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 thisOur agency is interested in putting together a training geared specifically for Child and Youth Care staff who work on the overnight shift. Is anyone aware of resources out there geared to this specific type of training? Any thoughts on competencies that are specific to overnight workers? What are the particular skills needed for this position? Thanks.
Frank Delano
...
This is an area that seems to be overlooked a great deal in our field.
Overnights are an essential part of any program. There is a need for an
increased awareness of what people do on overnight shifts. In the program I
am involved in we focus on the process that the young people may need in
order to go to bed as this can be a very frightening or hard time to get
settled. This can include having some night time rituals like getting hot
chocolate made, being tucked in, running a bath for the young people a half
an hour before bed, reading from a book they enjoy or just dimming the
lights in the living room so that there is a different atmosphere in the
centre. I personally see people that do overnights as very important as they
help the young people make the transition to bed and also wake them up in
the morning. This takes getting to know each young person individually as
some like to have one wake up call, some like to have a song sung to them
(whether it is off key or not), some like a cup of coffee brought to them,
some like to have the shower turned on so the water is nice and hot when
they go to the bathroom. With overnights, comes the potential for
nightmares, terrors or a young person getting up and getting a drink. These
type of things needed to be treated with consideration and empathy and this
is not always an easy thing when a youth care worker has already been up for
six hours or so but the people I work with do it – and do it exceptionally.
Along with this there are meals to prepare and things to clean so that the
next shifts run smoothly also. I don't know of any training that is
available but I would also be interested if you find any. You may be able to
tell I am quite passionate about this subject because I think sometimes
those who do not or have not done night shifts for a while tend to forget
just how important they are for the young people and also for the other
staff in any program.
Donna Banks
...
I think that overnight shifts are important, and that the staff working
these shifts need to be trained basically. But face it, they have little
contact with youngsters, and their ability to be with kids need not be a
strength. Why put the resources into training people to work these shifts?
Unless they also work during other hours of the day. A thought.
Maggie Leigh
...
I myself am an overnight youth care worker. I work in a facility that is
double, and sometimes triple staffed during the day, but that is single
staffed at night. In this, and other situations where I have worked
overnights in residential facilities, I find that the issue of training for
night staff is one that is largely overlooked. I understand that overnight
staff's contact with the children is usually minimal, but in cases where
there is some sort of disturbance, I find myself at a loss. I feel that if I
were offered more training opportunities, I would be more effective in my
current position, as I would have a better understanding of how to
effectively deal with these, and other situations that may arise. I feel
that if I were offered the same training opportunities as the day staff, I
would also be a more effective component of the team as a whole, as I would
better understand the theories and principles behind the work. Overnight
staff are not just "housekeepers", and our interaction with the children we
care for, though minimal, is just as important as that of the day staff. In
order for night staff to interact with each child in an effective and
positive way when the opportunity arises, as well as to ensure that the
actions of an overnight staff do not undermine in any way the efforts of the
team, I feel that training opportunities should be made more available to
us.
Heather Pratt
...
I recently met an adult who as a youth was in the residential treatment
center that I am now working at. In our conversation she stated that the one
thing out of the whole time she was there that stuck out for her was that an
overnight staff went out of her way to get the girl a cold drink of water
from the fridge instead of water from the tap. Maybe what we all should
realize, not just overnight staff, is that underneath the labels and
diagnosis are youth that need to be cared for and doted on. Overnight
workers should have the same training as day staff. After all, isn't that
what the youth deserve? Something to consider.
Susan Sinclair
...
Maggie:
I have to disagree with your opinion on the low importance of training night
shift people. Your program must be a great deal different than the one I
work in because the night shift is a very important part of the day. You
might find The Other 23 Hours – Child Care Work with emotionally
disturbed children in a therapeutic milieu by Albert E. Treischman,
James K. Whittaker & Larry K. Brendtro may be a book that gives a bit of
insight into the importance of bedtime routines and also how a young person
gets woken up in the morning.
Donna Banks
...
Night time observations are the frosting on the cake, the truth come home to
rest. Having two very competent night people has been a major factor in some
youth being successful in the residential treatment program. Nightly
observation reports are a part of the daily entry on each youth. Everything
in between the begining of the evening routine right up to the school bus
fits in there. Who sleeps how, position, restless or calm, sleep walking,
talking, including length, content, and voice. At bed time who goes right to
sleep and who is it that hangs out with staff waiting for others to get
settled before they turn in. Who walks on their heels with heavy feet after
lights out and who softly wakes to get a drink or use the restroom. How many
times does one kid get up a night. Is it more before or after being home for
the weekend or after his family visited the center. Observations. No
judgments no therapy, not light bulbs going off in the kids head. But from
my view a key to treatment. I use the night reports as a window to see the
youth from a different vantage point.
Larry James
...
Wow! I admit to having a very strong reaction to the response by Maggie
regarding the training needs and support of overnight staff. One of the
cornerstones of milieu care is that treatment (and, therefore, change) can
occur at anytime in the 24-hour day. Programs must be ready at any moment to
assist a young child in crisis, to provide a sense of safety so that youth
may let down their old defense and survival mechanisms and attempt to look
at their world in a new way, and to be present as we are truly "with" ayouth
as they re-navigate their lives. While I agree that most likely an overnight
staff in a residential center will have less direct contact with youth,
their contribution to the facility and to the treatment is no less important
than any other staff. In this regards, overnight staff need the same amount
of attention, support and training in the critical components of their shift
and within good old-fashioned Child and Youth Care work. What the field
needs (and what we should be demanding) is an increase in resources so we
never have to determine which shift within our milieu gets attention and who
does not.
Peter Rosenblatt
...
I feel that overnight staff are just as important as daytime staff. In my
experience, they deal with the same issues that daytime staff deals with,
and they are often alone to face that challenge. I believe that they should
get as much support and training as any daytime worker considering that they
are working with kids in care.
Sara
...
I already wrote one note on this subject but I think I should make one more
point. Night staff are given the same 40 hrs. of training that all staff
receive as well as the ongoing trainings during staff meetings every month.
I know some programs that actually pay the night staff more than some of the
regular line staff. From my view this is money well spent. Our night staff
set the tone for the day by all the prep work they do. They also do all the
data base documentation and recording done during the day. The develop the
hygiene and morning skill building and routine programs. Night staff are
entry level but what better way to get a picture of the overall program. It
is like working a piece of every shift every day.
Larry James
...
In the 1970s I worked at a residential school for children with severe
learning disabilities that was considered to be excellent and was excellent – except for its night staff who were underqualified, underpaid, and poorly
supervised. Physical abuse of a child by one of these staff who was probably
at a loss about how to deal with a behavioural challenge (as Heather
mentioned) was a major factor in the school having its license pulled.
In the 1980s and 1990s I spent much of my time working with a small group of
colleagues, former students and parents to uncover rampant abuse that was
taking place at Jericho Hill School for the Deaf in BC. The culture of
sexual violence that had developed at the school was rampant at night (e.g.
nightly gang rapes of both male and female students of all ages by both male
and female teens). Further, during the 1970s and 1980s the school had
attracted several pedophiles who liked working at night and on the weekends.
I think child-centred staff training for and close supervision of staff on
all shifts is absolutely critical to child safety in any residential setting
including summer camps and weekend retreats. The philosophy of safety,
respect, and non-violence must pervade the entire 24 hours or our children
are in danger.
Linda Hill
___
Further thread ...
Re Child Care Night Cover: I would be grateful to access information on the
issue of Live Cover or Waking Staff in Residential Child Care Centres.
Tony Moore
...
Hello Tony: Here in Ohio, Children's Residential Centers are required by
government standards to have at least 1 staff awake and actively supervising
(i.e., documented bed checks every 15 minutes) on each floor of a building.
These standards – first put into practice during the mid-1980s – also
prohibit children being left in a facility without adult supervision.
In many agencies, include the one I work for, two staff are used per floor
for client/staff safety and supervision issues.
Chip Bonsutto
