youth counselor

case manager

youth specialist

life skills trainer

family support specialist

Boys-&-Girls-Aid

During my tenure, I dedicated myself to an 8-hour daily shift, consistently engaging in floor activities and maintaining cleanliness within the living spaces. Regrettably, I observed a disparity in the work culture, where seasoned staff often secluded themselves in an office, disengaged with both clients and newer colleagues like myself. The work environment appeared cliquish, and recognition from management seemed to favor those conforming to the existing status quo.

Notably, I perceived a lack of emphasis on trauma-informed practices, cultural diversity, and equity, particularly for employees without proximity to whiteness. It became apparent that mediocrity was rewarded, while hard work and innovative ideas were undervalued, disregarded, or rejected. The daily challenges included navigating racial micro-aggressions, experiencing unwarranted sexualization from leadership and peers, and enduring a perception of incompetence despite being overqualified for the role I passionately undertook.

Despite these difficulties, the role provided opportunities to connect with youth striving for personal growth and seeking support. However, it remains crucial to address the systemic issues affecting the work culture for the betterment of both employees and the organization as a whole.

WARNING: As a direct care worker you are never taken seriously or treated like a professional at this company. You WILL get burnt out because middle management is petty, lazy, unprofessional, reckless and counterproductive, and upper management is either oblivious or protecting their underlings. Working with kids in the foster care system is heartbreaking and challenging enough without having to constantly fight for decent working conditions and face intimidation and gaslighting for doing so. Despite a year of attempting to change things about the Nest program, many hardworking, passionate direct care workers (myself included) quit en masse because of dangerous and unsustainable working conditions.

This was a great workplace where each day was an adventure. It was great working with all the girls on their skills and seeing the progress week by week. The hardest part of the job was seeing some girls stumble in their decision making when you can clearly see a bright future ahead of them. The most satisfying part is investing yourself and your talents into them, being a support when perhaps no one else in their life was. It was a joy to work with these girls and understand their life and their path, and hopefully help them grow in a way that allows them to choose the best option for themselves. Management was keen on communication and would always be there to support you and ask you how you are doing, help you if they see room for improvement, and always encourage you to do your best. The management really cared for this program and you could see their passion in their work.

PROGRAM DIRECTOR – Court Appointed Special Advocates of Tillamook County

•	Recruited, trained, supervised and evaluated community volunteers to serve as CASAs for children in the juvenile justice system and child welfare system.
•	Responsible for total program management including curriculum design/implementation, resource development (fundraising), board development, marketing and promotion of program, coordination and cooperation with agency/community partners, adherence to program standards and assessment requirements, and fiscal management.

This workplace hires indiscriminately and suffers from poor management. Staff members are overworked, leaving little to no work-life balance. Experienced employees are resistant to new ideas, and some lack prior experience working with children. The organization is not trauma-informed when dealing with foster children. Certain staff members set unrealistic expectations, prioritizing minor issues over the children’s well-being, leading to frequent escalations and restraint use that re-traumatizes the kids. Excessive paperwork requires staff to work overtime, contributing to burnout and a high turnover rate.

Those unseasoned in social work are given the opportunity to grow and build their skill set in a supportive environment that respects that both clients and employees alike are works-in-progress. The culture is generally one of kindness, patience, and openness for one another, which often translates to the clients within the different programs. However, poor top-down management leads to haphazard hiring practices (wherein bad eggs lead to undesirable working conditions at times) and an unspoken expectation of very little work/life balance for full-time and part-time workers alike. The work done here is very important however.

I've been through three managers there.   One pushed work 24/7 and we had no support.  Another I received no help from management, no back up help.  Then the new manager came! When the new one got hired the good staff quit.  Can we say micromanger, it has to be their way or the highway, there is no team culture at all.    I would have thought working with angry kids can be the hardest, but negative management, controlling, or lack of trusted support is even harder, Do not work here. Except in main office.  The other branches are a hot mess.

Boys and Girls Aid is overall a good place to work, environmentally speaking, because you get really good benefits.  Unfortunately, my manager of the program I was with did not create an environment for her staff that was conducive to a work/life balance by not giving consistent schedules and not creating an environment where it was okay to admit the job was hard (working with adolescent girls in the juvenile justice system). Again, good people but didn't necessarily take employee critique seriously and lost good counselors in the process.  There are several people who have worked there for years and years and seem to be happy.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Dedicated amazing co-workers, responsive supportive managers, solid ethics and commitment to supporting children and families.  

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Nothing.  Very supportive place to work.  When we have open positions, we all pitch in to cover those roles… this can add stress temporarily.  

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Supportive, ethical, thoughtful, committed to using DEI practices, excellent trainings, fun loving people.

I love Boys & Girls Aid for the hard work it does in the lives of children in foster care. We  have a team of incredible people who love what they do and care about each other and the families they work with. I feel supported and encouraged by leadership. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Youth counselor 3 salaries reported	$20.17 per hour
Case manager 2 salaries reported	$21.50 per hour
Youth specialist 4 salaries reported	$21.30 per hour
Life skills trainer 3 salaries reported	$21.10 per hour
Family support specialist 31 salaries reported	$22.30 per hour

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