The main argument is that the philosophies, ideologies, and values of child and youth care staff and supervisors working in group care settings must adhere to a single set of attitudes and values to provide consistency. This is particularly important in large organizations that employee a large number of staff. Child and youth care organizations must strive to provide a coherent parenting, teaching, and developmental program. Such a goal is a far cry from the current business-as-usual within group care that generally involves a collection of different types of workers with different personalities and values who are responsible for a collection of different types of young people with a variety of problems. The author maintains that this type of problem is inherent and difficult to resolve when different types of people have to work together to provide therapeutic services for children and young people. Disparities among workers can be minimized and managed by developing an action plan that defines a care and treatment program for children and young people. Such an action plan would detail specific actions of workers and establish clear boundaries within which services are to be provided. The author provides an outline for developing a program action plan that includes seven sections focusing on: (1) a social policy mandate and philosophy for the program; (2) considerations of child development and orientations to group learning; (3) links with family, peers, and significant others; (4) staffing and staff development; (5) key worker responsibilities; (6) evaluation and staff performance; and (7) program development and evaluation. The author uses a case study of a group home worker during one of his shifts to illustrate main points. In general, action plans can reduce the level of conflict, competition, or despair that can develop in daily practice. Note, references