Heather Modlin
Location: St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
BiographyI started working in residential care in 1987,
at a group home for adults with developmental delays. Several of my
co-workers also worked in a group home for adolescents with “severe
emotional and behavioral problems” (back then, the pay was so low you
had to work two jobs to survive). I liked the job I was in, but had
always wanted to work with youth, so after a few years I applied to work
at this other place and got hired. On my first “orientation” shift, I
had to physically restrain a young person who was trying to kill himself
by jumping out a third story window. I was hooked. After nine months,
however, the program was shut down by the government because it was so
dysfunctional (and it was, I just didn’t realize it at the time). The
following year, in 1991, I was hired by the St. Francis Foundation as
Coordinator of a five bed group home for boys, ages 12-16. I really
struggled in those early years, having assumed a management position in
child and youth care with only nine month’s experience as a front-line
practitioner, and my main goal was to get good enough to quit! In order
to do that, I read everything I could get my hands on about child and
youth care; joined, and then re-started, the Child and Youth Care
Association of Newfoundland and Labrador; and started attending child
and youth care training and conferences and networking with people in
the field. I also completed a Master’s degree in Child and Youth Care
Administration. Once I became competent, I didn’t want to quit anymore.
Over the years, my role at St. Francis (which changed its name to Waypoints in 2008) transformed from Group Home Coordinator to Executive Director as the organization expanded. I remained there for eighteen years, until January, 2009, and at the time I left there were 118 employees, nine residential programs, a family support program, a youth employment and outreach program, and a youth pre-employment and mentoring program. Working at Waypoints was an amazing experience, and I learned so much from the young people and staff that I could never possibly put it all into words.
Along the way, I have been actively involved in the Child and Youth Care Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, having served as President for the first ten years, and the Council of Canadian Child and Youth Care Associations, where I recently finished a six year term as President. I was also involved in developing the Child and Youth Care Worker diploma program at CompuCollege, and have been a part-time instructor in that program since 2003.
I just started a new position as Director of Key Assets Newfoundland and Labrador, an independent fostering agency established to provide quality care in a family setting to children and youth who are “hard to place” or have complex needs. I’m really excited about the opportunities that exist to enhance the foster care system here in NL, and, ultimately, improve the range of placement options available to children and youth.
How I came to be in this field
I completed a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, with the
long-term goal to do a Master’s in Clinical Psychology and work with
“troubled teens.” I had never heard of child and youth care, and really
just fell into it. A group home was pretty well the only place you could
get a job with a Psych degree.
A favorite saying
You gain strength, courage and confidence every time you
really stop and look fear in the face. You are able to say to
yourself “I lived through this horror, I can take the next thing
that comes along.” You must do the thing you think you cannot do
(Eleanor Roosevelt).
I discovered this quote a long time ago, and it has served me well over the years.
A few thoughts about child and youth care
It’s the best job in the world!
It’s the only job in which continuous learning and self-improvement is a free fringe benefit.
It is still relatively unknown in the broader community, we still have some credibility problems, and the only people who can change that are us. We have a lot of work left to do.
Last thing I read, watched, heard, which I would recommend to
others
I recently finished reading The Boy Who
Was Raised as a Dog, by Dr. Bruce Perry, for the second time. I
would highly recommend this to all child and youth care practitioners,
and everyone who works with children or youth who have experienced
trauma. It is an amazing book, and makes me wish I had paid more
attention in neurobiology during my university years. I’m all about the
brain these days.
A favorite Child and Youth Care experience
Last year, I got involved in developing a Blacklight Theatre
group at Waypoints. I got the idea from a workshop I did at an Ontario
provincial child and youth care conference that was presented by a group
from Thunder Bay. I had seen them perform a couple of times and was
really impressed by the performance, and the power of the blacklight
medium to tell their stories.
When we started our own group, we had no idea what the interest would be. We started with about seven young people, and several youth care workers, all volunteering their time. We wrote a show, entitled Being in Care, and performed it for the first time in front of 300 people at the 30th anniversary celebration for Waypoints. The entire process was amazing – watching the young people talk about their experiences, in a safe way, as they developed the characters for the show; seeing them work together to design and make props and costumes; and witnessing them gain confidence in themselves as they realized they had something valuable to contribute. The best part, though, was seeing the looks on their faces when they received their first standing ovation – utter astonishment, and pride. I’ll never forget it.
A few thoughts for those starting out
The broader system in which we work can often be quite
dysfunctional and crisis-driven. It’s easy to get caught up in this and
spend all of your time banging your head against the wall. Learn to
recognize what you do and don’t have control over – and then spend your
time focusing on the things you can control. This is how positive change
occurs.
Get involved in your local Child and Youth Care Association. You have a professional obligation to contribute to the field, and the networking will be invaluable.
Always remember that change is measured in moments.
A recommended child and youth care reading link
www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0303-thom.html
My favourite child and youth care-relevant link and why
www.ChildTraumaAcademy.org
This is an amazing site! They offer free online courses on child
trauma and brain development.
A writing of my own
www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-1004-Modlin.html
Influences on my work
My first job in the most dysfunctional group home in NL; this
taught me how bad things can get, how quickly they can get that bad, how
damaging it can be to pair untrained staff with vulnerable young people,
and how easy it is to lose perspective when you’re in the midst of a
crisis situation. This was the best learning experience I could have
had, and I believe it has shaped everything I have done in my career
since then.
Beyond that, I have been influenced by all the Mary McCracken novels I read as a child; my own adolescent rebellion; the management, staff and young people at Waypoints; my students; cyc-net; the RCYCP; everything I have read from the field (I can’t possibly list all of the names); and my involvement in the CYCANL and the Council of Canadian Child and Youth Care Associations.
I have also had some really strong teachers and mentors, most notably Lorraine Fox, Mark Krueger and Thom Garfat. I’ve been very lucky.
Anything else
Thank you for the opportunity to share. I love being part of
the child and youth care family!