Dale Curry
Location
Kent State University, Program in Human Development and Family Studies,
School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences; International
Institute for Human Service Workforce Research and Development
Short Bio
I have been working in this field since 1975. For the first four
years, I worked as a front line Child and Youth Care worker in a psychiatric hospital
(two years with children ages 2-12 and two years with adolescents) in
Pittsburgh, PA. U.S.A.; where I met my wife Rosemary who was working as
a nurse. We moved to Ohio when I took a position as an administrator of
a large residential program at a county child welfare agency. We lived
on campus for the first year and my daughter Brooke was born; (two years
later my son Brandon joined our family). Seven years later I discovered
my interest in not only promoting the development of children and youth
but also the development of Child and Youth Care workers through training and served as
training coordinator of a regional training center, part of the Ohio
Child Welfare Training Program. I also served as a steering committee
member of the Ohio Committee for Child Care Worker Training (now the
Training Resource and Instructors Network-TRAIN), a committee of the
Ohio Association of Child and Youth Care Professionals.
My interest in indirect Child and Youth Care practice focusing on training and
development continued to grow and I became involved with the National
Staff Development and Training Association (NSDTA). I have served as
Chair of several NSDTA committees (Ethics, Evaluation and Research, and
Certification). I also serve as Editor of the NSDTA journal Training and
Development in Human Services.
I have had the privilege of working with many colleagues on the North
American Certification Project, serving on the Assessment Committee and
as the Principal Investigator of the certification exam pilot study. I
am a founding board member of the Child and Youth Care Certification
Board (CYCCB).
While working in the field, I attended several graduate programs and
received a graduate degree in Child Development and Child Care from the
University of Pittsburgh, a Master of Public Administration and a Ph.D.
in Educational Psychology from Kent State University.
Since 2001, I have been working as a faculty member in the program of
Human Development and Family Studies at Kent State University and
Director of the recently established International Institute for Human
Service Workforce Research and Development (in partnership with the
CYCCB). I also serve as Co-Editor of the Journal of Child and Youth Care
Work.
How I came to be in this field
I started working in a psychiatric program for children at St. Francis
Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A. The program had a swimming pool and
they were looking for someone with a water safety credential. While
working at St. Francis, I enrolled in the graduate program of Child
Development and Child Care at the University of Pittsburgh and became a
student of Karen VanderVen and Martha Mattingly. They helped me
articulate my interest in using swimming as a therapeutic activity with
children (the emphasis of my master’s thesis). Shortly after beginning
the program at Pitt, I attended my first meeting of the Pennsylvania
Association of Child Care Workers and was elected as an officer in the
Association. My first conference presentation was in a hotel swimming
pool at the Inter-Association Child Care Conference. At that conference,
I had the opportunity to spend some time with Fritz Redl and hear Mark
Krueger present a very motivational Keynote Address. Until then, I could
not imagine, a frontline Child and Youth Care worker authoring a book! This field of
practice has many possibilities!
A Few Thoughts About CYC
• This is a field of many passionate and caring professionals ....
• A field where one can make a difference on multiple levels
(individual, program, organization, state, national, international) and
in multiple settings
(e.g., residential treatment, afterschool, in-home)
• A rich history, growing knowledge base and international scope
Last thing I read, watched, heard, which I would recommend to
others
Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. This children’s book can be an
effective tool for illustrating the concept of developmental caring. We
can learn a lot from children’s books.
Favourite Child and Youth Care experience
Sharing a young person’s successful experience in passing his “deep
water test” as a result of participating in a therapeutic swim program.
After passing the test and being permitted to swim in the deep water, I
remember how his confidence also transferred to other settings. For
example, later that day as we were crossing the street to go to the
hospital cafeteria, he seemed troubled that I tried to hold his hand as
typically done (as if to say “I passed my deep water test, you no longer
need to hold my hand while crossing the street”). We no longer held his
hand when crossing the street to the cafeteria.
A few thoughts for those starting out
• There are many ways to make a contribution to the field of child
and youth care work. Child and youth care work is practiced in a variety
of settings,
with youth of varying ages, and with different populations.
It is a field of practice of international scope.
• Become familiar with the rich Child and Youth Care knowledge base (communicated
via journal articles, books, conferences, college courses, training
workshops,6
newsletters, websites, etc.) and take advantage of the
expertise available from the vast number of Child and Youth Care colleagues. We are the
largest human service profession!
• Think about yourself developmentally as well as the children and
youth in your care.
• Learn how to reflect upon, monitor and guide your professional
practice (make this a habit that you will keep for a lifetime-become a
lifelong learner.
of yourself and the field)
• Be in the present but also visualize yourself in the future. How
can I make my contribution(s) to the youth, organization, and field of Child and Youth Care practice?
Recommended CYC-Related Reading Links
http://nsdta.aphsa.org.
http://calswec.berkeley.edu/CalSWEC/CWTraining4.html.
My Favourite CYC-relevant link (after CYC-Net) and why
www.cyccertificationboard.org This is the website of the Child and
Youth Care Certification Board (CYCCB). This organization administers
professional certification for child and youth care workers. In
collaboration with the CYCCB, Kent State University has established a
research institute (International Institute for Human Service Workforce
Research and Development) focusing on the research and development of
the Child and Youth Care workforce
www.kent.edu/ehhs/hdfs/iihswrd/index.cfm.
Writings of my own
https://www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-1205-curry.html
https://www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0106-curry.html
Influences on my work
Key individuals include Karen VanderVen and Martha Mattingly at the
University of Pittsburgh helping me get through the thesis experience
and continuing to support my professional development over the years;
Mark Krueger and his dedication to Child and Youth Care writing; Sister Madeleine Rybicki
and her commitment to Child and Youth Care worker training; Tim Kuster who helped support
my early interest in training and development; the many colleagues
involved in the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program and the North
American Certification Project; and the children, youth, and families
who provided me with early and ongoing learning experiences.