social worker

administrative assistant

social work supervisor

family support counselor

clinical supervisor

Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services

Many new employees are hired on as casual workers until a certain amount of time is spent as the organization is unionized and works with seniority. I was lucky enough to be hired on as a full time employee right away. 

The company culture was fun, easygoing and very comfortable and there were a lot of perks in terms of earned flex days and company retreats and fun outtings. 

As this organization is under the umbrella of the the MCFD, government procedures must be adhered to, including a bureaucratic process of a hierarchical nature. The envirnment can be stressful as children and youth are taken away from their families. Parents and youth can be angry and confrontational but it is expected in this industry at any social services environment. 

For support staff, there is a ceiling on what you can earn and the only way for advancement is to obtain a SAS title, which is the supervisor of the admin staff for the office. The pay is only a little bit more and usually longer hours. 

For social workers, the pay is comparable and competitive, particularly for more experienced social workers. Hours are somewhat flexible for social workers and those with seniority have many allocated vacation days as well as flex days. 

The company culture is very family-oriented and friendly here with a lot of fun things to do culturally. 

Support staff are encouraged to become involved in different events, helping to organize or plan or contribute to different groups. This is great for advancement in other areas later on.

My experience working at VACFSS has been nothing but positive. Being a co-op student, I was looking for an opportunity where I could be supported to learn and have a mentor to help me through it. I work in a small department where it's just my supervisor and I, and it's very busy. I was given the opportunity to be involved in as many initiatives as I was interested in being part of, and of which many were outside of the standard responsibilities of that co-op position. As a result, what I have learned in my short time here (about 5 months) would probably correspond to a year or more of experience in a full-time communications coordinator role. 

My supervisor has also been flexible with my schedule and allowed me to work compressed hours to allow me to continue to go to school and finish my degree. I worked autonomously, and always encouraged to think creatively and really made to feel like I was a part of the team, and that my opinion was valued.  

It's a very supportive environment, free of gossip and competitiveness. The agency cares about its staff, and has gone the extra mile to help create a healthy work-life balance and providing in-house resources for stress and mental health support. For instance, they bring in a yoga instructor every week, masseuse twice per month, a full-time Elder who is there to support you through any work-related or personal issues. They also hold regular cultural practices such as smudges, which I found to be an amazing experience. 

There is also free parking around all three offices which is an extra bonus.

This is a great organization that is committed to helping children and youth in care and find them the best homes possible and working with families to provide as much support to families with a desire to be better parents. Because of the commitment of the staff and the occasional stress of the environment, there are perks, such as team days, flex days (days off earned with extra time worked), awards for long term commitments, and a decent salary and benefits (medical/dental and pension) offered as compensation for that commitment. The staff also volunteer and get involved in events with the foster parents and the youth, are well-trained, make sure the environment is safe from violence and hazards and get to enjoy the occasional cultural excursions and staff retreats.

This is the best employment opportunity that I have encountered. The staff was tremendous, helpful, and very diligent with work ethics. I loved filing in the back I worked at my own pace but made sure I kept on working. I learned how to use excel spreadsheets, and Outlook for the job requirements. The management team was so helpful and very kind hearted, understanding, and they showed a lot of compassion. My coworkers were all great team players at taking turns looking after front desk while someone went on a break, or they would help when I didn't know what to do, as I was new there. I would say the hardest part was learning how to use Outlook when first started. The most enjoyable part was when I got to drive and deliver Christmas presents for the company.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Flex time, kind and empathetic staff and leadership team.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Not enough training/guidance when starting the job. Workload is too much. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Lots of humor, kind, supportive team, respectful. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Either in office doing paperwork and admin tasks like care plans, referals, emails, or out on visits with children and youth.

On the outside it sounds good. However, there are systemic issues within VACFSS that enables the society to keep employees. The turnover in staff is unbelievable. The social workers are under trained and over worked. The intense and complicated files burn people out. Leadership team lacks credibility and skill. Upper management has no clue what to do with the child protection department as it falls apart. 

work day 8:30am to 4:30pm
know the job description
management needs to communicate with all staff
needs more cultural/traditional outlook
hardest part of the job was guessing about what is going on, having no communication from higher levels of staff, being indigenous and looked at as lowly people
the most enjoyable part of my job was working with the clients

if you are a person who can work very independently and have a strong stomach for human tragedy, this is very meaningful work, and a really fun job atmosphere. If you are young, new, and feel that you would need a fair bit of guidance to get your bearings, you probably won't last in this organization as it is a VERY fast-paced work environment with not a lot of consistent leadership.

Typical day at work was very busy meeting deadlines and keeping documents up to date in files.  I learned how prioritize the work and good communication is very essential in the workplace. Understanding the workplace culture is very important the values in the policies.  The hardest part of the job when you are dealing with clients experiencing difficult situations. The enjoyable part of the job when you accomplish your work flow and when you balance worksheets.

The staff are great and are supportive to one another but there’s a lack of support from management to support staff. Training is limited and you just get throw  into the job because everyone else is so overworked. Staff eventually burn out and there’s barely any support for your mental health. 
On a brighter note, you get regular wage increases for cost of living adjustments and there’s lots of opportunities for extra training and cultural activities. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Social worker 10 salaries reported	$80,611 per year
Administrative assistant 5 salaries reported	$53,369 per year
Social work supervisor 3 salaries reported	$62,883 per year
Family support counselor 3 salaries reported	$79,515 per year
Clinical supervisor 5 salaries reported	$103,332 per year

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