SUCCESS! Play Life to Win
By Adam Diamond, Youth Program Coordinator, OACAS

Background

The YouthCAN Program

The YouthCAN Program is a multi-faceted program for youth in the care of Children's Aid Societies in Ontario. The department consists of two Youth Program Coordinators and a mentor, the Director of Social Policy for the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies.

The three pillars of the program are Communication, Advocacy, and Networking.

C: website, online help, quarterly newsletter, conferences
A: provincial Youth Policy Advisory and Advocacy Group, ad-hoc from Youth Program Coordinators
N: six regional youth groups across the province ( consisting of 1 staff “Champion” and 2-3 youth “Leaders” from each agency), retreats and other meeting opportunities

Annual conference taking shape

In 2006, youth in care made it very clear that they would like a yearly conference where they could connect with one another and learn valuable skills they will need as they approach independence. They requested something that would be unique and that they could call their own: for youth by youth. In response, OACAS held a YouthCAN specific conference the following year and a conference planning committee was established.

Since 2006, Ontario youth in care have attended two memorable OACAS YouthCAN conferences. The first conference, “Setting up for Survival SUCCESS!”, was held at Sheridan College and the second, “Ready, Set, SUCCESS!”, was held at Seneca College. The YouthCAN team facilitated fun and interactive sessions and workshop topics focusing on skills and social development, networking, financial planning and stress management. These events have proven to be a huge accomplishment for the YouthCAN program, as the events welcomed more than 150 youth in care from 42 of the 51 member Children's Aid Societies across Ontario.

With only a few short months left, planning for the 2009 YouthCAN conference, “SUCCESS! Play Life to Win”, is well underway. Taking the lessons learned from the past two years, this year's conference is going to be an even more dynamic happening than ever!

The conference life

With an overarching goal of assisting youth in preparing for success in life, the decision was to have the conferences take place on college and university campuses. By introducing youth to the experience of staying in residence, attending program tours offered by the college, using on-site athletic facilities, eating in the student cafeteria and, in general, getting a feel for post-secondary life, it was hoped to generate an interest in and demonstrate to youth in care that post-secondary education is a very real and attainable option for them.

Another vital part of the YouthCAN program, and the conferences it now plans to host annually, is the networking and social component. Youth have said that they value the opportunity to spend time with others who share similar experiences and with whom they can relate. Meaningful peer relationships develop at YouthCAN events and have the possibility of continuing on when the time comes that youth need to emancipate from care. These connections continue to grow after these events by logging onto our online community at the www.youthcan.org website and our Facebook groups.

Injecting a sense of fun and camaraderie is important. A feature of our conferences, which has become a regular event, is a youth dance with a DJ. We also have held successful talent shows – that has become another favorite – and we expect to see polished performances this year as youth have anticipated and prepared for this event all year! Ice breaker sessions, free time sports activities, movies and on-campus tours are also a part of the schedule for the youth to engage with one another and to nurture both newly made and long standing friendships.

More than 280 people helped to make the past two YouthCAN conferences successful – this includes youth, Children's Aid Society staff, Seneca staff, presenters and volunteers. The conferences received tremendous support from people in the community, from Children's Aid Society staff and from youth. Many speakers who initially had a significant fees came and gave of their time at no charge. We also had many dedicated youth and staff who volunteered throughout the conference helping out above and beyond what we could have imagined.

After these conferences our Facebook groups had messages from youth saying how much they enjoyed the conferences and that being with people there was like spending time with family. This environment really allows youth to be comfortable with their background as youth in care. They are not the minority for these three days, and you see the growth and excitement among them all. Most significantly, many youth have expressed that they intend to apply for and attend college following the conferences.

Lessons Learned

Although OACAS has hosted youth conferences alongside their general conferences in the past, these are the first conferences ever planned by YouthCAN staff, with an on-campus and youth-only focus. Each event includes an evaluation as well as an opportunity for the planning team to de-brief and learn.

What works?

• Getting youth in care on campuses to experience college life through staying in residence, completing tours and participating in program specific sessions
• Having the college provide an orientation to post-secondary opportunities – both academic programs and extracurricular
• Having the “hands-on” and interactive sessions about specific courses and programs
• Providing opportunities for youth to come together at least once per year
• Ensuring youth involvement in the planning of youth events
• Youth-lead/moderated sessions mixed with staff and relevant subject experts
• Clear ground rules that are well known by all who attend – including staff
• Ensuring a mix of learning and fun
• Incentives for participation and for completing evaluations – prizes for participation!
• Involving conference attendees and others as volunteers – youth mentors and staff
• Adults need to have trust and faith that youth can be the experts on what they need to be successful; youth have really good ideas, think differently and can be creative
• Youth have the most credibility when talking about youth issues
  

What would we do differently?

• More plenary sessions to ensure the youth are able to be present and benefit from powerful presentations
• Start every day with large group announcements and “check-in”
• More time on day one and final day for greeting and saying farewell. A lot of the youth are meeting each other for the first time and need some space, while others need time to reconnect with those from previous events
• Flexibility about attending all sessions, but not permission to sit out entire conference
• Invite other local colleges and universities to take part in an “opportunities fair” or our youth focused poster presentation
• Provide a Q&A period, computers set up for youth to pose questions to college staff and others that they may have about pursuing a post-secondary education

Going strong with fresh ideas into our third year

Overall, the conferences have proven to be amazing opportunities for youth in care across Ontario to come together and continue their journeys to success! The concept of holding the conferences on a college campus has been key (saves a lot of money too!). Dynamic and interactive sessions, along with fun events mixed with time to learn key life skills, a winning combination in making the conferences something that many youth and staff look forward to attending throughout the year.

The OACAS YouthCAN team will continue to think of new and exciting ways to keep youth engaged throughout the conferences. Last year the idea of having a “passport” that was stamped when attending sessions was a huge success, and one the team plans to continue. Youth made a huge effort to attend all sessions so they would have a complete passport and qualify for the conference closing grand prize. The poster session was a hit last year and it will be bigger and better this year!

This year we will continue to book speakers and schedule workshop sessions covering subjects important to youth in care. A glimpse at our program-in-progress, shows topics around OSAP, financial planning, diversity training, public speaking, health nutrition and fitness, stress management and many more. That does not include the games and sports that will round out the agenda. Hosting this year's conference at Seneca's King campus, will allow for outdoor recreational activities such as canoeing, kayaking and rock climbing. We will again facilitate the oh-so-popular youth talent show followed by a dance.

As YouthCAN has gained much momentum over the past three years through its large network of regional zone groups and two conferences, there is much excitement in the air while planning for the third annual youth in care conference with the on-campus feel! Organizations and speakers are asking how they can get involved and be part of this great event. From now until August, it's full steam ahead!

About the Author

Adam Diamond is one of the founders of the YouthCAN program, and has been with OACAS since 2006.

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