An Exploration of the role and functions of child and youth care practioners within the British Columbia school system
Date
1996
Authors
Seibel, Duane Kent
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The impetus of this study was to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the roles and functions of school-based child and youth care workers in British Columbia. Over the past fifteen years, there has been a growing literature on the development of school-based child and youth care work in Canada, but much of it is confined to limited practice settings or is of an anecdotal nature. This descriptive study utilizes a questionnaire format to survey workers across seven major regions of the province in order to develop a profile of the child and youth care worker within the British Columbia education system. A sample size of 178 was used, and 104 questionnaires (58.4%) were returned.
Findings of this study are compared to prior studies in the area of worker demographics, job roles and functions, and setting types. New data are presented on the roles and functions of school-based child and youth care workers in relation to funding and supervision. This research demonstrates that the Ministry of Social Services supports the greatest number of positions fully or partially (63.4%), with the School Districts funding 51% either fully or partially. Other funding sources, including the Ministry of Health, account for less than 7% of funded positions. It is estimated that there are approximately 538 school-based child and youth care workers in the province.
On the basis of this study, it is evident that workers experience frustration with the lack of understanding of their roles and importance by others working within the school system. This group remains largely undefined and unidentified within provincial Ministry of Education literature even though the need for such services has been well recognized in influential reports on the education system in recent years. Many school districts are now attracting more trained and experienced workers, and once hired, many are remaining in their jobs for a considerable length of time. Low pay is a double-edged sword, leaving workers dissatisfied while making their positions more attractive to funders.
School-based child and youth care workers supervised by non-profit societies are significantly more involved in family and community related work while school district supervised workers are more heavily involved in tutorial services and in supervising extra-curricular lunch programs and field trips. If the vision for the role of the school-based worker is to take maximum advantage of the interpersonal, family and community skills of the workers, then the non-profit sector clearly offers the preferred location from which to undertake such work.