Too complicated, too fast

Kiaras Gharabaghi

Child and youth care practice, as Jack Phelan likes to say, is complex; but then he also reminds us that it is the simple things that shape the experience of a child or youth in relation to the practitioner. I think this is an important reminder, one that speaks to very heart of what we do. I also think that in many of our employment contexts, we are pushed hard to forget about the simple things and adopt instead increasingly complex and challenging approaches, thoughts, assessments and activities. There is, of course, value to some of these more complex ideas. I would never want to suggest that Child and Youth Care practitioners should dismiss the theories and research-based evidence coming out of academia and other think-tanks. But we cannot get so excited about the latest findings, the most recent concepts and the seemingly more professional approaches at the expense of doing the basics and being human.

By way of explanation, let me briefly outline the process for a Plan of Care for a child living out of home in Ontario. Recent revisions to this process have resulted in a new template, based on the Looking After Children framework developed in the UK, that essentially structures the short, medium and long term “intervention” for the child or youth. Within this template, we pay attention to seven dimensions of a child's well being. These include education, health, social functioning, emotional well-being, etc. On the surface, it is a reasonable approach that seeks to ensure all aspects of a child's life are taken into consideration when planning for his future. So far, so good. The problem is that all of this planning often doesn’t leave room or time to actually do anything related to the child's experience of living out of home right now. The days pass, the child lives and struggles, and the plan takes shape, incorporating ever more detail, becoming ever more sophisticated and evolving into a branded model of intervention in which the brand clearly takes precedent over the quality of experience. Child and youth care practitioners along with their colleagues from other discipline use this Plan of Care as a way of evaluating their work with the child. Weekly team meetings involve a comparison of what the plan prescribes with what is actually happening, followed by a renewed effort to get the child to comply with his plan, follow through on his end of things, and lend his voice to the symphonic orchestra of confirmation that the Plan itself is the future to be desired and pursued. Our new found enthusiasm for child and youth participation in the development of their Plan takes on a rather macabre display of Newtonian physics; the Plan will keep moving unless something comes in the way, in which case we blame the youth.

I have always wondered why physicists are so interested in the nature of light, developing wave theories and then particle theories, and eventually getting hung up on quantum physics, but they have no interest at all in what light actually illuminates. Similarly, I worry that our interest in the nature of planning tools (as well as assessment tools, intervention tools, and the like) has overtaken our interest in the experiences all of these tools encapsulate. In my experience, very few young people sum up their experiences in relation to a neatly carved out set of dimensions said to capture their life essence; and very few seem all that interested in the relationship between the Plan and the outcomes. More commonly, I think, young people reflect on their experiences in terms of a feeling, an intuitive response to their interactions with others, a deeply held affinity or rejection of specific people, places and activities. To this end, I would suggest that Child and Youth Care practitioners working with children or youth living out of home ought to develop their own template of care; I emphasize that what is needed is not another Plan but rather a way of ensuring that in being with children and youth, we don’t forget the simple things that will figure much larger in the child's later reflection on their experience of being and living out of home. So here are some of the things that ought to appear in such a template of care:

The child/youth was given at least one hug today.
The child/youth was given at least one popsicle (in summer) or one hot chocolate (in winter) today (without having to ask for it).
Someone said “Good Morning” to the child/youth today.
Someone asked about his day at school today.
The child's lunch included at least one item that the child actually really likes.
Someone read with the child (or asked about what the youth is reading) today.
Someone offered to do homework with the child/youth today.
Someone asked about the child/youth’s family today.
At least on one day this week, no one asked the child/youth to follow his Plan.
At least once this week the child/youth was able to break a rule or misbehave without consequence.
The child/youth had a friend over at least once this week.
Someone unexpectedly bought the child a new T-shirt this month, just because it seemed to suit the child.
The child/youth went to bed at three different times this week.
The child/youth is currently under no contractual obligations to anyone.
When the child/youth completed his chore, someone said “thank you”.
When the child/youth returned from being missing, someone said “welcome back”.
Someone did the child's/youth’s laundry this week because it was piling up.
The child or youth had access to three-ply, super soft toilet paper every day.
Shampoo, soap and other hygiene products were not purchased at the dollar store.
At least once this week, the child/youth got to smell the aroma of fresh baking in the house.
Someone made coffee/tea for the older youth before he got out of bed.
At least once this week, someone affirmed the legitimacy of same-sex relationships.
At least once this week, someone affirmed the legitimacy of spirituality even if the service is entirely secular.
At least once today, someone ensured that the child's/youth’s ethnic, racial or spiritual identity is reflected in something in his life space (food, pictures, TV program or movie, etc.).
At least once per month, someone tests out the comfort of the mattress and replaces it if necessary.
The child has access to basic leisure equipment every day (balls, bats, bikes, skateboard, skates, etc.).
Someone did something to nurture the child's/youth’s interest in art, music or sports today.

These 27 things, plus any number of additions Child and Youth Care practitioners can think of, will go a long way to ensuring that we don’t get ahead of ourselves. Sadly, I have experienced far too many Child and Youth Care practitioners and other “helping” professionals who would be hard pressed to even account for half of the simple things listed above. Most are caring and well-meaning professionals, but their focus on the Plan seems to have sidelined their ability to do what Child and Youth Care practitioners do best; being with the child or youth in the moment and in their life space. A Plan does not produce outcomes. Our humanity, when acted on with care, does.