Second Annual Provincial Child and Youth Care Conference Huge Success!
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President’s Message
Fall is here and the board is busy once again. First of all, we would like to welcome two new board members: Barb Ferguson, a manager at Moncton Youth Residences, and Margaret Sullivan, a CYC instructor at NBCC Miramichi.
The association held a very successful provincial conference in May at NBCC Miramichi. “Community of Learners” attracted 193 participants, and included presenters from almost every province as well as from Ireland. Both the workshops and the entertainment were fantastic.
Your provincial board has developed a strategic plan for the year. This includes three phases. In the first phase, we are compiling a list of organizations and agencies that employ child and youth care workers in the province. This will be completed by December. In phase two, we will be developing two questionnaires for distribution to administrators and front-line workers about the issues these groups are facing. Phase three involves holding focus groups around the province and solidifying support from agencies. And, as mentioned previously, we are also working on the next provincial conference.
We have a busy year planned and we are looking forward to moving ahead with our vision of child and youth care being recognized as a full-fledged profession.
Sincerely,
Janice R. Tilley, President
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Second Annual Provincial Child and Youth Care Conference Huge Success!
The Protective Services Department is grateful to the Child and Youth Care Association
of New Brunswick for the opportunity to partner with them in hosting the 2nd Annual
Child and Youth Care Conference, held during May 5-7, 2004.
The theme of the conference “Community of Learners” enabled professionals, students
and educators from the Youth Care and Human Services fields to focus on learning to
build and strengthen relationships in the Youth Care community. Speakers from
across Canada and Ireland reinforced the need for human service professionals to
work together to achieve the best result for clients.

The Keynote addresses included Dr. Vianne Timmons Vice President Academic
Development, University of Prince Edward Island and her daughter Kelly Mason who is
a student. Their presentation, “Fetal Alcohol: A Life Journey,” discussed from a
personal perspective the characteristics of children with fetal alcohol syndrome/effects
and interventional strategies.
Dr. Niall McElwee, the director of the Centre for Child and Youth Care Learning,
Athlone Institute of Technology in Ireland presented the second keynote address
“A Decade in Child and Youth Care Glimpses from the Edge of Practice and
Academia,” which focused on the past, present and future of Youth Care work in
Ireland and our shared experiences.
The “Miramichi Morning
Energizer” was hosted by
Bob McCallum and
included conference goers
who were willing to
become “Honouary
Miramichiers” by eating
bologna, kissing a
salmon, and drinking a
shot of cheap wine!
A few highlights of the conference included a
fashion show by “Turtle Concepts,” a company
focused on a fashionable approach to self-esteem
building in Aboriginal communities. Youth from Eel
River Bar, NB, Listuguj, QC and Garden River,
Ontario participated in the fashion show and rocked
the house with their talent!
Other highlights included Opening Ceremonies,
where participants were welcomed by former mayor
Rupert Bernard, Noreen Lobban, principal of NBCC
Miramichi and Janice Tilley, President of the Child
and Youth Care Association, and treated to a
performance of Irish dancing by the Nelson Doyle
Dancers.
The conference could not have been possible without the effort from the staff and the Youth Care students of the
Protective Services department and the support of other staff and students throughout NBCC-Miramichi. These
combined efforts resulted in a highly successful conference with over 190 professionals and students in
attendance.