Q&A with members of the Trellis Group Care team.

The Group Care program at Trellis provides care to youth who have status with the Ministry of Children’s Services, or in other words, youth who are a part of the ‘system of care’ in our province.
We sat down with a few members of our Group Care team to learn about this program and how it supports youth who find themselves navigating a complex system.

 Q. What exactly is Group Care?

Group care is a program that provides a safe, therapeutic and supportive home-like atmosphere
for youth. Our group care homes are staffed 24 hours per day by trained youth development workers who are responsible for the primary care, safety and development of youth.

 Q. How do youth end up in the system of care?

The important thing to know is that a child or youth comes into care at no fault of their own. Nor is it a reflection on how much they love or are loved by their parents. Children and youth enter care because there is some type of risk to their safety that can’t be mitigated by adding supports to the family.

 Q. What is a typical length of stay in a group home?

The length of stay in a group home is different for every youth, but our hope is 18 months at the most. Our goal isn’t to help youth find long-term stability at one of our seven group homes; the real goal is to help youth build healthy relationships with the natural supports in their life so that they can return home or to live in an environment that feels more ‘normal’ or natural. It’s hard on kids being raised by strangers. Our number one priority as youth development workers in group care is to advocate for youth in our program so that they can find success in their lives for the long-term.

 Q. How is Group Care different from Foster Care?

Both group care and foster care provide safe, supportive home-like environments for youth, but here are a few differences:

•  Youth in group care are supported by trained staff who rotate shifts in the home and provide targeted support based on a youth’s needs. Youth in foster care are supported by trained foster parents who invite youth into their daily routines and family traditions.

• Group care supports youth ages 13 to 18, while foster care supports children and youth ages 0 to 18.

• Youth who come into group care typically have experience living in foster care, but it wasn’t the right fit for their needs.

• Youth in group care live with other youth who are experiencing their own challenges; in foster care this typically isn’t the case.

Q. What is a normal day like in group care?

When you bring six teenagers together into one home, you don’t really ever have a “normal” day; every day brings its own unique highs and lows, just like in each of our own lives. There are however some typical routines and expectations for youth in group care.

Monday through Friday, youth go to some sort of day program - that can be school, work experience or something similar. Every morning our staff help youth get up, get ready and get to wherever they need to be. There is free time after school and then we have dinner as a household. We encourage youth to help out with cooking and cleaning up afterwards as it’s a great time to engage in conversation with them and it also teaches great skills for when they live independently one day. Some nights youth will invite their friends and family over for dinner, which we love! Evenings are a mix of free time and programming where we work on things like physical activity, coping skills, self care and setting boundaries.

Throughout the week and on weekends we encourage youth to take part in some sort of extra curricular activity that interests them. Also on weekends we see a lot of youth go spend time with their natural supports - these are supportive friends and adults in their lives who help foster healthy relationships and long term stability. A huge piece of our work in group care is helping youth connect with their natural supports, or in other words, we help them find ‘their people.’