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Heather Modlin

Location: St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador

BiographyI started working in residential care in 1987, at a group home for adults with developmental delays. Several of my co-workers also worked in a group home for adolescents with “severe emotional and behavioral problems” (back then, the pay was so low you had to work two jobs to survive). I liked the job I was in, but had always wanted to work with youth, so after a few years I applied to work at this other place and got hired. On my first “orientation” shift, I had to physically restrain a young person who was trying to kill himself by jumping out a third story window. I was hooked. After nine months, however, the program was shut down by the government because it was so dysfunctional (and it was, I just didn’t realize it at the time). The following year, in 1991, I was hired by the St. Francis Foundation as Coordinator of a five bed group home for boys, ages 12-16. I really struggled in those early years, having assumed a management position in child and youth care with only nine month’s experience as a front-line practitioner, and my main goal was to get good enough to quit! In order to do that, I read everything I could get my hands on about child and youth care; joined, and then re-started, the Child and Youth Care Association of Newfoundland and Labrador; and started attending child and youth care training and conferences and networking with people in the field. I also completed a Master’s degree in Child and Youth Care Administration. Once I became competent, I didn’t want to quit anymore.

Over the years, my role at St. Francis (which changed its name to Waypoints in 2008) transformed from Group Home Coordinator to Executive Director as the organization expanded. I remained there for eighteen years, until January, 2009, and at the time I left there were 118 employees, nine residential programs, a family support program, a youth employment and outreach program, and a youth pre-employment and mentoring program. Working at Waypoints was an amazing experience, and I learned so much from the young people and staff that I could never possibly put it all into words.

Along the way, I have been actively involved in the Child and Youth Care Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, having served as President for the first ten years, and the Council of Canadian Child and Youth Care Associations, where I recently finished a six year term as President. I was also involved in developing the Child and Youth Care Worker diploma program at CompuCollege, and have been a part-time instructor in that program since 2003.

I just started a new position as Director of Key Assets Newfoundland and Labrador, an independent fostering agency established to provide quality care in a family setting to children and youth who are “hard to place” or have complex needs. I’m really excited about the opportunities that exist to enhance the foster care system here in NL, and, ultimately, improve the range of placement options available to children and youth.

How I came to be in this field
I completed a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, with the long-term goal to do a Master’s in Clinical Psychology and work with “troubled teens.” I had never heard of child and youth care, and really just fell into it. A group home was pretty well the only place you could get a job with a Psych degree.

A favorite saying
You gain strength, courage and confidence every time you really stop and look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself “I lived through this horror, I can take the next thing that comes along.” You must do the thing you think you cannot do (Eleanor Roosevelt).

I discovered this quote a long time ago, and it has served me well over the years.

A few thoughts about child and youth care

It’s the best job in the world!

It’s the only job in which continuous learning and self-improvement is a free fringe benefit.

It is still relatively unknown in the broader community, we still have some credibility problems, and the only people who can change that are us. We have a lot of work left to do.

Last thing I read, watched, heard, which I would recommend to others
I recently finished reading The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, by Dr. Bruce Perry, for the second time. I would highly recommend this to all child and youth care practitioners, and everyone who works with children or youth who have experienced trauma. It is an amazing book, and makes me wish I had paid more attention in neurobiology during my university years. I’m all about the brain these days.

A favorite Child and Youth Care experience
Last year, I got involved in developing a Blacklight Theatre group at Waypoints. I got the idea from a workshop I did at an Ontario provincial child and youth care conference that was presented by a group from Thunder Bay. I had seen them perform a couple of times and was really impressed by the performance, and the power of the blacklight medium to tell their stories.

When we started our own group, we had no idea what the interest would be. We started with about seven young people, and several youth care workers, all volunteering their time. We wrote a show, entitled Being in Care, and performed it for the first time in front of 300 people at the 30th anniversary celebration for Waypoints. The entire process was amazing – watching the young people talk about their experiences, in a safe way, as they developed the characters for the show; seeing them work together to design and make props and costumes; and witnessing them gain confidence in themselves as they realized they had something valuable to contribute. The best part, though, was seeing the looks on their faces when they received their first standing ovation – utter astonishment, and pride. I’ll never forget it.

A few thoughts for those starting out
The broader system in which we work can often be quite dysfunctional and crisis-driven. It’s easy to get caught up in this and spend all of your time banging your head against the wall. Learn to recognize what you do and don’t have control over – and then spend your time focusing on the things you can control. This is how positive change occurs.

Get involved in your local Child and Youth Care Association. You have a professional obligation to contribute to the field, and the networking will be invaluable.

Always remember that change is measured in moments.

A recommended child and youth care reading link
www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0303-thom.html

My favourite child and youth care-relevant link and why
www.ChildTraumaAcademy.org

This is an amazing site! They offer free online courses on child trauma and brain development.

A writing of my own
www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-1004-Modlin.html

Influences on my work
My first job in the most dysfunctional group home in NL; this taught me how bad things can get, how quickly they can get that bad, how damaging it can be to pair untrained staff with vulnerable young people, and how easy it is to lose perspective when you’re in the midst of a crisis situation. This was the best learning experience I could have had, and I believe it has shaped everything I have done in my career since then.

Beyond that, I have been influenced by all the Mary McCracken novels I read as a child; my own adolescent rebellion; the management, staff and young people at Waypoints; my students; cyc-net; the RCYCP; everything I have read from the field (I can’t possibly list all of the names); and my involvement in the CYCANL and the Council of Canadian Child and Youth Care Associations.

I have also had some really strong teachers and mentors, most notably Lorraine Fox, Mark Krueger and Thom Garfat. I’ve been very lucky.

Anything else
Thank you for the opportunity to share. I love being part of the child and youth care family!