Why Work at FACS?

Help Us Help Families

Family & Children’s Services of the Waterloo Region is a community organization legally mandated to respond to and work together with families, their supports, and our communities to protect and care for children who have been abused or neglected, or who are at risk of being abused or neglected.

Our Agency is fully committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, equitable and accessible workplace that supports employees to be authentic and fully engage in shaping a healthy workplace and community where children, youth and families thrive.

Training and Development

Family and Children’s Services of the Waterloo Region is committed to providing all employees with job specific and competency related training required to perform their duties safely and to the best of their abilities. Training decisions are made in line with key strategic priorities and within available resources. This means many of our training initiatives are agency-wide endeavours to move forward new initiatives and practice frameworks. In addition, as members of the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies (OACAS), our service employees are able to access a wide variety of training and education which supports skill development within common practice areas, including leadership development. We engage new Child Protection Workers in the Reimagined Child Welfare Pathway to Authorization through OACAS or the Indigenous Authorization Pathway through the Association of Native Child and Family Services Agencies of Ontario (ANCFSAO).

In addition, we run in-house training related to Indigenous history and worldviews, Equity and Anti-Racism practices, and 360 Family Engagement. Collaboration with partner agencies also provides several learning opportunities a year. Attendance at workshops and conferences is decided on a case-by-case basis with a lens to key strategic priorities and enhancing role functionality, with policies related to travel needs. Should you wish to further your education outside of work, the agency has policies to support educational leaves.

Benefits

We work together with OPSEU (Ontario Public Service Employees Union) to enhance the working conditions and benefits provided to all of our employees.

The following are some of the benefits that are offered:

  • Flexible working model and schedules for many roles
  • Casual dress code
  • Employer paid group insurance health & dental benefits
  • Long Term Disability Insurance
  • Life Insurance, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Out-of-Province Travel Insurance policies
  • Employee and Family Assistance Plan
  • Generous vacation and sick leave policies
  • Two float days per calendar year
  • OMERS Pension, with employer and employee sharing premiums equally
  • Competitive mileage reimbursement