youth counselor

house parent

therapist

night watch staff

direct support professional

The-Settlement-Home-For-Children

Working at The Settlement Home is stressful and you will be overworked. Working with some of the girls and building relationships was the best thing about the job. You will constantly be working and will barely have time to use the restroom or eat peacefully for a few minutes. House parents work over 14 hours most days and are expected to have all paperwork done even when the day has been crazy. You need to be strong mentally to work here. The only career advancement I saw was only if someone quit their job or got hired somewhere else and management already knows who they want to fill those positions. Self care is constantly preached as well as making sure we use our benefits such as yoga, EAP, and massages once in a while for 15 minutes. Almost every time I tried to request a day off it was denied due to lack of coverage. Taking a 5 minute break was impossible because the staff need help. It was impossible to relax even after clocking out due to coworkers calling and texting to figure something out. For house parents having only 2 days off meant those days were to do your errands not relax and enjoy your time off. Living onsite was awful because you share your room with someone else and the rooms are filthy. Roaches and rats were in cottages which is no one's fault but it's still disgusting. If you are assaulted by the girls you may be told you can take a few minutes to yourself before heading back to work. Some of the co workers make the environment very hostile to work in. It was uncomfortable and made me want to leave the place. Talking to supervisors did not help. Town hall meetings were pointless due to all the input and ideas staff had being shot down. Instead of hiring more core staff they decided to hire more program directors. The money was alright for me since I dont have children but the salary is not worth the work. Everyone is burnt out. Hardly any core staff is happy working here. Things need to be changed otherwise no one will stay and the girls will be the ones to suffer due to not having the stability of adults in their lives. Some of these girls are violent and have adjusted to being spoiled by how things work. Some of their behaviors get worse by being here. They want the girls to live as "nornal" as other teenagers. Some of these girls do not get to focus on their treatment due to being in an environment that is toxic to themselves.

The Settlement Home for Children can be difficult to properly review. There are a lot of layers involved and different teams within the organization.

The direct care work here is really hard - though worth it. If you are wanting to work in a direct care position, just know that it can be tough. There can be long hours, very long days, sometimes a lack of advancement opportunities, and not the highest pay. However, this is due more to the nature of the work than the organization. Working with children and teenagers that come from trauma backgrounds is challenging. These kids have experienced abuse, neglect, and emotional trauma of all kinds. These experiences show up in the kids' behaviors and can even result in physical aggression. However, staff is well-trained for this, and I have never felt unsafe while working. 

I do think that The Settlement Home could do better in regards to advancement and pay. However, a lot of these limitations stem from the organization being a nonprofit. They do provide health insurance, EAP, and 401k matching, which are really nice benefits.

So if you know what you are getting into, working at The Settlement Home for Children is a really rewarding experience and absolutely worth it. I have seen staff get burnt out and lose sight of the bigger picture unfortunately, but a lot of good work is being done here.

Outside direct care staff, the supervisors and administrative staff are all hardworking, passionate, and care deeply about the kids and programs at The Settlement Home for Children. Though not perfect, these staff routinely try to make The Settlement Home a positive work environment for all and help the kids in every way they can.

I would absolutely recommend working here.

I wouldn't touch this place with a 100 ft pole. The work environment is toxic, the pay is low, management is bad, training does not prepare you for reality, the turnover rate is incredibly high, you are expected to figure everything out immediately. You will be gossiped about and treated rudely if you don't pick everything up immediately. You are expected to memorize everything. There are a number of employees that appear to be suffering from legitimate narcissistic personality disorder and/or anger management issues among other things. Bullying behaviors amongst employees (including managers) are up and down due to the high turnover but still persist. There is a lot of paranoia amongst staff on who can trust who. Kids are constantly trying to run away or kill themselves which is incredibly stressful. It is not a nice or fun place to work, you won't make friends, and you'll get burned out. Not sure how or why this place is still open but they seemed to be struggling in so many ways so I found new employment. Save yourself the stress. It's not worth it. You get some free meals and get to help some kids but you won't care about the food after a while and we are not helping most of the kids so it will eat away at you over time. You never know when you'll have to stay overnight after working a full shift. Kids could potentially physically harm you. There is never enough staff to give the kids what they need. Most of the rules you have to uphold are super dumb. They hire people constantly and most people don't complete training. The ones that do don't stay long. A few people stay and they've managed to assimilate to survive the toxic culture. Wasn't going to be me and don't let it be you. 

The kids really make the job what it is!
You will constantly be contacted on your days off, either for questions about the kids or to go in. Supervisors will ask you to complete trainings during your day off without notice and without pay. You will be required to stay overnight if a night staff member does not show up, even after you were required to work a double that day.
You will have to go into restraints with the kids! Many staff hesitate and that’s how other staff and the kids get hurt.
Extreme favoritism and a clickish culture. Will find ways to write you up to fire you if supervisors don’t like you on a personal level.
No holiday pay. You can earn comp time if you work on a holiday to compensate for pay.
Company struggles to accept people with an uncommon mindset.
Struggle to meet religious needs of the children and staff.
Supervisors and support staff are rude and unprofessional. At the same time being quite sensitive and frown upon direct communication.
Very disorganized company!
Constantly has open investigations with licensing and they will contact you on your off days.
Overall a very toxic culture
The kids make the job. Many struggle with severe mental health issues and some events can be a trigger to certain staff. Thought the events provided can be nice, supervisors will not hear the kids out on what they really need. Any nice donations given the kids never see, they sell them instead. Kids and direct care staff definitely deserve better.

The organization has an incredibly unique and meaningful mission. You really make a difference with the work you do here.

I can honestly say that I love coming to work every day. My team members, as well as leadership, make me feel valued, safe and seen. Sometimes my workload becomes overwhelmed with many urgent projects, but my director has their fingers on the pulse and is consistently checking in to see what they can do to help me successfully accomplish what I need to. I see this supportive mentality run all the way to the top of command, and having come from previous workplaces where this was NOT the norm, I know this is the result of quality leadership and a heart-centered organization. 

I know of many staff members and volunteers who have been here for years. That alone speaks volumes about the unique work that’s done at The Home as well as the professional culture of employees. 

I’d also like to add this because I feel that it’s getting rarer and rarer to find in a workplace: unlike previous leadership I've worked with, leadership at The Settlement Home for Children has a backbone. They truly do right by the kids they serve as well as their staff members. This includes having open conversations, making tough decisions when it counts and being proactive to ensure that kids and fellow staff members are cared for. They don’t bend to whichever way the breeze is blowing, they have a strong moral compass and I really respect that.

I worked there a few years ago and continue to be bothered by the events that happened while working there. 
I enjoyed the girls I worked with and probably worked with over 100 girls while there. I did gain great direct care experience, and overall experience working with people who have experienced trauma.
 It was hard to remain emotionally present and stable when you have to get in line with very unsettling behaviors the core staff exhibit.  It's a stressful place where you don't know who to trust. I just learned not to trust or depend on too many there. Once I left, I realized how traumatized I really was and how toxic and negative that place was. I will say they try, but they just aren't there yet. I do hope they will get there some day, because there are so many children who need a safe place.
I agree with many of the other reviewers that had honest reviews. It's unfortunate that the core staff there (and fundraisers) don't reflect the population they mainly serve, and it feels that is by design. Which I don't think they care to change. 
I think the girls would benefit from a truly diverse staff; in mind, spirit, and aditudes.  
I worked there for much longer than I should have, but learned a great lesson. I wouldn't say don't work there- I would just say take care of yourself, because you will be worked hard and used up if you let yourself be. 

My time at TSH was bittersweet. I learned so much about the real-life impact of trauma on children, fast-tracked my clinical skills, and built relationships with some of the most amazing people and kids I've ever met. On the downside, the behaviors of some of the kids are extremely intense. I was hurt several times (bitten, punched, physically threatened with sharps), watched co-workers get injured from physical aggression and have to take leaves to recover, and worked myself to the absolute bone. This job is no joke, and not for the faint of heart. I loved getting to know these kids and build connections with them, and the good times certainly made up for the bad. The work that you do here will be the most meaningful work you ever do in your life, and there is nothing that compares to watching these kids grow and succeed. This is a great job for those with experience in the field, and those who are wanting to learn quickly. Your coworkers will be some of the most incredible people you have ever met, and in my experience, management was empathetic and helpful. Know what you're getting into, but don't be scared off by the challenge of doing this amazing work.

I really enjoyed my time at Settlement Home. I was able to bond with the girls here and there were several times where I felt like I was fulfilling an important role in the organization. That being said, everything besides the core staff and occasional fun times absolutely sucks. Core staff are not supported, no matter how much the supervisors and directors preach about self care and support. The directors have favourites and it became apparent very quickly that there were some behind-the-scenes stuff that helped some of the employees move further up. Houseparents are way overworked and underpaid. They’re always hiring new relief staff but are STILL super understaffed somehow? Some of the therapists are just rude and don’t want to do their job. Often, a few therapists will come up with new rules or treatment plans and leave their core staff to figure it out and implement on their own without supervisor support.
Self care is a word that’s thrown around a lot here. So much that it’s become a joke among the staff. The directors and supervisors treat their employees unfairly and overwork them despite advocating for “self care.”

I learn something new everyday in this field, even after doing this work for many years. I have found that management is by and large extremely supportive and really appreciate the frontline staff and what they do. The majority of our administrative staff were promoted from direct care and management positions, and that shows in their priorities. There are tons of hard parts of doing this work (working with traumatized youth is difficult), but being able to see our teenagers get to "be kids" and be part of their healing process is incredible. The Supervisors here are some of the hardest working people I know, and really invest in their staff to help them grow. At times, there can be a negative culture amongst staff, especially when they don't realize they're burnt out. But for the people who show up and want to make a difference and do a good job, there is so much incredible growth you can do here! 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Youth counselor 15 salaries reported	$22.05 per hour
House parent 6 salaries reported	$50,333 per year
Therapist 1 salary reported	$61,750 per year
Night watch staff 2 salaries reported	$22.25 per hour
Direct support professional 6 salaries reported	$19.65 per hour

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