Youth Justice Worker: Practicum 11

Learning Experience 1: Legal Case Study

Select a client with whom you have been working in your practicum and provide a chronological report of the client’s involvement in the system from a legal perspective.You must account for the following:

• What statutes (federal and provincial) guided the actions of each official intervention on the part of the youth justice system?
• Specify the sections of the statutes employed in each official intervention.
• Where official sanctions have been imposed, specify how the sanction fits with the guidelines providing for such sanctions.
• Identify any future legal obligations to be met by the client.

Learning Experience 2: Individual Case Study

1. Provide an overview of a client’s or group of client’s current life situation, including:
   
   • individual development (physical, intellectual, emotional and social).
   • family circumstances.
   • educational/vocational development.
2. Indicate what assistance/interventions you believe could benefit the client, and by whom you believe that service could be provided.

Learning Experience 3: Issues of Abuse

1. Describe the psychological and emotional impact and the behavioural manifestations of abuse (emotional, physical or sexual) on a client in your setting. Specify what help you believe that client will require if s/he is to successfully resume a healthy developmental pathway.
2. Describe one or more situations in your placement which you believe constituted actual or potential ethical dilemmas. Discuss what you believe to be both ethical and unethical responses to each situation, providing reasons to support your perspectives.

Learning Experience 4: Ethical Consideration 

1. Describe one or more situations in your placement which you believe constituted actual or potential ethical dilemmas. 
2. Discuss what you believe to be both ethical and unethical responses to each situation, providing reasons to support your perspectives. 

Learning Experience 5: Self Awareness

1. Describe what you believe have been your strengths and weaknesses in this practicum experience.
2. What implications do you believe these have for your career in the youth justice sector?
3. Indicate what remediation, if any, you intend to pursue to address any difficulties you encountered in this placement.

Learning Experience 6: Group Work Skills

Purpose: This learning experience will allow the student to demonstrate an ability to work effectively with both staff and client groups.

Process
Part 1: Staff Groups

The student will actively attempt to operate as a new team member in the setting. The only limitations in this respect should be those identified by the setting and will usually relate to legal or contractual matters beyond a student’s jurisdiction. In this role, the student is expected to participate in staff meetings, to ask questions and to share his/her own perspectives and insights regarding both clients and team process.

Part 1: Client Groups

The student will lead and/or co-lead group work exercises with the client groups. If at all possible, the student will design or adapt one or more group work exercise which will enhance the social or emotional functioning of the client group.

Part 2: Final Evaluation 

Working from prepared notes: (Please be prepared to share these with your site and college supervisors upon request.)
 

Staff Groups

Identify specific examples of where the student has acted in the role of a team member, giving specific examples of where the student has asked questions and shared his or her own perspectives and ideas regarding clients and team process.
 
Client Groups

Describe and evaluate the effectiveness of one or more group work sessions lead or co-lead by the student. The analysis should include clear reference to:

1. The stage of group development at which the group was functioning and examples to support this observation.
2. The roles occupied by various members of the group and examples to support these observations.
3. Skills used by the leader(s) to facilitate the work of the group and examples to support these observations.

Provide a copy of your plan to your college supervisor.