IU Partnership Adds Child & Youth Care Certification and /Dual Credit at GRCC
IU partnership adds new child and youth care certification and dual credit at GRCC
A new partnership is helping more Grant Regional Career Center students earn college credit before they graduate high school.
Starting this school year, GRCC is partnering with Indiana University’s School of Public Health-Bloomington (IU SPH-B). This new link is providing student’s in GRCC’s human and social services class to earn dual credit: both high school credit that helps them meet the requirements for an Indiana high school diploma, and advanced college placement (ACP) credit through IU.
At GRCC, the human and social services pathway helps students develop child and youth work skills, focusing on the foundations of counseling and mental health services, family and community services, personal care, and consumer services.
The Principles of Human and Social Services course at GRCC is aligned with the Introduction to Child and Youth Care course at IU, part of the youth development program offered as both a major and minor on the IU-Bloomington campus.
“Mental health is a real challenge for youth in our world today. This is a powerful partnership between GRCC and Indiana University that provides life-changing opportunities for our students, as well as the communities in which our students live,” said Nathan McNeely, Director of Grant Regional Career Center.
In addition, students in the GRCC program have the opportunity to earn a foundational certification in the field.
“Our students are working toward entry level certification with the Child and Youth Care Certification Board,” GRCC instructor Jean Wright said. “Students who are completing the course and its associated requirements will take the CYCCB certification exam this month.”
The Indiana Youth Services Association oversees testing and offers other assistance with those looking to earn the CYC credential, as well as support for organizations that offer related training.
Due to the positive response this new opportunity has produced at GRCC, during the spring 2025 semester the class will be offered again to students in another GRCC pathway: early childhood education.
“This is such a great opportunity for our students to get IU credits and a taste of college-level instruction that leads to exciting career and college opportunities,” Wright said.
The class is co-taught with Dr. Deb Getz, associate clinical professor in the Department of Applied Health Science at IU SPH-B. Getz is passionate about creating empowering experiences for youths to support their positive development. She led the creation of the youth development major and minor in 2013 in response to an identified need for specialized skills and knowledge required to meet the unique challenges that youths experience in today's society. The program has grown significantly since its inception, now engaging about 150 majors and minors.
“Our youth are struggling with a variety of public health issues, including anxiety, depression, gun violence, bullying, and online exploitation,” Getz said. “Through this course, we are giving them tools to build their skills to work with youth while also building their own skills to continue their personal and professional development.”
With the certification option, graduates of this GRCC program can have an immediate impact on their communities, said Getz, who is also CYCCB president.
“Upon certification, they can enter jobs that serve youth in our communities, including afterschool programs, childcare, early childhood education, and local nonprofit agencies that serve our youth,” she said. “With their new knowledge and skills they can have a positive impact on the childcare crisis experienced locally and across the country.”
The workforce that provides child and youth services is estimated to be as high as 6 million people, the largest human services workforce in the U.S., according to a 2023 report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. This workforce services about 25 percent of the U.S. population, our children and youths. Together, GRCC and IU are educating future youth workers who will continue to impact the lives of everyone they teach throughout their career. Just as importantly, they are giving high school students the tools they need to succeed in their personal and professional lives.
For more information about this program or any other program at GRCC, contact GRCC Director Nathan McNeely, 765-664-9091 ext. 7051, or nmcneely@GRCC.works.
