ZOE
This is the age at which youth in care lose protection services under Quebec’s Youth Protection Act.
What is 18 years old?
This developmental stage, described by Jeffrey Arnett, is a period between ages 18 and 25 when young people often feel “in-between” adolescence and adulthood.
What is Emerging Adulthood?
This form of oppression is not just about individual bias, it’s built into institutions like schools, child welfare, and healthcare. It can appear as harsher discipline for racialized youth or a lack of accommodations for youth with disabilities.
What is systemic oppression?
In Quebec, youth protection services end when a young person reaches this age.
What is 18?
This core value is demonstrated when a social worker recognizes that youth and young adults, despite difficult pasts or trauma, deserve respect and are capable of change and growth.
What is Respect for the Inherent Dignity and Worth of Persons?
This western Canadian province extended support for youth aging out of care up to 27 years old.
What is British Columbia?
According to Erikson, this psychosocial crisis is the main developmental task of adolescence, focused on exploring values, beliefs, and identity.
What is Identity vs. Role Confusion?
This scholar coined the term intersectionality, emphasizing that systems of oppression overlap and that we cannot look at race, gender, or ability in isolation, each identity shapes a person’s lived experience.
Who is Kimberlé Crenshaw?
Adult services often assume youth have these three skills when they age out of pediatric care.
What are independence, self-advocacy, and familiarity with bureaucracy?
This ethical value is shown when a social worker helps a racialized LGBTQ2S+ youth build self-advocacy skills while also pushing for inclusive housing policy.
What is the Pursuit of Social Justice?
This value from the CASW Code of Ethics calls on social workers to advocate for structural reforms. For example, extending care past 18 years old and developing inclusive policies that address the intersecting oppressions that youth face.
What is the pursuit of social justice?
In emerging adulthood, these people often replace parents as primary attachment figures, influencing how individuals handle intimacy.
Who are romantic partners?
What concept explains how race, gender, class, sexuality, and other identities interact to create unique experiences of oppression or privilege?
What is intersectionality?
This phrase refers to walking alongside youth and helping them manage big feelings or systems when things feel overwhelming.
What is being a co-regulator?
When youth are caught between child and adult systems, this principle compels social workers to act as consistent supporters and bridge fragmented services.
What is Service to Humanity?
This competency from the OTSTCFQ emphasizes understanding one’s role, values, and responsibilities as a social worker, particularly when guiding youth through major life transitions.
What is professional identity?
In trauma theory, this part of the brain continues developing during adolescence and affects impulse control, decision-making, and emotional regulation.
What is the prefrontal cortex?
What types of overlapping barriers might a 2SLGBTQ+ youth face in systems like health care, housing, or education?
What are discrimination, lack of affirming services, family rejection, and increased mental health risks?
These are two proactive steps social workers can take before a youth turns 18 to help prepare them for aging out of services.
What are explaining upcoming changes and connecting youth to community supports?
A social worker who updates their training in developmental theory and emerging adulthood research to better support youth after care is demonstrating this ethical principle.
What is Competence in Professional Practice?
This approach recognizes the impact of past trauma on a young person’s development and behaviour. It also emphasizes safety, trust, and empowerment, especially during major life transitions.
What is trauma-informed care?
In Polyvagal Theory, this term describes the nervous system’s shutdown or collapse response under extreme threat.
What is the Dorsal Vagal State?
This group may face compounded challenges like cultural disconnection, transphobia, systemic racism, and identity erasure while navigating the foster care system.
Who is a transgender Indigenous youth in care?
When youth age out of services at 18, transitions are rarely coordinated or guided by this type of approach.
What is a trauma-informed approach?
A youth aging out of care expresses frustration over broken promises from adults. When the social worker ensures follow-through and realistic expectations, they are practicing this value.
What is Integrity in Professional Practice?