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Since it's founding in 1997, the CYC-Net discussion group has been asked thousands of questions. These questions often generate many replies from people in all spheres of the Child and Youth Care profession and contain personal experiences, viewpoints, as well as recommended resources.
Below are some of the threads of discussions on varying Child and Youth Care related topics.
Questions and Responses have been reproduced verbatim.
Listen to thisWhy isn’t it easier for practitioners to access the field’s collective memory? Or worse – perhaps there isn’t much of a collective memory in the field. I mean that this is an issue that arises from time to time in many organizations, and from the past few decades there ought to be a good collection of case studies and some interpretation and application of some principles. A couple people, like Jeremy Millar, commented from their long experience in the field. A collection of these experiences makes up something like wisdom, and it ought to be more easily accessible. But it’s not.
Our codes of ethics are fine, but they need more case examples wrapped around them to bring them to life and to illustrate the extent, range, and boundaries of the circumstances. In regard to the ex-client and staff dating issue, a lot of us can recall disasters and serious harm ensuing from these kinds relationships. The circumstances of these disasters need exploration. And there are probably examples where disaster did not ensue, but these things need study. The result of study should be some nuanced, principled decision-making.
In the absence of this kind of help practitioners have to make decisions in good faith—and hope for the best —as if there weren’t any experience. Fortunately most people puzzle out some kind of solution; some of these responded to the original post in this thread. But there’s still a vacuum that is too often filled by ethical quackery and intuitionism. Examples come to mind.
There’s material out there, some of it older and some of it from allied professions. Much more work needs to be added to it, and there’s a career here for someone: an academic, a phd student, an experienced practitioner with some extra time.
Cheers,
Doug Magnuson
Associate Professor
School of Child and Youth Care
Victoria, BC, Canada
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And Doug, we at The CYC-Net Press would be very happy to assist with the
publishing!
Martin Stabrey
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Very well said Doug!
Dawne MacKay-Chiddenton
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Doug,
It was good to hear you say something about the need for ethical case examples in informing and stimulating the field. This is something that Martha Mattingly would frequently bring up in her substantial work on articulating an ethical framework for the profession field. Good stuff!
Mark Greenwald
