John Jackson, President & CEO

Program Intended to Respond to Growing Need for Support Workers in Child Welfare Services & Other Fields Which Primarily Serve Youth & Adolescents

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA, November 8, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- LINKS Institute, Manitoba’s leading private provider of mental health and social service education, announces a new program: the Child and Youth Care Worker Diploma (CYCWD). “We worked closely with industry employers to determine the need for this program,” says Jackson, President & CEO of LINKS Institute. “We believe the program will be successful in helping organizations who provide services to youth to recruit and retain employees who have high quality skills”. The CYCWD program was developed in consultation with industry experts and is intended to prepare students for roles such as youth care worker, youth practitioner, social services worker and more.

The development of the CYCWD program comes at a time of rapid expansion for social services in Manitoba and beyond. Not only did the Covid-19 pandemic lead to a dramatic decrease in the number of available employees across many industries, provincial governments continue to commit new resources to programs which serve youth and adolescents. “Many organizations who hire people to work with youth are reporting challenges in recruiting and retaining staff. We hope our program can produce some solution to this problem”, says Jackson.

Legislative Changes in Child Welfare Systems Pushing Demand

The increased need for support workers in child and youth care services is being driven in part by gradual legislative changes at the federal level leading to reform in child welfare. In a number of provinces, child welfare responsibilities are being shifted away from provincial governments and back to Indigenous, First Nation, Inuit and Metis authorities. “We have a number of established relationships with First Nations and Indigenous communities in Manitoba where many of our previous students were very quickly being hired into roles in Indigenous child welfare agencies,” says Jackson. “It made sense to us to tailor a program that would further equip students with child welfare specific skills, at the entry level”. By offering this program online, students are able to remain in their community and keep access to their resources and supports. "We have seen that the online nature of our program enables students to better balance family, work and education commitments while reporting a positive balance", says Jackson.

While Jackson says there are a number of Indigenous led schools and initiatives who are also responding to the need to train additional workforces, the need is seen to be extensive and LINKS Institute intends to position itself to be part of the solution for contributing to the available workforce in this field.
The LINKS Institute Child and Youth Care Worker Diploma program is designed to be completed in less than 8 months, with all classes taking place online. Students will complete a 6-week practicum in a community organization.

About LINKS Institute

LINKS Institute is a private vocational institute registered in Manitoba and offers programs to prepare students in health and social services. The school currently offers 5 distinct programs: Medical Unit Clerk; Community Support Worker: Mental Health Certificate; Mental Wellness and Harm Reduction Diploma, and the newest Child & Youth Care Worker Diploma.

LINKS Institute was founded and is led by John Jackson, who is a registered psychiatric nurse (Manitoba), holds a master of psychiatric nursing degree, and is a PhD in Nursing student at the University of Manitoba. John's interest in training students to work in health & social service settings stems from his extensive experience in clinical practice, leadership, education and community advocacy.

John Jackson
LINKS Institute
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