Research Guides: Child and Youth Care: Websites

Evaluate your Sources!

STAR Test

A good assignment starts with quality information. You can evaluate the resources you find online using the STAR test, which evaluates websites on the following:

Source

Who is the author?
Who is making the information available?
What are their credentials or qualifications?
What makes them an authority on this subject?
Is the source biased or expressing opinion or trying to sell something?
Choose sources that are credible and relatively objective.

Time

When was the information published or last updated?
Does the date of publication matter to your assignment?
- For example, if you are working on a current event, or a science or health topic, you will need something that has been published recently.
If you are working on a historical topic, currency may not be as important.

Accuracy

Is the information free of spelling, grammatical and technical errors?
Where did the information come from?
Look for information or references that can be verified.

Relevance

Is the information free of spelling, grammatical and technical errors?
Where did the information come from?
Look for information or references that can be verified.

Grey Literature Sources

Grey literature is not always easy to find but the extra work you put into finding quality information will show in your completed project.

In addition to the websites listed, here are a handful of places to look for Grey Literature:

Websites can be a valuable resource since information is often current and not out of date.
Use a critical eye when using the web for research by using the STAR Test.
Look for pages or tabs labeled Resources, Reports, Publication for information that might be particularly useful.
Below is a select listing of websites that may be useful for your studies, assignments, and research:

Child and Youth Care Websites

Adoption Council of Canada
Alberta Government Children and Family Supports Adoption, child care, parenting, guardianship, foster and kinship care, and other family supports.
Assembly of Seven Generations (A7G)
BearPaw Legal Education Resources
Canadian Association for Young Children (CAYC)
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - Children & Youth
Canadian Child Care Federation Canadian Child Care Federation – committed to best practice in early childhood education. Our organization is about the value of children. We value children. In order to protect and enhance our children, to promote their safety and their healthy growth and development, we are committed to providing Canadians with the very best in early learning and child care knowledge and best practices. Our tools are research and knowledge dissemination, the creation and nurturing of active networks.
Canadian Child Welfare Research Portal The Portal is designed to provide child welfare professionals, researchers, and the general public with a single point of access to Canadian child welfare research, i.e. research on abused and neglected children and on the programs and policies developed to support and protect these children and to support their families.
Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children
Child and Youth Care Association of Alberta
Child Welfare League of Canada Established in 1994, CWLC is a national, membership-based charitable organization dedicated to promoting the safety and well-being of young people and their families, especially those who are vulnerable and marginalized. We advocate for and promote legislation, policy, research, programs, and services that address the underlying causes of precarity and trauma. We convene leaders, organizations, researchers, governments, and people with lived experience to learn and improve our practices.
Crisis Prevention Institute
CYC Net The International Child and Youth Care Network (CYC-Net) is a registered non-profit and public benefit organisation in South Africa. It's main objectives are (primarily through the nternet and electronic media) – “to promote and facilitate reading, learning, information sharing, discussion, networking, support and accountable practice amongst all who work with children, youth and families in difficulty.”
Family Service Canada
First Nation Caring Society The Caring Society works to ensure the safety and well-being of First Nations youth and their families through education initiatives, public policy campaigns and providing quality resources to support communities.
Inner City Youth Edmonton Our Youth Engagement Program reaches youth at the street level, providing needed support that bridges them to an eventual high school diploma. Our unique approach allows us to work with youth in a more holistic way, assisting them in creating their path towards their goals and a brighter future.
A Statistical Snapshot of Youth at Risk and Youth Offending in Canada - Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada - Children and youth
Stop family violence resources These pages provide web links to information for professionals working with Canadians who are affected by family violence. This includes professionals who provide social, legal, health or other important response services to victims and perpetrators of family violence, and those who are working to prevent family violence.
The Vanier Institute of the Family
UNICEF - Adolescents
Youth health - Government of Canada

Diversity and Inclusion

Canadian Race Relations Foundation he Canadian Race Relations Foundation (“Foundation”) was created by the Government of Canada (“Government”) as a Crown Corporation in 1996, as part of the Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement, to reaffirm the principles of justice and equality for all in Canada. As a signatory to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Canada has resolved to adopt all necessary measures for speedily eliminating racial discrimination in all its forms and manifestations.
Diversity Toolkit - University of Calgary This site is part of a funded project to assist teachers, students, scholars or any activists who wish to promote equity and the acceptance of differences within schools and communities.
PFLAG Canada Pflag Canada is a national charitable organization, founded by parents who wished to help themselves and their family members understand and accept their LGBTQ2S children.
Skipping Stone Skipping Stone connects trans and gender diverse youth, adults, and families with comprehensive and low barrier access to the support they need and deserve.

Professional Development Courses - The Open University

Children and young people’s participation
This free course, Children and young people's participation, emphasises that the adoption of an integrated approach to participation by different sectors of the children's workforce is of crucial importance.
Introduction to adolescent mental health
This course will help to provide you with the tools to explore different approaches which will help you reflect on the different ways that you can identify a young person who is struggling and consider how they can access support.
Working with diversity in services for children and young people
This free course, Working with diversity in services for children and young people, will provide you with an understanding of the ways in which diverse and intersecting social identities structure the lives and experiences of children and young people, and the implications of those identities for professional practice.
Race and Youth Policy: working with young people
This course will look at the meaning of social policy, how it works as a mechanism of persuading people to behave in specific ways, its role in shaping our understandings of young people, and the role practitioners can play in mediating and influencing policy.
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NOTE - this course specifically focuses on Black and Muslim Asian British youth.
Professional relationships with young people
This free course, Professional relationships with young people, explores different approaches in developing relationships and working practices which can inform work with young people.

NorQuest College Library