clinician

mentor

care navigator

family support partner

adoption specialist

Child & Family Services

Lack of support from upper management- only focused on money by filling beds with inappropriate clients...it's a business I get it, but client care goes out the window with the Site Directors and upper management. They only focus on the clinical aspects of clients and don't care about clients medical conditions. They way they treat nurses is horrendous. There's 1 nurse per shift that takes care of 9 adults, 9 children and any random number of clients boarding in Emergency services. The site director/ program director tries to force the doctors and NP's to write scripts for clients that fail to follow up with outpatient services because they stopped the med-clinic, and have lost many prescribers. They micro-manage the heck out of everything and everyone and talk down to employees on a daily basis. Security- is a joke... they're only there on 3rd shift and weekends and are forced to be Emergency Services slave by triaging all their calls.
Pay is fair for the field and the area, however raises are minimal if at all. And their policies are outdated or non- existent... they seem to make policies up as they go. The computer system is asinine- its only set up for outpatient clinical aspects and not for inpatient and nursing. 
When an employee does have a complaint or a suggestion, it goes absolutely no where- you'd get further by talking to your own shadow! I know I sound like a complainer, but I LOVED my job and my peers I worked with on the unit... there is just no support, care or concern from management- but then they wonder why everyone is always irritable or leaving the company!

Overall the Mentor position is an opportunity to connect on a deep level with families in need and have a meaningful impact in your community.  As a TM you will work a varying schedule that at times can be challenging to navigate but is manageable with strong organizational skills.  Supervisors are often encouraging and supportive but there is a slight disconnect as they do not have opportunities to interact with the families closely as you do from the mentor perspective.  There are a lot of great perks of being a mentor such as the flexible schedule, the work from home privilege, and the ability to engage in a variety of fun activities and games with your clients as you help them achieve their goals.  There is a decent amount of paperwork and documentation that can be monotonous at times but once you establish your system, it is relatively easy to stay on track.   Overall I would recommend this position to someone who is looking to work with at-risk youth and make a difference in the lives of families in your community.  

Surprisingly, the officers/police departments were more transparent and friendly than the management at CFS! The culture working with the police departments was welcoming, supportive, and the officers were open to learning about the various mental health services in the community. This position is a great fit for someone who enjoys fast-paced, intense, and outgoing work environments. Management is not involved in the departments or very supportive in addressing any issues, which improved my personal ability to self-advocate. Management often expects the clinician to handle any problems with PD alone, as well as serve as liaison between the center and PD (despite not being compensated for this). This was one of my favorite jobs at one point and the experience was unfortunately ruined by unprofessional, dishonest, unsupportive, and cold management. 

This agency will completely burn you out and run you into the ground. The management only cares about billable hours and not the quality of care. You are told when you take vacation time that you are still required to make up those billable hours. Be prepared to be talked down to, micromanage and deal with unprofessional management who get too involved in your personal life and speak down to you. It is impossible to accrue a respectable amount of time off and you will be running yourself into the ground. The clinicians and staff are wonderful but the management is not to be trusted because they will use everything you say against you- you will think they can be trusted and they are supportive but they will use it against you. The only positive thing I can say is that this place prepped me to handle crises on my own as their was very little support from the supervisors. Unless you want to burn out, apply elsewhere. 

Working at Child &  Family was a great experience.  Depending on your job title the days will vary.  I worked out of the Fall River location and the mentoring department was fun,  rewarding,  challenging,  stressful but a great way to get your foot into the door if you are pursing a career in this or other areas of social or family work.  Supervisors were great and would help in ANY situation.  You can have a flexible schedule but it is a job with responsibilities of caring for and looking after the youth.  Daily day would be.....Say good morning to the co-workers,  write notes,  ask questions,  look for suggestions and schedule and visit with clients.  Schedule does change when kids are out of school.  Again GREAT staff,  GREAT supervisors and rewarding.  Pay is decent,  benefits are decent.  You do have weekly meeting and bi weekly supervision which is very helpful.

Being a therapeutic mentor is an amazing experience as you truly get to be a working part in the children's lives. You work alongside licensed therapists and closely with the families of the children in a team effort to best support the child. The documentation can be tedious and setting a strict schedule can be difficult. You must be open to change and rescheduling often as you must navigate with the parents, children, and therapists' schedules. If you are organized however, you should have no problem doing so. The management is great and truthfully make the work place a safe space and friendly environment. Being able to see the progress made by the clients is such a rewarding experience. You also get to choose your own activities for the day out in the community with the children, which is amazing. 

Overall this has been a great job as a new masters level therapist. Heads up the first few weeks were rough though because the training after NEO wasn’t very structured, but with the support of some great coworkers I learned the ropes. The clinical supervision seems to vary supervisor to supervisor, but I’ve been really fortunate to have consistent and amazing supervision (as someone on LMHC licensure track). Generally when a crisis hits, I’m able to quickly receive support. While it takes awhile to accrue PTO/sick time, there is a lot of flexibility with creating your schedule, so I find I’m generally able to Flex Time for things like my own appointments, and haven’t needed to request much time off. 

Working at Child & Family Services has been a great experience. There are very few times I don't look forward to going to work in the morning. A relatively laid-back atmosphere usually awaits me, even when there are deadlines to be met. Management is very flexible when asked for any time off due to family situations. Of course, there are challenges, like at any other job, but the staff I work with (and Management) tend to make things easier. Being a non-profit agency has a lot to do with what I have described above, but it also means that, as an accounting clerk, I cannot aspire to more than I have achieved. Though the pay and benefits are relativley generous, there is no way to advance in my career, hence, my looking for a job. Too bad, because Child & Family Services is a great place to work!

The good- some really wonderful people work for CFS.  Amazing co workers with a friendly environment. The opportunity to do some good work with children and families is excellent. HR was always reasonable to deal with. 

The bad- they are solely focused on new contract, NO supervision, no advocacy for livable wages (CFS pays significantly less than other agencies), massive turn over in staff, poor leadership, lack of responsiveness and support from supervisors and leadership staff. Due to turn over in staff and pay compensation- the clinical acumen in general is subpar. CFS’s reputation within the community of providers has sadly very clearly stepped back.

This agency along with all of its various programs has potential to be a great workplace but unfortunately some programs are poorly run.  The pay is absurdly low for someone with a master’s degree.  Management at all levels cannot be trusted due to extreme blatant favoritism and gossip.  Agency weekly “shout-outs” are filled with congratulations and words of appreciation for the same people every week and regardless of your quality of work, dedication, and dependability, if you are not liked be prepared to never receive a “Thank you” for a job well done or a “Congratulations” for your accomplishments.  If those in management don’t like you be prepared to be blacklisted and rejected for career advancement within the agency. Unless you like kissing-up to management, apply elsewhere. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Clinician 36 salaries reported	$32.23 per hour
Mentor 6 salaries reported	$24.27 per hour
Care navigator 10 salaries reported	$23.76 per hour
Family support partner 6 salaries reported	$22.17 per hour
Adoption specialist 4 salaries reported	$24.00 per hour

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