social worker

mental health technician

food service worker

behavioral specialist

Ministry of Children and Family Development

I worked for this organization for more than two decades, and I sincerely urge anyone with a good brain, the capacity for critical thinking, and some inclination toward self-preservation to find another outlet for their wish to help others. That's a laudable motivation, and one that society needs, but believe me, YOU don't need the hopeless imbroglio, the mind-f*** that is MCFD.  

If you've read through the reviews of this employer on the site, you'll notice how many of them are submitted by people who are far removed from the front line of child protection--admin assistants, IT types, finance, supervisors, guardianship, resource/resort workers, clinicians, behaviourists... you get my drift. For many of them, it's maybe not a bad job (even if the organization is persistently screwy).  Stockholm syndrome is a contagion, though,and the Ministry's non-chlld protection staff are as vulnerable as anyone.  Don't listen to MCFD's cheerleaders who'll sing the agency's praises.  Ask to see the statistics for sick leave, disability claims, "churn" (staff turnover, by job classification), and rates of promotion among front line protection staff.  It's beyond discouraging.  

If by chance you're a parent or friend of a young person who's thinking of pursuing a career with MCFD, please, do them a kindness and tell them to look elsewhere, anywhere.   A feeling of accomplishment, a sense of satisfaction and pride at a job well done...all that can be achieved, WITH your health and self-respect intact; just steer clear of the MCFD shitshow.

What is the best part of working at the company?
They promised me lots of support but gave me none, then threw me under the bus.... Brought back a lot of memories about how I was treated when I was in care!

I can't operate like that! 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Then throwing me under the bus! 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
No support and horrible treatment....

Fake people who don't care about the kids!

I'm not blaming the workers, it's the whole system...

The ministry of children families were implemented to eradicate the native species and separate the children from their homes...

Working with the ministry made me aware of the system hasn't changed other than their attempt to make it seem like they're trying to help....

I can assure you with the system in place makes it impossible for them to help anyone..... 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Isolated with no support, as well as getting scrutinized and tested at every turn....

They promised me the world, tried to pay me as little as possible, and as soon as I refuse to put the children at risk I was given notice....

The concept of integrating Northern Health with MCFD to reunite children with their families is a good one.
The caseload was appropriate as each family needs more intensive help than regular caseloads for CPW
Networking with the Aboriginal community needed to be addressed.
Co-workers were competitive and not united in doing the job.
If one co-worker had more success in working with a family than the previous co-worker did defensive feelings came to the surface and sabatouge existed.
Needed separate facilities and needed to change the hours.
M-F 8:30 to 4:30 was not working.
T-S 10:am to 6pm would have been better.
One person on intake
One on groups etc.
Too many people wanting the program to succeed and creating/making that to happen.
Success is fluid and changes
It is not static
Again the concept was good but the impementation of the program fell short.

I embarked on my social work career later in life, and moved to a tiny town to get started.  I found that the office environment is quite dysfunctional, and management works collaboratively with a team leader to ensure that no one feels safe and comfortable.  They play games, and they thrive on it.  Coming to work and putting in your 100% is not going to cut it... they have been here a long time and they will pick on you for fun.  Trust me.

Having said that, I know that there are much healthier MCFD offices in the province.  My advice to you is go with your gut, and don't be too eager to get into the ministry or start your social work career like I was.  Keep your options open, and really evaluate what you're sacrificing to come work in tiny little MCFD offices.

I supervisor a very busy child protection team. My day consistence of review any memo's from the previous night, providing consultation to the social workers on the team. Working the our office Manager to ensure a smooth running of the office, supervision, assisting the social workers, where needed, attending court (when necessary), building a positive work environment. Ensuring staff have had lunch.
...
Hardest part of the job, not enough hours to do everything, so prioritizing is very important and self-care. I am very strength based in my practise.
...
I am a very hands on supervisor and believe in working as a team.
...
Most enjoyable part, the team and success in the families I work with. I believe we all have the strength and abilities to work on what we need to, sometimes we just need the help. I do not hesitate to being intrusive when needed.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The team I had was fantastic, can’t speak highly enough of some of the people there. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
High workload, unrealistic timelines, constant threats from families (which is hard because people are unwell so you get it), gossip and bullying in the Ministry 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
If you are on a safe and supportive team it’s amazing. Overall it’s a pretty toxic culture, unkind to younger staff, doesn’t welcome new ideas, gossip, bullying and favouritism 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Hard to say it was constantly putting out fires

What is the best part of working at the company?
My co-workers are supportive and create a positive environment.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Management does nothing to support and when asked they just tell you to figure it out. Minimal support is given to the rural offices that I work in. They would rather have the office closed when someone calls in sick than to send someone to cover.   

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Work environment is stressful because the situations that we deal with and I feel like the culture that they try to create to just to mask the undesirable office politics.

I had 8 years with this employer.  The office cultures vary.  Despite having many good years with high performance reviews, when I relocated to Vancouver Island I encountered a Director of Operations who enabled terrible treatment from a manager. As the 4th long time staff impacted by these people, there was no recourse for any of us even through our union.  If you get a feeling a hiring manager is odd or off in any way, trust yourself!  

I truly enjoy working for MCFD - through my program area, we are responsible for ensuring families throughout BC have access to childcare through daycare subsidy. 
A typical day at work includes hearing from parents, foster parents, social workers and care providers about their appreciation and gratitude of our program. We make a difference in people's lives by helping them afford childcare. 
The hardest part of the job is the becoming aware of situations where children are in unsafe conditions and in contrast, the best part of the job is being able to assist in changing those children's lives for the better.

I enjoyed my time working for the Ministry. Most days I was creating and styling websites, writing documentation, and working with helpful staff who respected me. I had guidance from my team's manager who was a very kindly and interesting lady. 

The most difficult part of the job was occasionally needing to wait for someone else somewhere in the organization to complete work that my task depended on, so I would say that there's some bottlenecks somewhere in the organization. The best part of the job was being able to communicate quite openly with my coworkers.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Social worker 3 salaries reported	$76,333 per year
Mental health technician 1 salary reported	$36.23 per hour
Food service worker 1 salary reported	$23.96 per hour
Behavioral specialist 1 salary reported	$29.23 per hour

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