case manager

youth worker

family support worker

adoption manager

child welfare specialist

YOUTH AND FAMILY ALTERNATIVES

There is concern for the lack of training and the well-being of workers who are working around the clock. The retention rate of this position is atrocious. They lose people daily and then caseloads are out of control to the point that it is impossible to get through a to do list. It is beyond difficult to do quality work due to high caseloads and there is a lack of support from upper management. Management continues to use the excuse that the organization is in a crisis. The work culture is very demanding and less understanding. I truly feel that this management team does not care about the overall mental and physical well being of their staff. It gets worse and never gets better but they will say whatever necessary to keep you there. I feel they have been dishonest during the initial interview process. You are placed in a myriad of dangerous situations during on call and there is literally no way to protect yourself. There is a lack of time to regroup and you will be reeling from the on calls with no time to get into better headspace. If you say something it seems that management doesnt have any idea how to fix it and ultimately there is never a solution. They place to much on case managers to the point that people constantly leave. The morale is very low. They blame everything else except how they run there office. The situation is a huge disservice to the work and it can feel like you are not doing anything to actually help. They do not recognize all that frontline staff (case managers) do. They will look more at what you are not doing as opposed to all that you do. 


I spent a year and a half at Youth and Family Alternatives. The supervisors and program directors were friendly and supportive. It is a laid back environment at the office and they allow for flexible schedules as long as you get your work done and work your 40 hours. The work itself as a case manager is extremely demanding. You have anywhere from 20 to over 30 children on your case load. You are working helping the children and families on your case load. You must attend court hearings, write court reports, document contact had with everyone on each case, provide the parents with a case plan outlining the different classes they must complete in order to address the issues that initially got them involved with the Department of Children and Families. Provide the parents with referrals to the classes outlined in their case plan and keep in contact with the providers to see the parents improvement. Visit the children in their home anywhere from every week to once a month. Make contact with the children teachers and medical providers and take them to appointments if needed. Continue to communicate with the assistant state attorney and provide reports for all court hearings.

The most difficult part of the jobs is the high case loads, and the fact you are working with children that have been through very difficult experiences.

The most enjoyable part of the job is providing some stability for the kids and being able to be a part of their lives and help change their situation and their parents situation for the better.

a typical day at work, over worked under paid. Always requesting records, following families like lost puppy dogs, continuously having to reinsurance of false advocating because all they want to do is TPR.
what you believe you learned, you can't trust no body even when following the chain of command if you can't be manipulated to be a puppet you don't belong to be here.
management, always requesting and asking favors but never recognizing the hard work and long hours it takes from your own life and education yet if you see them and their not on PTO for their own personal lives. If you refuse to keep a professional level relationship and not be buddy buddy your a target.
workplace culture, narsasitic, toxic, and negative about everything. 
the hardest part of the job, being able to get your job done without being micromanaged or threatened
the most enjoyable part of the job was making an impact and difference in my families lives. Giving my families a since of hope and belonging.

It's very difficult to accurately describe working at YFA. On one hand, working with the youth can be very amazing and you actually have a chance to change lives. However, on the other hand, the stress is insane, the pay is beyond horrible, and management is at times the worst I've ever seen. The amount that they pay counselors and therapists is so absurdly low that all the really good workers go running - unless they're masochists. Complaints about supervisors being completely unprofessional and acting unreasonably and even illegally go ignored by upper management. I greatly enjoyed my time with the kids there, but I had to leave due to a medical condition caused by my job there - which was handled so poorly by ALL management. We literally couldn't keep good staff there because of the lack of organization, communication, and good management. I would never, ever recommend YFA as a workplace for someone - unless I hated the person. Yeah - it's that bad.

If you work here work will become your entire life. The shifts are 8:00am-4:00pm, 4:00pm-12:00am and 12:00am-8:00am however as a "part time employee" I was still working well over 50 hours a week. Also, whether you worked the average 8 hour shift or pulled a double and worked 16 hours you were never given a break. I worked a 20 hour shift without receiving a break. Any concerns handed to management are thrown out the window and ignored. You are forced into situations with at risk youth and given absolutely no support when dealing with them. Management constantly makes you feel guilty for time requests off, sick days, or even concerns. Its an extremely toxic environment with so much potential. If only their actions matched their beliefs. Went into this job thinking it's exactly what I've always wanted to do and left with an entirely different view on the system. Such a shame.

Admin is always pushing out the good people and directors that look out for their employees. Everything is sugar coated, and no one is honest. When you do have a great director the workload is light, communication is great, and work is enjoyable, but they fire or push that person out and then want to change everything around including job qualifications which results in massive turn over and a stressful and toxic environment.

Benefits are decent. Health insurance is okay for employee but forget adding a family.  PTO is pretty generous but then when you have a dictator at times for a director it seems impossible to use as they do not want to approve it.

Honestly would not recommend this place to anyone unless you want to work nonstop and be miserable because admin will even go as far as blowing up your personal phone and email on your days off because they have questions, issues or cannot seem to wait until you clock back in. 

Pros: Good employees, making a difference and learning a lot about child welfare and the court system. Enjoyed all the training opportunities.


Cons: Very Clicky, management is a joke, my supervisor was beyond racist and I filed 3 complaints regarding his behavior, all overlooked, was denied a unit transfer twice.  Had to see a therapist to handle the way my supervisor would speak to me.  NEVER in my life did I ever feel more unappreciated than by YFA management. 

Summary,  Unless you want to feel like gum stuck to the bottom of a shoe AVOID at all costs.  Not worth your sanity or self esteem.



**I want to add that they will change your weekly hours to stay under 40 to avoid paying overtime.  You will be cited if you work more than 40 hours even if its mandatory.  For example, if you work 44 hours, they will illegally adjust your hours to be at 40 and let you know via email your overtime was not authorized.

Work is from 7am-whenever! Working as a Family Care Manager is hard enough, but to be thrown to the wolves right out of training makes for a very overwhelming, stressful environment!! If you ask too many questions, management labels you as a needy and unable to figure things out. It would help if everyone would give the same answers, HELLO!! There are so many things you can do wrong that can completely devastate a family, so of course you will have 500 questions a day!! Also, it was not a very cohesive environment. Everyone is hanging on by their fingernails and it's a fend for yourself situation. Also, you spend a lot of time in court, which is horrible!!
Just know that any position with this company is all consuming and if you have a family, you will be too busy with your client's families to enjoy any time with your own!! You don't get paid enough to have your own family torn apart!!

As a case manager there is poor work life/real life balance. You basically work 24/7 if called. There is no upper management support and no support from HR if there are issues. Your opinion doesn't matter, despite the fact that you are the one that works with the clients on a daily basis. Whatever management wants, is what goes despite the fact they do not know the clients. Things are constantly changed on you, with regards to paperwork and procedures/policies at the whim of the supervisor or director. The company will provide you with training opportunities but missing a day to complete a training just piles on the workload. The job is enjoyable if you like helping others but in the end there is too much going on in the office politics to really actually enjoy the job.

If you want a job where you are replaceable as an employee look no further, if you want a job where your time isn’t valued and you are not respected, look no further, if you want a job where people talk s*** about you, look no further, if you want a job where their is gossip and rumors spread, look no further, if you want a job where your supervisors treat you with disrespect, look no further, if you want a job where you spend more time at then with your own family, look no further, if you want a job where you will be completely burnt out because leadership doesn’t care about you look no further. This job is not worth taking, not worth the money and not worth selling your soul to. Find something better, youth and family alternatives was the worst place I ever worked at, I would recommend a different child welfare career. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Case manager 20 salaries reported	$51,000 per year
Youth worker 3 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour
Family support worker 1 salary reported	$18.00 per hour
Adoption manager 11 salaries reported	$49,955 per year
Child welfare specialist 19 salaries reported	$47,500 per year

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