Paula DLG, Dina G., Jenn W., Devon K., Poornima K., Chris D. and David C.

Seneca Polytechnic was presented with our certificate of accreditation from Charlotte Serpa, CYCEAB President during the Educator’s Day. Sue Bond and David Connolly were on hand to accept the certificate.

Left to Right - Sue B., Charlotte S. and David C.

Student testimonials from attending the conference.

“Is a sophomore student, it gave me a lot of reflection and wisdom into how a child and youth care worker operates in a larger scope of understanding. Genuinely, it fueled my heart after taking placements for a few weeks. Being in a room with professional child and youth care practitioners and meeting the author of one of our textbook course providers ignites my passion for working with challenging children and youth and being like these people someday.

I also want to share this experience to my fellow students because I've just witnessed an internalizing event in my journey as an international student and I believe that when you involve yourself or take opportunities in events related to CYC like the conference is helpful and so much growth is infused. ” – Hiromi P.

“I am delighted to express my gratitude for the remarkable experience at the OACYC Conference. The Belong Conference provided me with an opportunity to gain a deeper insight into the principles of Child and Youth Care. Interacting with fellow professionals in the same field has been enlightening and collective dedication toward a common goal within that environment was truly motivating.

The generosity exhibited by all the professionals in the field, including the chance to meet Michael Burns and Rick (Kelly) again, left me in an awe. The conference filled with valuable workshops allowed me to acquire new ideas. The days spent with my professors and participants from second and third years were a perfect blend of learning and fun. Being part of the Seneca CYC family and surrounded by like-minded people instilled in me a sense of belonging. Each moment was an opportunity for collaboration and growth.” – Poornima K.

“As a 3^rd year student that is getting ready to graduate and thinking about continuing school and what career paths I could go into, this conference was definitely eye opening and helped me more towards getting an idea of what I'd love to be doing as a CYC in the future. 

I can say for sure that this was an amazing experience, not only to network with other CYC's but also to bond and get closer to the other CYC's in our program that are in 2^nd year. It was a great opportunity to get to know each other and have deep conversations about their experience and thoughts about what they want to do after graduation and what type of 3^rd year placement they would like to get into. 

Overall, I would definitely attend again and even after (graduation) as a full OACYC member. I'd also like to encourage all the CYC students in our program to look into it and if possible, to attend. It's worth going to! It is going to change your perspective on the CYC field and helps us understand how we can help our clients and the struggles they might have.” – Paula DLG

Left to Right – Devon K., Poornima K., Michael Burns, Hiromi P. and Chris D.

Michael is the author of Time In, Healing Spaces as well as many other books.

Additional photos can be found in the Menu on the left hand side of the page.

Our 2nd year CYC students recently participated in The Purposeful Use of Daily Life Events (DLE) training during fall block and training week. The in person DLE training was facilitated by Jenn Dyment and Laura Vieira.

Seneca CYC students and alumni recently participated in the Restorative Practices Workshops facilitated by Rick Kelly. The training took place during study week at Seneca's Magna Hall. The training provides an introduction to Restorative Practices on day 1 and how to use effectively use Peacemaking/Restorative Circles on day 2.

It was nice to have Rick back on campus as the workshops were a huge success. A big thank you to Seneca's Alumni Affinity Program, who graciously sponsored the 2-day workshops.

Seneca's 3rd year Child and Youth Care Students recently earned their certification in ASIST. The 2-day training was lead by our amazing certified trainers and CYC faculty, Sue Bond and Justin Boudreau. It was an incredible two days of reflection and skill building.