Child and Youth Care Counsellor

When a teenager in crisis needs a steady adult in the room, a child and youth care counsellor is often that person. Lakeland College’s Child and Youth Care Counsellor diploma is a two-year, four-semester programme delivered face to face on the Vermilion campus, and it is accredited by the Child and Youth Care Educational Accreditation Board of Canada until February 2028.

The diploma teaches you to build therapeutic relationships with children, youth and families, using counselling, mentoring, teamwork and leadership skills. You learn to design multi-level service plans for children and families, support family intervention, recognise the signs of abuse and addiction, and help young people build resiliency. Year one opens with foundation courses such as YC 100 and YC 102, and year two deepens practice through YC 203 and YC 236 Assessment and Intervention, which combines intervention strategies with case management procedures for children, youth and families.

Lakeland builds this programme around four field placements, CYCC Field Placement I to IV, spread across the two years so classroom learning is tested in real agencies from year one. Each placement has course prerequisites and a 2.0 GPA requirement, and students must be ready to relocate to larger centres for them. A clear criminal record check with vulnerable sector check is required, and a First Aid in Childcare certificate or Child Intervention Record Check may be needed. Graduates can transfer up to 60 credits into degrees at Athabasca University, MacEwan University, Mount Royal University and the University of Victoria, or up to 30 credits into social work at the University of Calgary and the University of Regina.

Lakeland graduates in child and youth care work in group homes, youth justice programmes, addiction and recovery centres, mental health agencies, schools, shelters, family resource centres and Indigenous agencies. Typical roles include youth care worker, residential counsellor, family support worker, youth justice worker and outreach worker. It suits patient, resilient people who want to support young people through hard times.