Name:       A.M. Chip Bonsutto
Age:          50
Location:  Cleveland, Ohio, USA

 

Biography
Childhood friends and family have never been surprised regarding my chosen career path. When I was 22 years old and fresh out of college, I started working at Parmadale, a large residential center located on the first ridge overlooking the city of Cleveland, Ohio. The pay was low, the hours were painfully long, and the teenagers I worked with were delightfully special — a uniqueness of tremendous needs and strengths that forced and challenged me to expand my skill set constantly. Twenty-eight years and a few more degrees later, I am still at Parmadale. As I type this, I now sit behind the actual desk I sat in front of during my interview.

During the intervening years, I have served as supervisor, clinician, program director, and administrator for the agency. The promotion of the child and youth care profession and its members has always been of special interest to me as well. Working and advocating for the advancement in professionalism of the field has been an additional driving force in my professional life. I have served as president of the Ohio Association of Child and Youth Care Professionals, Inc. (OACYCP), of which I am a founding and charter member, and the Association for Child and Youth Care Practice, Inc. (ACYCP). I have been a founding board member of the Child and Youth Care Certification Board and co-chair of two International Child and Youth Care Conferences.

How I came to be in this field
With a BA in psychology, I was looking for my first "real job during the recession of the early 1980s. I applied at Parmadale, which is about 3 miles from where I grew up. Initially, I turned down the job three times. Finally, I accepted on the fourth phone call and, as they say, the rest is history. I have never regretted the choice.

My favorite saying
"Never, never, never give up." — Winston Churchill.

In this work, we are often the last hope and sanctuary for abandoned, traumatized, and abused youth. So, when is it OK for us to abandon them? When is it ethical for us to give up on them? If we are not going to be in their corner, who will? When is it right for us to kick them out or push them away? Is the inability to reach a reluctant youth their fault or ours? All too often, we get young people that have failed at many, many other settings. My staff and I have always been committed to making this treatment episode a success.

A few thoughts about child and youth care
Watch for miracles — they happen every day.
Find joy in the smallest of successes.
Know that you learn more than you teach, and be grateful for it.

The last thing I have read, heard, or seen that I would recommend to others
Read The Shack by William P. Young*. If you have experienced trauma or work with youth that have, it touches your soul.

A few thoughts for those starting out
Learn to step back!
Remember, it is not about you!
Relax, it is only a crisis!
God did not intend for you to have all the answers. Learn to find them.
If a youth tells you that he will punch you if you get any closer, believe him!

Favourite child and youth care experience
One that always comes to mind is that of the 14-year-old boy who rushed back to the cottage after school one fall day to tell me that he had a girlfriend. He was excited beyond description. It was his first love and she was an "older woman" of 16. When I asked him what her name was, he lovingly replied, "Carmelita Hall." My heart sank. I spent the next half hour comforting him and consoling him after I told him that Carmelita Hall was the name of one of our buildings on campus, not the young woman's.

My favorite child and youth link
Any child and youth care association site such as
http://www.acycp.org
http://www.helpingohiokids.org
http://www.cyccanada.ca

I strongly encourage you to join and support your state, regional, or local child and youth care association.

A writing of my own
This summer, the Child Welfare League of America is publishing an edited compilation on workforce efforts in child and youth care. My chapter on Grassroots Efforts in Child and Youth Care tells the story of the efforts by the Ohio Association of Child and Youth Care Professionals and their mission to drive child and youth care licensure in the state of Ohio.

Influences on my work
It started with my parents, who showed me love and forgiveness throughout the years. My co-workers, who modeled for me determination and dedication to others. My teachers, many of whom are profiled here, who provide me with the skills to do the job better. Finally, Tom Woll, who hired me 28 years ago and still serves as my mentor, friend, and supervisor.

_______

* The Shack by William P. Young is in our bookstore

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