Why Work at FACS?

Help Us Help Families

The vision of Family and Children's Services of the Waterloo Region is a caring community where children and their families thrive, and we believe the best way to achieve this is by building relationships with families and communities for the well-being and safety of children and youth.

Training and Development

We are committed to providing and supporting job related training as well as personal development through education. New workers are enrolled in Child Welfare Professional Training offered by Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies (OACAS). Forensic Interviewing, Assessing Parenting Capacity, Working with High Risk Infants, Critical Decision Making, Train the Trainer, Performance Management and Managing People Effectively are just some of the additional OACAS courses offered.

We coordinate in-house training that includes Family Finding, Circle Days (led by Aboriginal Elders), Trauma Training, Compassion Fatigue, Car Seat Installation, and Anti-Oppressive Practice training. A number of workshops are added throughout the year based on the evolving needs of our work. Along with workshops, staff are encouraged to attend webinars and these are often done in a group setting with teams. Off-site workshops and conferences may be attended by staff based on service needs. Travel and meal expense policies are in place to go along with this training.

We support staff who are planning to further their professional and personal development by offering educational leaves of absence.

Benefits

We work together with OPSEU (Ontario Public Service Employees Union) to enhance the working conditions and benefits provided to all of our staff. The employee benefit packages are superior and most are provided at no cost to employees. We offer very competitive wages, flexible work schedules, advancement possibilities and enhanced training for ongoing professional development.

We are dedicated to providing permanent full-time employees with a comprehensive benefits package. The following is a partial list of available benefits:

Vacation:

After the first year of service, Social Work and Management staff receive 22 days of vacation; Excluded, Office and Clerical and Residential staff receive 17 days of vacation.

Sick Leave:

Staff are granted 1½ days of sick leave per month for temporary illness (up to a maximum of 120 days) with acceptable medical documentation. Each employee may also use up to seven (7) days from their sick bank per calendar year to care for an immediate family member.

Group Health Insurance and Dental Benefits:

Extended Health
Paramedical Services
Dental Benefits
Life Insurance
Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance
Out-of-Province Travel Insurance

Long Term Disability Insurance:

LTD coverage provides a benefit to employees should they become totally disabled. After 105 calendar days of continuous illness, 66 2/3% of earnings will be paid to the employee.

Pension:

The Ontario Municipal Employee Retirement System (OMERS) provides employees with a pension upon retirement. Pension contributions are shared 50:50 by employee and employer.

Travel Allowance:

For work-related travel, mileage is reimbursed at a rate of 50 cents per kilometer.