Consider a career as a Child Protection Social Worker or Child &Youth Care Worker

by Ethan Paquet

The Department of Social Development and Housing supports Islanders in need and helps them to become more self-reliant. Services provided directly or in partnership with community organizations include financial assistance, housing support, child protection, and disability support.

The Department’s Child Protection Team provides families with support with parenting, budgeting, life skills, family preservation, and reunification.

Child Protection Social Workers

“We are always looking for Child Protection and Child and Youth Care staff, and there are opportunities all across PEI,” says Jill Beagan, Child Protection Social Worker.

Child Protection Social Workers work in a variety of settings, including the intake of child protection reports, fieldwork investigating allegations of child abuse or neglect, long-term planning with families to mitigate potential concerns, and helping foster parents navigate challenges with children in care.

Minimum qualifications for this role include a Bachelor of Social Work degree with some experience. Experience required is in Social Work and prior experience in Child Protection is preferred.

“We work Monday to Friday, and there is sometimes evening and weekend work as well.”

The starting wage is $32.31, with travel and delegation allowances available for eligible employees.

Child & Youth Care Workers

Child and Youth Care Workers provide residential services, outreach, day-to-day supervision and intensive support and direction to high-needs children ages 6 to 12 and youth ages 13 to 17 who are in care.

“Our immediate opportunities are for casual Child and Youth Care Workers within our residential group homes,” says Ray McAdam-Young, Program Supervisor, Residential Services.

Casual Child and Youth Care Workers fill in for full-time staff at any of the seven group homes across PEI. “At Maple Group Home, for example, up to nine youth live in a communal living setting, and three Child and Youth Care Workers are on staff at a time,” he says.

Common job duties include assisting parents in communication with youth, providing stability, assessing the recreational and social needs of youth, providing homework support, tutoring, and supervision, and completing required documentation and incident reporting.

The minimum qualification for Child and Youth Care Workers is the completion of a Child and Youth Care Worker program, or a degree in Social Sciences including Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, or Family Studies. Individuals with a diploma in Early Childhood Education or a Human Services program may also be considered.

“On PEI, positions start at about $26 to $31/hour. Once you have worked with us for a year, a training development fund of $2,500 is available. If you decide social work is what you want to do in the future, we offer lots of opportunities to do that,” Ray says.

How to gain experience

“We offer a lot of work placements for post-secondary students, and depending on the program you are enrolled in, once you have done a work placement, we might hire you in the role of Social Work graduate until you receive your Social Work registration.

“It’s an incredible life-changing career that has a significant impact on youth and families across PEI. I would encourage anybody who might have an idea that they would like to work with children and youth to give it a shot and to reach out for more information.”