The Purposeful Use of Daily Life Events

"If you don't connect with a young person then nothing else is going to count anyway - connection is the foundation of effective intervention." - Dr. Thom Garfat

The essence of effective child and youth care practice lies in the worker’s ability to recognize the value of, and use, everyday life events as they are occurring, to help facilitate change for children, youth and families. It is this focus which distinguishes contemporary Child and Youth Care practice from other forms of helping. This is especially true in situations where the worker participates actively in multiple aspects of a person’s daily living in the community, the family home, the school, the group care setting or any other area of engagement with young people and families. 

This course helps those who engage directly with young people and their families become more effective in their daily interactions. It is about 'how we think about what we do' because when we think clearly, we do better work. Participants will develop skills that assist them to focus on small important moments and experiences of young people and families to help them move more effectively towards their desired goals.

Following this training participants will be able to:

• Demonstrate an appreciation for the importance of noticing and using common daily events
• Explain the concept and process of using everyday events for helping
• Demonstrate skills using every day like events to facilitate positive change
• Identify how their practice might change to incorporate this approach

Click below for upcoming course dates and registration.

Each week of the course involves completion of a 1-hour self-paced online module and a 1-hour facilitated group discussion. 

• Duration: 14 hours 
• Designed for: Child and Youth Care practitioners, Educators, and other child serving professionals 
• CYC competency domain: Developmental practice methods
• Course structure: 2 hours weekly over 7 weeks (1-hour self-paced/1-hour videoconference)

Weekly Topics

• 1: Underlying Principles
• 2: Foundations
• 3: Beyond Behavior and Thinking about Daily Life Events
• 4: Meaning-Making
• 5: Themes, Opportunities, and Needs-Based Approach
• 6: Process of Change
• 7: Intervening 

This course is offered in collaboration with TransformAction and the Academy for Competent Youth Work. Thom Garfat, Ph.D. is the initial developer of the course which is based on his research into effective interventions with children and families. The online modules were designed by Heather Sago, Program Coordinator of Child and Youth Care at Fleming College in Ontario.  

James Freeman is a certified Senior Trainer through TransformAction, co-author of the Characteristics of Relational Child and Youth Care, and has published a multi-level evaluation on the impact of the training on adult-child relationships.

 "I really enjoy being able to complete the self-paced portion whenever it works best for me during the week."

"The discussion and group interaction during the live calls really helps me integrate what I’ve read and listened to in the weekly online modules."

"I love learning on my own – and also really enjoy the interaction in the weekly calls. It’s a perfect blend of what I need to learn best."

"I’m used to attending full day courses, but spreading it out over seven weeks really allows me to think about and practice what I’m learning. I really like that I can show up with questions at the live sessions."

"This topic is so central to working well with groups of young people. The class is already halfway done and I’m learning so much."