youth worker

behavioral therapist

team leader

teacher

support worker

Bayfield Treatment Centres

I was a front line CCT worker at most of the houses at the Consecon location. I found the training for how to do restraint containment helpful, but the circumstances in which you actually use these situations are very different from how you're taught (keep this in mind). It's obvious a youth will not be as cooperative when they're going into crisis. In general, the job was stressful at times but presented opportunities for learning when the youth were well behaved. Some youth I was able to connect with, others I couldn't. Depending on the house you work in, there can be a "pecking order" among the youth and some of the youth's behaviors can be explained in terms of trying to assert themselves as "not weak" amongst their peers. This might look like running away, hurting staff, or just generally being argumentative or disobedient. From my time there, I can also say that I don't think all the youth's behaviors are simply from them acting out but sometimes the behavior of the staff can instigate a crisis. Staff might be overly "shutting down" what youth want to do, sometimes for no reason, leading to youth getting aggressive and propting a crisis or perhaps running away. There were multiple times where I felt a crisis could have been avoided if a staff had been more sympathetic to a youth, but it's quite normal for staff to be  "short" with the youth or perhaps overly assertive. I believe the job is more suited to you if you have that type of personality. I didn't feel the pay was quite adequate for the amount of risk for the job, even with the additional covid pay. There's a very high risk in this job that you'll be accused by the youth living in the homes of doing something wrong which can end up on your record (I don't think criminal record, but it depends on what we're talking about). You do get support from someone from the union in the case of an accusation, but from what I've seen there's not much consultation when this happens and you're mostly just left to tell the police and CAS what happened and kind of accept what they choose to do. That's not very assuring. You might also just be moved around to different houses if an accusation happens or just be given time off work. I'm not sure if the time off work from an accusation is paid or not but you can be off for awhile, sometimes a month. So I think there needs to be higher compensation for this risk. There's also risk of injury to yourself depending on the behavior of the youth. I've seen staff go off work for awhile because of injuries they've received from youth, so be aware of the risk. I wish that a lot of the training and things required for you to work in the houses was paid for by the company rather than out of pocket by staff coming in. This kind of bothered me since it feels like, if you're requiring someone to be CPR trained or get medical examinations, they should be covered since you'reaskingme to go out of my way to get them. Also, be aware that you'll likely be working 12hr shifts if you work in the houses and it's not uncommon for someone not to come in and no one's available to cover, and so you might have to stay (sometimes 24hrs) and it would probably be considered abandonment if you did leave. You're still generally not allowed to sleep though in this case, which was also a bit concerning because you would hope your employees to be vigilant given that nature of the job, but it's kind of hard to do that when you haven't slept in 24hrs. Even if you get employees sign off on being willing to work 24hrs, that doesn't seem to be in the best interests of the youth or the company because there's a greater chance of error occurring and more liability for everyone when employeesare sleep deprived. In my view, that policy shouldn't even exist, unless of course you allow employees to sleep. You will also generally make less per hour if you work overnight, so just be aware of that. Other than that, the job was generally ok and I liked going to school with the youth and watching them learn. I enjoyed interacting with the staff at the school as well. So overall the job can be stressful but sometimes rewarding, but there might be better options if some of the stuff mentioned above sounds stressful to you. Take it all into consideration. 

Was there three years and management will use you in whatever way you let them to until you're completely dry. They'll lie and cheat you in whatever way possible and if you say no, they'll essentially outcast you. There was 450+ staff in and out of the facility in my time at Bayfield. There are approx. 35 positions.

 One of the former staff had several allegations against him by a female youth and quit, lived with this youth in a romantic relationship only to later be in Napanee Jail for Child Luring. Bayfield had all the warning signs and turned a blind eye to this, as per usual. 

Bayfield doesn't train staff either than a single shadow shift and a few hours of policies and procedures. Their screening process for staff is almost non existent. A lot of mentally unstable folks get hired and do some very questionable things. Most staff hired are 18 or 19 years old and can barely tie their own shoes, never mind implement treatment plans for at risk youth for the 6 to 8000 monthly fees. 

They cut the food budget and have nearly no programming for the youth outside of the facility. It's basically the last place a child should go to for help. It's like hiring an 18 year old baby-sitter to deal with a behaviorally challenged youth without camera supervision, allowing them to physically intervene when necessary and medicate them when agitated or struggling to cope. 

There is minimal treatment going on and very few qualified staff (maybe 3 or 4 competent staff) to implement any sort of treatment. It's essentially a holding facility for children in the system to earn Larry Sanders and his ownership group a quick buck. They're completely detached and absent from the daily running of the facility. The owners don't even recognize or know which staff have been there 20 years. 

You'll be told that you must stay past your shift by the lazy and extremely unmotivated Support Staff. They'll essentially break every rule in the book but tell you that it's fine because they haven't been caught by CAS yet. Support staff will have you run around Consecon like a chicken with your head cut off while they sit inside of a van or their personal car, and take all the credit for your hours of counselling. 

Numerous youth had close calls to the morgue while I was there. Most of the time all of the incidents could have been prevented if there were competent staff being paid appropriate and proportional wages. 

Wages are awful. There is literally no advancement. They'll lie and tell you that there is hope to gain supervisor roles and string you along until you're fed up. 

Union is completely useless. A total waste of your hard earned money. 

They've had the same issues for over 10 years and they've not really changed a single thing. In fact, they cut a few positions then gave raises to some Dinosaurs that leave sometimes four hours early in their shift instead of actually teaching and training staff. 

There's such a lack of care and competency at Bayfield that you'll be astonished and completely baffled by your experience. They'll hire anyone with a heart-beat and without a criminal offense, so you'll get hired most likely. You'll also quit within a few weeks. My biggest regret is not quitting in my first 3 months and slaving away for the unappreciative supervisors and ownership.

BTC is by far the worst place I have ever worked! Years ago it was a pretty good place to work to gain experience and knowledge. Now all it is, is kids arguing kids! A majority of the staff are fresh out of school (which is not an issue but having NO senior staff to mentor it’s a huge problem) very immature staff who participate in the behaviours you are trying to curb from the youth. Staff are not trained enough especially with restraints, there is no training for suicide prevention/intervention (which you deal with daily), staff are scared of most youth (you are constantly wondering if you have support in your house), there is no support in place for staff after restraints or any other situations you may go through, no one follows up to see if staff are okay mentally or physically! Constantly short staffed, over worked. You work your 12 hr shift but can be forced to stay many hours after you are done. Overall, Bayfield is extremely unsafe and a horrible place to work, to be paid so little to deal with that mentally and physically draining situations everyday is not healthy. BTC only cares about the money, not the kids and definitely not their staff! Stay away there are many other places that are decent to gain experience and be paid what you are worth! 
There is a reason why so many of their houses were shut down and sold!

Working for bayfield for over three years was a good stepping stone, but over the years management became poor. 
You will suffer from emotional and physical abuse, with no compensation and have to fight to be paid when you have to take time off due to injury. 
Bayfield began to become desperate for staff and were hiring inexperienced and unqualified people. Extremely high turn over rate in this organization. Bad stigma attached to you for working at Bayfield unfortunately even if you’re not a staff that gave Bayfield a bad rep. 
Many staff are clique oriented and tend to spend their time gossiping with one another and not spending time with the youth. 
There is no room for growth in the organization and it is poorly run. 
It is a “treatment” centre but there is no “treatment” for the youth.  No ABA programs implemented in the homes or programs. No life skills programs, and no consequences for bad behaviour. 
HR is extremely difficult to work with and not understanding at all. 
Staff are over worked and under paid, and houses are usually left short staff with no help or support from management. 
If someone calls in, staff on the floor are expected to fill the shifts and if you can’t fill them which is more than likely someone will be working for 24+ hours.

Your experience here will depend on whether you're a full-time staff or a part-time staff. Within each home, each client has a primary worker that is basically their own full-time staff. The primary staff are the only full-timers within each house and they get treated very well by management, both in terms of pay and respect. If you get in full-time at Bayfield, you'll be fine.

The part-timers however, get treated like garbage. Our opinions and feedback don't matter at all. We are expected to attend regular team meetings to talk about the clients but our voices are never heard. Management only cares about the feedback and viewpoints of the primary workers and the primary workers have full say and control over the direction that the clients are going. The pay for part-time is the one of the lowest wages you'll find anywhere in the field. We've got primary workers gloating to part-time staff about how they're making 22 dollars an hour while the part-time workers are only getting 16. It's disgusting honestly because the part-timers are doing about 98% of the same work as the primary staff and yet, there's a massive difference in pay. Overall, I didn't feel appreciated or respected at all during my time here. Management has a VERY negative perception of part-time employees even though without part-time staff, the houses wouldn't be able to run properly.

A typical day at work.  Well, since I was working with Youth there was a daily routine set in place, but no day was ever the same.  We would take the Youth to school in the morning.  We would be responsible to help supervise in classrooms as well as hallway monitoring.  When we got home we had quiet time where the Youth would be in their rooms to relax and unwind, or do some homework.  We would then make dinner, and have activity time afterwards which could range from viewing a movie, an outing or just playing a sport outside. I learned a lot about a lot of different people.   I learned how to deal with people as well as being empathetic.  I learned patience which is a crucial asset in this particular job.

The management was great.  Always on top of things, and if there was an issue there was no issue to go directly to management.  There was a lot of different co-workers, but I never had any bad experiences with them.  Hardest part of the job was seeing any Youth have a relapse after a parental visit (like a drastic change in mood), oor reading case files and having to understand what the Youth had gone through.  Best part of my job was just being a therapeutic mentor for Youth that needed help and watching them overcome obstacles they may not have had they not been in Bayfield.

I loved my work. I loved the space I was given to contribute as a Child Care Therapist. Many things began to make sense the 'why' behind the way things are and that is when I chose to truly invest myself. This work is not a cakewalk, and it’s certainly not always a pleasant experience. But that’s what makes it meaningful.

I believe that challenges are inevitable wherever we go. And I welcomed every one of them. Some challenges arose from the nature of the work and environment, while others came because I chose to push myself. I committed to growth, and in doing so, I discovered a different version of myself. I learned to see every situation no matter how difficult it is ,as a tool for growth.  Being a mother added another layer of challenge in my personal life, and that too was a responsibility I had to carry with strength and grace.  In terms of leadership, I believe there is room for growth just as there is within me. To truly lead, one must walk in the shoes of the workers and experience the small but significant nuances that are often overlooked. I was mentored. I was trusted to handle things on my own. I was encouraged to expand my capacity.  

- awful
- no recognition or acknowledgement 
- no room to grow in the company
- no training provided to staff except physical restraint training, and medication training if you are full time
- unsafe and dangerous environment
- staff around you are like 19 and have no experience
- no actual therapeutic treatment or program in place, you are literally just told to keep them busy - no matter how badly the kids treat you or anyone else. glorified babysitter basically
- pay is TERRIBLE , my god its not even close to worth it
- you never know if you will actually leave on time because they might force you to stay (no overtime pay if they do, no perks)
- they say they have a program to support you with taking courses for professional development, after 10 years, i never saw them give anyone any money for this
- they say they have a program for gym reimbursement, its pennies on the dollar and they make it a pain to actually get it
- they do not value their employees at all or put any money into keeping them or training them

I could go on but Id run out of characters, moral of the story, run from this place. Find something else. Get your experience some where else. I promise you, you are better than this place. Your mental health will thank you.

Youth are not given treatment here.  This place is used just for money from upper management.  Safety for youth and staff is horrible.  CAS are friends with management as well as union reps ((previously employed by BAYFIELD). When allegations are made CAS dismisses them as false and reinstates staff who should not be working with these youth.  Food is not healthy and youth get sick.  Mental illnesses are not treated properly instead youth are "restrained" daily violently.   Aboriginal youth are not allowed to participate in their culture and on aboriginal day.   BAYFIELD is not a treatment facility and is more a group home that is made to make money off our children.   Would not recommend this place to parents hospitals or staff.     This place makes youth worse and does not contribute to a better life for them.  
Staff are treated poorly by management and get paid 13.06 (most these staff are 18 years old in college with no actual treatment skills.   Previous reviews must be done by management because there is nothing positive about this place.

I've loved working for Bayfield. The hours are flexible and easily balanced with a second job or post secondary schooling. The foster families are caring and welcoming and management is fantastic. All supervisors have been amazing to me, taking time to make sure I am comfortable in every situation and always available for debriefing. I've always felt appreciated and valued in the team (which is an important thing for me and has kept me at Bayfield for so long). I love being able to work with a wide range of ages and a wide range of needs. Working in family model foster homes is fun because you can build relationships with youth in a laid back setting and there is a sense of family oftentimes. There is lots of driving involved with the job but also opportunities to participate in lots of fun activities with the kids.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Youth worker 17 salaries reported	$23.00 per hour
Behavioral therapist 11 salaries reported	$30.26 per hour
Team leader 4 salaries reported	$66,633 per year
Teacher 1 salary reported	$62,729 per year
Support worker 2 salaries reported	$24.88 per hour

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