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 thisI was just hired to be House Manager (Assistant
Director) of a group home for adolescent girls. I am looking for resources
on being a first-time supervisor – I will be supervising 15-20 front line
staff. I am also looking for any tips/advice.
Michelle Merrow
...
Michelle, congratulations on your new position and on seeking out additional
education/information. Two sources of great supervisor info are:
1. CWLA has an in-depth training and curriculum for
supervision – you can check their website.
2. The Youth Work Learning Center at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
offers an advanced seminar on youth work supervision – geared for new
supervisors. contact me directly and I can get you more info about the
Learning Center curriculum.
Thanks and good luck
John Korsmo
...
Michelle,
You might try making contact with Jack Phelan, a practitioner and lecturer
(Grant MacEwan College). He gave a great workshop at the national conference
in Newfoundland 3 weeks ago, on Supervision.
All the best
Brody Cameron
...
A very effective model is the Walker-Trieschman Center Effective Supervisory
Practice Course. It is a 36 hour certificate that has been extremely
effective in our agency to help prepare newer supervisors for their role – and has also been a valuable resource as training for more experienced
supervisors and supervisors from support services, nursing, etc. You can get
more information by writing to here
or here In addition the most recent
edition of the Journal of Child and Youth Care (Vol.15- No. 2) is
dedicated entirely to supervision of Child and Youth Care staff. You can get
more information about how to obtain the journal from
andersent@mala.bc.ca
Frank Delano
JBFCS, New York
...
John Korsmo described training for supervisors in the US: I was wondering if
anyone had information for the same type of training offered in Ontario or
Canada?
Kathleen Parker
...
Congratulations on the position of Team Leader! It can be a fulfilling and
rewarding position. More to the point...You are likely coming to a team of
people that have been established for quite some time and have worked well
together. Please let them know that you want to be a part of the team and
not up on a pedestal. Ask them for feedback in the early stages and be open
to constructive criticism. When suggestions are offered do not take that as
a personal attack and become defensive. Be appreciative of the help they
give you and don't try to find something that you can criticize them on.
These people will know how to run this place without you and may have even
done this for a while. Let them teach you. Don't rub it in that you are
above them on the ladder of success. You are part of a team, the part that
guides them gently and is looked to for trust and listening. You should make
it a point to always, always find positive things to point out even if it is
as small as someone filled up the juice jug. If there are things frustrating
you, talk to the team and ask them how they have dealt with it in the past.
Above all be professional. Good luck in your new position. I am trying to
adjust to a new team leader and wish that I could tell him some of this.
Anonymous
...
Michelle asked about being a first time supervisor. I am sure others will
give you better advice, but for what it is worth, here's mine:
1. Start now. Too often the new supervisor hangs around, getting a feel for
things, etc., before they start 'being' the supervisor. Then, if they wait
too long, when they do start, staff feels some change which seems unfair
after a long period of the supervisor just being there.
2. You don't have to start big. In fact, you probably shouldn't. Just by
becoming the supervisor, you have changed the system. And there will be a
reaction to this. So, start small, with focused conversations with staff as
you get to know them, hanging out in the program, asking questions about the
meaning of things, etc.
3. Hang out with intention. Hang out in the program during the busy times,
when the work is going on. Be there. Get to know how the staff work when you
are around. See how the kids and staff interact. Compare what you see with
your beliefs. Ask.
4. Talk about supervision. Talk about what it looks like (or will), about
what it means, about what you hope it will feel like. Ask about previous
experiences, hopes, etc. Be clear about your model and share it. Make
supervision a part of the regular conversation.
5. Don't seek friendship. Like it or not, power, authority, roles, etc.,
really do make a difference. Your goal is not to be friends, but to be a
support. The supervisory relationship is about helping other, not about
meeting our own needs to be liked.
6. Inquire after the meaning-making system – try to understand what things
mean to people in the program. Every thing you do will be interpreted by
others, so try to understand a little about how they give meaning to things.
7. Only make commitments you can keep. Like for example, don't go promising
people you are going to meet every week if you can't do it.
8. Have your process of supervision match your desired model of practice – e.g., if you believe in the use of daily life events in practice, use the
same model for supervision – don't try to be a supervisor from another
field.
9 Be true to the principles of good Child and Youth Care practice.
10. Go to www.cyc-net.org , in the
search cyc-net.org box enter the word supervision and read away.
11. Get a copy of the Journal of Child and Youth Care, Volume 15(2) – it is all about supervision in Child and Youth Care practice. You can see the editorial and
table of contents on cyc-net under journals.
12. Let it be fun – it does not have to be a problem.
Email me off-line and I will send you a copy of an article about
supervision.
Thom
...
So Michelle .. if you are a first-time supervisor, is that because your
program just started to offer supervision? Did someone ask for supervision,
and if it is a new service, how did your managers decide to pay for it?
There are many of us who think we want supervision (never had it, so not
sure!) but our managers say it is not necessary or too expensive. What do
people out there suggest we say to managers, and how worth while is it
really.
Mike
...
Michelle,
I've always felt that my job as a supervisor was to find out from my staff
"what can I do to help you do your job". I've always worked from this
premise and I think it has been a successful approach. No question there is
a lot more to it, but this has always been a great starting point for me.
Jon Deactis
