behavioral health professional

youth counselor

clinician

licensed clinical social worker

case manager

Connections for Kids

There's a lot that could be said about CFK. Some managers are great but the upper management in Portland is disconnected and has completely unrealistic expectations. The only thing they truly care about is money. They overload staff with clients in order to get more compensation. There is little advancement for staff. When opportunities do open up it is extremely competitive due to everyone wanting a pay raise from the menial salary. Advancement is solely based on how much staff buddies up to leadership not on merit and ability to do the job. Leadership will target staff and belittle them when it comes to simple mistakes. They will also write up certain staff for behaviors that all staff partake in (ex: showing up late, clocking in a few minutes early etc). Some leadership will berate staff for being unprofessional but will turn around and fraternize with BHPs outside of work and make inappropriate comments about clients. There is no consistency and BHPs are left in the dark on a number of issues including client history and are then expected to know everything about the client and how to help them. BHPs are expected to keep quiet and do their job but aren't given the right tools or information to do so. You're legally supposed to be allowed lunch breaks and they make you sign a waiver after you start so they can get away without giving you breaks. They label is as "full time" but if your client is out you either have to travel to another program/client you don't know or you go home without pay. You do not get paid for weeks that school or ESY is out which totals to about 9 weeks total for the year. Two months of unpaid time for the year. They allow you to use PTO, however they changed how much you earn. It is now based on the amount of hours you work per week. So you're already working less than 40 hours a week and now you don't even get enough PTO to cover it. Overall, I would never recommend CFK to anyone. If you're thinking of working here you're better off becoming an Ed Tech for a school district. Almost identical qualifications expect you're more protected.

DO NOT WORK HERE. THIS COMPANY DOES NOT VALUE THEIR SUPPORT STAFF OR THE CHILDREN THEY SUPPORT. I was a BHP at the Kittery Academys. I was originally hired for the younger kids not the high schoolers. I had told my boss that i was starting to feel burned out because i was the only one who was with the high behavioral kid everyday with barely one bathroom break a day. Instead of asking if i wanted to switch to a different student or switching over to the high school side, he decided that i had poor performance and switched me to the high school side. His reasoning is that he wanted to keep an eye on me while i was supporting the students. At the staff meetings the clinician and my supervisor would tell everyone that we needed to do certain things and when we would ask how to complete them to their standards, they would just talk in a circle and never really answer the questions, then get annoyed when things were not done the way they wanted them. The clinicians and teachers have way to much power. The teachers had an unreasonable expectation for all the kids. The teachers would often talk down to students and supporting staff as if they were nothing. Some students would get away with a lot of things while others would be pulled into the supervisors office for something as small as getting frustrated with an assignment. 

I love working at Connections for Kids (CFK). I've been here 5 years at this point, and I feel like I have room to keep learning and growing in my role. I love my co-workers, the management team, and the office staff that I can reach out to for support whenever I need it. I am always treated well by the job and work-life balance is highly encouraged (and there is a decent amount of PTO to show that's true!) 
While there are things that the company cannot control (youth/parent/school behaviors and expectations), the staff at CFK always try to support me and the other staff as much as possible. There are regular staff meetings, and I can reach out to my supervisor or any other member of CFK for support if I feel I need it. 
The mental health field is a challenging field to work in and some days are much worse than others. But CFK does it's best to recognize that, and celebrate it's team and support us. 
I've read some of the reviews others have left and want to address pay. Pay is based on what reimbursement there is from insurance/schools for our services. The company doesn't have much flexibility or wiggle room regarding this. While I feel I do deserve more than what I get (as does everyone else in the mental health field), it is not really within the abilities of the company to change the reimbursement rates. 

Over 6 years ago I started at Connections for Kids in an entry level BHP position at Kittery Academy. It was a challenging yet rewarding position being able to work in the educational setting with students working through both behavioral and mental health struggles. It was refreshing to work with a team committed to helping students reach their goals not only in education but in their own mental health as well.  In less than 6 months I was able to move into a leadership role with the full support of upper leadership. Since that time, I have continued to grow and have been given the opportunity to take on more responsibilities and move up through Connections for Kids. I believe in the mission and direction that CFK has been moving in over the years, which is why I have continued to remain with the company.  They care about their employees and listen to feedback.  The turnover has been much better over recent years with increases in wages, better benefits and changes with staffing.  The support and teamwork in the special purpose schools has always been an area of strength which has continued to improve over the years.

I started working here as a BHP in September of 2017. The job culture is very welcoming and the employees you work with are lovely. That being said, the pay at 14.50 an hour is not great - especially since you could be an ed tech in the same district for 17.50. If you are going to be school based 28 they will undervalue your work and pay you less. You will be working with very difficult kids-following them around all day- for almost no payback. Furthermore, the company had been having financial issues and employees can only work 35 hrs a week (originally you could work 40 hrs but this was cut due to budget). They have hired too many employees but don't have enough money to cover all those employees. The company also overloads their supervisors with too much work- so much so that employees don't earn enough supervision time. The company tells you to get a second job immediately since they know your work at connections won't pay your bills. I enjoyed working for the company, but after a while their neglect to support employees for sec 28 has made it almost impossible to stay with good conscience.  Do yourself a favor and get a ed tech job - this is one to pass.

Where to begin? I was a Day Treatment Clinician and I was expected to work at 6 different schools at one time. Management was/is a joke, and this company makes it clear that they do not care about their employees (unless they’re part of their admin team). Supervision consisted of solely going over documentation and not about my needs or the needs of the clients. I received no clinical support. One time during a crisis I reached out to my inept supervisor and was told that I shouldn’t have made a DHHS report (even though the school recommended it and it was warranted) and chastised me for my clinical input and recommendations that day (even though they later admitted that they were wrong). If you’re considering being a part of this team, I will leave you with this; over 20 employees (BHPs, clinicians, etc) left this company during the summer of 2019 due to poor management, lack of guidance and support, and a ridiculous leadership department (just name a few reasons), so unless those things magically changed within the last year, I would suggest looking elsewhere for a job. 

Connections For Kids is a company that works hard to support the children and families within our community.  To work in the mental health field is challenging and rewarding at the same time.  Connections for Kids works hard to support the views and needs of the staff the best they can knowing how dedicated everyone is in make a difference in our client's lives.  For those that work hard and strive to be more within this field do not go unnoticed. Whether recognition is given through rewards, prizes, and potential for professional advancement; management has creative ways to let you know.  This non-profit community is as fun as it is challenging as you work through each day.   Staff are known to lean on each other and help each other out to keep the vision clear for a better future for our families and communities that we serve. 

Kids were retrieved off busses and we went about the school day trying to remain safe with all students when in group but majority of the day is 1 on 1 learning/teaching different subjects and tracking behavior throughout the day. Safety care is learned and used almost daily. I don’t believe the pay is what it should be for the amount of stress the job puts on you. Higher staff is as supportive as they can be but turnover is something that happened a lot while I was there.  The hardest part of the job is having to do safety care almost multiple times daily. I had to go to the doctors twice due to injuries that happened while doing safety care.

I've had the opportunity to grow as a professional at this organization and increase my skills on a regular basis. As I became more willing to accept new responsibility, I took on larger roles eventually landing myself in a position of leadership.  Due to the fact that I have moved up during my time at CFK, I have had the opportunity to learn each role successfully in order to support newer employees. The workplace culture is what you make it, and you get out of it what you put in. The hardest part of the job is working with the most challenging behaviors, which can be sometimes the most enjoyable part of the job. When you develop skills in yourself to prepare you for the next opportunity you are continuing to grow. 

At Kittery Academies, I support students during convenient school hours M-F 8:00am-2:15pm. As a BHP, I provide one-to-one support to students with mental health diagnoses. BHPs assist academically, and help teach social, emotional, and coping skills. There is daily behavior data tracking, case notes, and data logging for each student. The staff here are very supportive of one another. The staff are passionate in what they do, truly care about the students' wellbeing and want for them to succeed. Management is very involved, understanding, and supportive as well. This job pays for you to take trainings and get certified. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Behavioral health professional 27 salaries reported	$21.07 per hour
Youth counselor 1 salary reported	$18.75 per hour
Clinician 4 salaries reported	$50.00 per hour
Licensed clinical social worker 7 salaries reported	$57,857 per year
Case manager 7 salaries reported	$23.50 per hour

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