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On Education Planner BC, select the "Child and Youth Care Diploma" program.
Please refer to the September 2026 Program Guidelines for more information, including admission requirements.
Gain the skills to work with at-risk children, youth and their families through the two-year Diploma in Child and Youth Care program. You’ll learn how to make a difference in the life of a child or adolescent dealing with abuse, neglect, addiction or family breakdown and who may have behavioural or learning difficulties.
Once you graduate, you’ll be qualified for frontline positions working directly with children and youth in schools, community centres, parent-child education settings, residential settings, programs for street-involved youth, addictions services and more.
Take the Child and Youth Care Diploma online
The Child and Youth Care Diploma offers both online and in-person options. The online option allows you to study and complete the diploma from the comfort of your own home and get practical experience within your own community, while the in-person option is offered at our Coquitlam Campus.
Don’t meet the English requirement for this program?
If you do not meet the English proficiency requirements, you can register for Douglas College English Upgrading courses. No placement test is required for Child and Youth Care applicants. Email upgrading@douglascollege.ca and ask about the English Upgrading pathway to Child and Youth Care.
Applicants must meet the admission requirements listed below:
Following an offer of admission to the program:
Calculate your tuition and see the approximate cost of taking your program at Douglas College with the tuition and fee estimator. See costs broken down into categories including tuition fees, textbooks, student activity fees, U-Pass and more.
For more information, refer to the tuition fee charts.
Graduation Requirements:
Course Requirements (see note 1)
|
Course Number |
Course Title |
Credits |
|
Introduction to CYC Practice or Introduction to Indigenous Child and Youth Care Practice |
3.00 |
|
|
Introduction to Community or Working In Communities |
3.00 |
|
|
Relationship Building with Children and Youth |
3.00 |
|
|
Choose one from the following two options: |
||
|
Change and Development: Lifespan |
3.00 |
|
|
Lifespan Human Development |
3.00 |
|
|
Choose one from the following three options: |
||
|
Academic Writing |
3.00 |
|
|
Workplace Writing for Applied Community Studies |
3.00 |
|
|
Business Communication |
3.00 |
|
|
Required Courses: |
||
|
CYCC 2432 (see note 3) |
Indigenous Perspective and Experience |
3.00 |
|
Continuum of Substance Use |
3.00 |
|
|
Support Change in the Life-Space |
3.00 |
|
|
Activity Programming with Children and Youth |
3.00 |
|
|
Mental Health in Childhood and Adolescence |
3.00 |
|
|
Working with Others in Groups |
3.00 |
|
|
Change and Development Families: Working from a Family Perspective or Families:Working from an Indigenous Perspective |
3.00 |
|
|
Diversity in CYC Practice |
3.00 |
|
|
The Professional Community: Policies, Standards, Legislation and Children or Indigenous Children, Youth and Families: Tranforming Legislation and Policies |
3.00 |
|
|
Family Violence, Abuse and Recovery |
3.00 |
|
|
Electives |
Any six 1000-4000-level elective credits that are University Transferable and/or from CFCS, CCSW, CSCT, DACS, ECED, AIST, INTR, SOWK, THRT, and/or YJWD. |
6.00 |
|
Practicum I |
4.50 |
|
|
Practicum II |
4.50 |
|
|
Total credits |
60.00 |
|
Notes:
1. To complete the program efficiently, students should:
2. CYCC 1112, CYCC 1142, CYCC 2212, and CYCC 2332 are part of the Indigenous Pathway. The Indigenous Pathway is designed to be an introduction to post-secondary education. Students can take their time adjusting to college-level studying by taking four courses over the span of two semesters. These four classes can be used towards the CYC program (as described in the bullet points below) and other Applied Community Studies programs. This program welcomes all Indigenous and non-Indigenous students with priority spaces for Indigenous students.
3. Students who completed CYCC 1112, 1142, 2212, and 2332, as a part of the Indigenous Pathway (see note 2) are not required to take CYCC 2432. They must instead take any 3.00 credits of 1000-level or higher UT elective or 3.00 credits of 1000-level or higher CFCS, CCSW, CSCT, DACS, ECED, AIST, INTR, SOWK, THRT, or YJWD course in place of CYCC 2432.
Program Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this program and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the program, consider the previous version as the applicable version.
Child and Youth Care Counsellors (CYCC) work with children, youth and families who are experiencing social, emotional or behavioural stress. What distinguishes CYCC from other helping professions is that we work with people in their daily environments.
This career involves dealing with people. That means that good interpersonal skills are a must. This field also involves dealing with people who are experiencing stress and crisis in their lives. Many of the children and youth we work with present very challenging behaviours. To thrive you need to be able to deal with stress and challenging behaviours. You also need to understand the difference between being a caring helper and being a rescuer. If you need people to need you, this is not the profession for you.
Being an effective Child and Youth Care Counsellor also involves an ongoing commitment to your own personal growth. The people we work with constantly challenge our notions of who we are.
The Faculty of Applied Community Studies offers specialized upgrading classes for students looking to enter human services programs at Douglas. If you do not meet the English language entrance requirement, this is a good option for you. See Upgrade for Human Service Programs for more information.
Yes. Both the diploma and degree programs are offered on a part-time basis.
The Child and Youth Care Counsellor Diploma is a two-year program that will provide you with a diploma upon completion. It will prepare you for a variety of jobs in the child and youth care field. If you complete the diploma, you can also transfer into third year of the degree program at Douglas or into a related degree program at a number of other universities.
The Bachelor of Arts in Child and Youth Care is an additional two years of study that you can complete after you complete the two-year Diploma program (4 years total). Earning your degree will allow you to work in more advanced and higher-paying jobs in the child and youth care field, as well as open more doors for further continuing your education.
Yes. All the CYC degrees in British Columbia are considered equivalent. University of Victoria, Malaspina University College, University College of the Fraser Valley and Douglas College all offer equivalent degrees. All of the programs are members of the Child and Youth Care Educators Consortium and teach to the same learning outcomes. The programs work in partnership with other institutions in British Columbia and Alberta that offer CYC diploma and degree programs.
There is no standard rate of pay. At the starting end, some private contractors pay about $15 per hour. At the higher end, unionized settings pay $19 to $22 per hour. Degree graduates working in supervisory or advanced positions can earn significantly higher salaries.
Practicums are supervised worksite learning sessions. You will go and work in a child and youth care setting, giving you the opportunity to practice skills learned in the classroom. Both the diploma and degree program include practicums. For more information, see the Worksite Learning page.
Excellent - surveys of graduates show an employment rate of virtually 100%. See the Employment page for more details on employment opportunities for graduates.
Career opportunities include: