The course explores the impact poverty has on the individuals who must cope with it as well as the impact on the community as a whole. Particular emphasis is placed on child poverty in Canada as well as de-bunking myths and stereotypes about poverty. Two special topics in poverty are also covered: poverty and homelessness and poverty, and Aboriginals and the impact of the Legacy. The importance of education and occupation is also covered. As one of their module deliverables, students construct personal resource binders of local agencies and organizations that support people coping with poverty. They will be able to refer to these for future projects and while on practicum.

This course is designed to provide students with basic information regarding common drugs and processes of abuse. Furthermore, it's designed to give students some hands-on tools for analyzing addiction as a complex bio-psychosocial model. Included in this course is the etiology of addiction, maintenance and relapse prevention, cross cultural counseling, gender-specific addictions, the psychological models used in addiction, and working on a multidisciplinary addictions treatment team.

This course explores basic questions regarding mental health. It explains the formal diagnostic categories of the DSM-IV-TR, common medications used in pharmacotherapies for mental health concerns, as well as the impact mental health concerns have on the affected individuals. Particular emphasis is placed on community-based interventions and supports for people living with mental health issues as well as the importance of the duty to warn. As one of their module deliverables, students construct personal resource binders of local agencies and organizations that support people coping with mental health. They will be able to refer to these resources for future projects and while on practicum.

This course provides students with an introduction to issues frequently encountered when working with families affected by addiction. Drawing on Bowen and Solution-Focussed family therapies, it provides tools that help social service workers understand various family dynamics. Basic strategies for interviewing families are reviewed. The concept of codependency is introduced, both in terms of the family life of clients, and the workers’ own risk for developing codependent behaviours on the job. A basic introduction to working with diverse family groups is provided.

This course is designed to give the student an introduction to case management, documentation, and report writing in the social work field. It covers the effects of deinstitutionalization and the importance of the case manager role. Types of recording in this course include process recording and summary recording along with intake summaries. The process behind intake interviews, service delivery planning, building case files, and service coordination are also covered. The course also examines ethical and legal issues giving students an idea of the various areas where competence improves with experience. Various roles in case management such as assessment, intake procedures, outreach, and resources are also covered.

Helping professionals who work with traumatized or otherwise "at-risk" individuals are at risk themselves for developing secondary traumatic stress. The very qualities that led workers to the social service employment -- compassion and empathy -- are the ones that make workers particularly vulnerable to this. Murphy’s Law and the different types of stress are also brought to the forefront. This course briefly reviews the nature and diagnostic criteria of both post-traumatic stress and secondary post-traumatic stress. The primary focus in this module is practical, hands-on strategies that social service workers can use to prevent burnout and increase self-care.

In this module, students earn the three external certificates bundled into their program:

• Level 1 First Aid/CPR
• Level 1 ASIST Suicide Intervention & Prevention
• Level 1 Non-violent Crisis Intervention (NCI)

Non-Violent Crisis Intervention 

This course is designed to help participants learn to recognize warning signs that allow for early intervention in a crisis as well as how to use both verbal and non-verbal techniques to avoid a violent confrontation. The use of non-violent crisis intervention allows for recognizing individuals in distress early on and using appropriate techniques to address the situation before it becomes a crisis. 

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training 

This course designed to teach the skills to allow one to intervene with a youth at risk of suicide. The course prepares people to integrate principles of intervention into everyday practice. The curriculum covers attitudes, knowledge, intervention and resources. Skills and principles are illustrated with case studies presented in a variety of formats including live dramatizations, role-play simulations and discussions. Participants will learn how to reduce attitudinal barriers which hinder the ability to be direct and comfortable with suicidal situations, dispel myths about youth suicide, identify the indicators and assess suicidal risk, intervene with a youth at risk of suicide, and engage in efforts to build collaborative resource networks for suicidal youth. 

This course introduces the student to the foundations of advocacy and empowerment for young people. How to lay the groundwork for advocacy is explained as well as ways to build rapport with youth to facilitate effective advocacy. Different strategies based on education components to empower youth while learning through education and personal choices are covered. Finally, how to advocate for effective standards of professions and healthy meaningful programming is explored.

This course is designed to give the student critical insight in to the social category youth and how the boundaries and definitions of youth are socially and historically determined based on the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), the impact of various social systems (justice systems, social services systems, education systems etc.) on youth identity formation is explored, as well as observing the differences in the Young Offenders Act (YOA) and the YCJA. The ways for youth to access social justice in these systems are outlined, as well as examining the growing inequalities around youth.

This course is designed to provide students with a foundation in interviewing techniques including the use of non-verbals, making effective inquiries, sharing and recognizing feelings, understanding others’ underlying beliefs, knowing what information to give and when to give it, and developing one’s own personal style. Effective communication is the foundation for one’s relationship with a client. Interviewing skills should be practiced in order to enhance one’s full potential. By the end of this course, students should have a grasp of the variety of these skills necessary to be a successful interviewer. The focus in this course is interviewing clients with various issues including substance or process abuse issues, so all role-plays etc. are designed with that client group in mind.

This course is designed to give students an overview of the youth justice system of Canada as well as insight into the impact contact with justice system has in the lives of young people. Myths/stereotypes versus the realities of youth crime in Canada are presented. Community-based interventions, rehabilitation, and restorative justice options for youth are explored.

This course is designed to give students an overview of the impact of culture and subculture on youth. The specifics issues and needs of immigrant and LGBTTIQ youth, Aboriginal youth are explored. The impact of associations, activity, and style subcultures on youth is also investigated.

In addition to learning career-oriented skills, students learn how to get a job in their chosen profession. Our Employment Services department will assist the graduate in resume writing, as well as preparing for job interviews. Our staff is sensitive to current job market trends and the needs of employers in each local market. Our graduates receive guidance and training to use career tools that help job seekers build a better resume and cover letter, manage an online portfolio, hone interviewing skills, and develop a personal brand online. Students will have the use of a computer lab which has unlimited Internet access, as well as job search resources. Facilitators will also be made available to advise on job finding resources, interview skills and techniques and to carry out mock interviews. This course also looks at the planning, preparation, execution, and follow-up stages of an interview: How people find jobs; Employer expectations; Presenting an enthusiastic attitude; Focusing on the right job and the hidden job market; Transferrable skills; Thank you letters; Effective telemarketing; Handling objections, self-confidence, and self-esteem; Individual counselling and coaching.

For this mandatory 280 hour (7 week) field placement, students are expected to act as employees in a workplace related to youth services, gaining the valuable real-world experience that employers seek. Students are encouraged to find their own field placement site. The business organization providing the placement is not expected to pay for the services provided by the student during the practicum.