The Mark Krueger Youth Worker Activities Fund
History
Dr. Mark Krueger, former Professor of Youth Work at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, was a venerable, internationally respected and beloved practitioner, scholar, and leader in the field of Child and Youth Care; establishing it as a crucial and unique human service.
His career spanned more than 40 years and benefited not only children and youth worldwide, but also the careers of many Child and Youth Care workers who were empowered by his teachings, writings, leadership, and advocacy. These qualities, along with his compassion, creativity and modesty, were infused in his activities with youth and his dedicated focus on the interactive, dynamic and relational aspects of child and youth work. Dr. Krueger held a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Master’s and Doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His entrance into the field of child and youth work began in the late 1960s when he served over a period of eight years as a frontline Child and Youth Care worker and supervisor at the Lutheran Children’s Friend Society in Milwaukee. This was followed by service as a Child and Youth Care program coordinator and supervisor at Lakeside Children’s Center also in Milwaukee.
In 1979, Dr. Krueger founded the Child and Youth Work Learning Center (now known as the Youth Work Learning Center) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The model of this Center, based on integrating theory and practice, became internationally recognized as an effective means of training and educating child and youth workers and advancing professionalization of the field.
Also a talented and prolific writer, Dr. Krueger made a major contribution to the professional literature of the Child and Youth Care field. He was the Founding Editor of the Journal of Child and Youth Care Work, a publication designed to give the field a distinct voice by encouraging direct line workers to contribute alongside scholars. He authored numerous widely disseminated books on various aspects of Child and Youth Care work such as: Intervention Techniques for Child/Youth Care Workers; From Careless to Caring for Troubled Youth; Images of Thought: Presence, Place, Motion, Rhizomes, Lunch; Noise in Child and Youth Care and; Sketching Youth, Self and Youth Work.
Later in his career, Dr. Krueger not only wrote novels and short stories with a child and youth work flavor (including Floating, In Motion, and Buckets), but he also contributed dozens of shorter articles to the professional literature, developed educational materials, and served on the Editorial Boards for a number of journals related to the field.
Dr. Krueger was active in many professional organizations in Child and Youth Care work. He organized and hosted several professional gatherings including Taos, New Mexico, a think tank meeting of leaders in the field as well as an international conference in Milwaukee co-sponsored by the International Federation of Educative Communities (FICE). He was Chair of the International Leadership Coalition for Child and Youth Care and served a term as President of the National Association of Child Care Workers (NOCCWA).
Because of his extensive knowledge, special viewpoints and ability to engage an audience, Dr. Krueger was invited to be the keynote speaker at numerous Child and Youth Care conferences and he regularly consulted to Child and Youth work service agencies and educational institutions throughout North America.
His accomplishments were honored by numerous awards, including Distinguished Service awards from ACYCP, The National Association of Homes and Services for Children, and the Albert E. Trieschman Center. Furthermore, the University of Wisconsin recognized him with The UW Extension/Colleges Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to work preparing professionals to work with at-risk youth.
Derived from excerpts prepared by Karen VanderVen, Professor Emerita, Department of Psychology in Education, University of Pittsburgh October 6, 2014
Description and Criteria
Despite his numerous academic and professional achievements, Dr. Krueger never lost the common touch and his identification with the challenges facing line child care workers. Like many in the field, Dr. Krueger, fleet and graceful as a deer, was athletic and loved to play. Many of his colleagues remember forgoing the formal lunch at a conference and going for a run with him instead, or engaging in a spirited game of pick-up basketball.
Friend and colleague to youth and youth workers around the world, Mark Krueger believed in the power of the "rhythm and presence" of relationship.
To honor and continue the care he shared with all of us, we have established this fund to provide small mini grants to workers and youth as they spend time together playing basketball, enjoying the outdoors, writing poetry, traveling to other countries----all of the activities that Mark loved the most!
Application Process/Form
We are not accepting applications for the fund at this time. The next application period will be announced on this website.
Past Recipients
2016
Neu-Life Community Development Boys Basketball Team (Milwaukee, WI)
Donating to the Fund
All donations are greatly appreciated. Please speak to your financial advisor regarding whether your donation is tax-deductible. Letters acknowledging your donation will be issued for all donation amounts.
We are sincerely grateful for your support!