Specialized foster placement · Winnipeg, Manitoba
Four Winds Youth Care provides 24/7 residential care for children and youth in the care of Manitoba CFS agencies. Our care is trauma-informed, culturally grounded and built around keeping young people in a home that stays steady, even on hard days.
Why “Four Winds”
Our name is inspired by the four directions and the understanding, present in many Indigenous teachings, that direction, balance, relationship and movement carry meaning. We use this image respectfully and do not claim to speak for any Nation's teachings.
For us, the four winds also stand for openness. Young people come to us from different places and life experiences. While they are here, our job is to give them steadiness, care and guidance. When they move on, we want them to leave with stronger roots, more confidence and the freedom to choose their own path.
Mission
To give every youth in our care a safe, stable and culturally respectful home, where they are cared for as individuals and prepared for adulthood with practical skills, confidence and a sense of belonging.
Vision
Youth leave Four Winds safer, more confident, more connected and better prepared to make decisions about their own future.
We want young people to remember our home as a place where they were treated with dignity, supported through hard times and given room to grow.
What sets our care apart
A hard day, a relapse or a single incident does not automatically cost a young person their home. We first try to understand what changed and strengthen the plan.
Each youth can have a Cultural Connection Plan, with support from Elders, Knowledge Keepers and community. Participation is always youth-led and by choice.
A plain-language Youth Bill of Rights, a monthly Resident Council and a complaint process that protects youth from retaliation.
Hands-on life skills, education advocacy and a Personal Development Fund for sports, music, art, cultural supplies and more.
Care principles
These principles guide staff decisions every day, from routines to responding in a crisis.
Services
Our home combines steady daily routines with trauma-informed care, cultural connection, education, life skills and strong safeguarding. Every young person has their own plan, and they help write it.
What we provide
Trained staff are awake and on site at all times. Daily life has structure without feeling institutional: morning routines, school, time to unwind after school, homework, recreation, dinner, household tasks and personal time.
We use a restorative, least-restrictive approach. Each youth's behaviour plan names their triggers, early warning signs, coping strategies and the de-escalation approaches that work for them.
Cultural connection is part of everyday care, not an extra on the calendar. Each youth may have a Cultural Connection Plan that reflects what culture means to them.
Youth have access to psychotherapy through an external provider, with one scheduled session a week and the option to ask for more. Areas of support include trauma, grief, substance use and emotional regulation.
Youth can ask for confidential, youth-friendly information about their rights, including police rights, the right to counsel, bail and release conditions, probation, privacy and online exploitation.
We support school enrolment and attendance, transportation, supplies and school meetings, and we advocate for accommodations or alternative education when needed. Life skills are taught step by step:
Skills include cooking, laundry, budgeting, banking, applying for ID and a SIN, public transit, booking appointments, resumes and interviews. A Personal Development Fund covers extras like sports, lessons, cultural supplies, tutoring, camps and certifications.
Care should not separate a young person from the people who matter to them. Following the case plan and agency direction, we support visits, phone and video contact, transportation and family meals.
We arrange and accompany youth to physician, dental, vision, mental-health, sexual-health and emergency care. A written medication policy covers secure storage, medication records, pharmacy blister packs and controlled-medication counts.
Care pathway
A placement begins with a thoughtful welcome, not a handoff at the door. Plans are then built and reviewed on a set schedule.
Referral review, compatibility and immediate safety, staffing needs and essential information.
Welcome and orientation, food, clothing and comfort, bedroom setup, youth rights explained, medication and safety review.
A first plan with the youth and agency covering safety, culture, education, health, family and interests.
A full individual care plan, with the youth's own goals in it.
Early progress review: what is working and what needs to change.
Formal team review with the youth taking part where appropriate.
Ongoing formal reviews, plus an immediate review after any major change or incident.
Youth rights and voice
Our Youth Bill of Rights is in plain language, posted in the home and reviewed with each youth at intake and throughout their stay.
Ordinary complaints are acknowledged within 24 hours, with an update within about five business days. Serious concerns can go to an independent reviewer or directly to the youth's agency.
A monthly meeting where youth discuss meals, activities, celebrations and shared spaces. Their suggestions and our responses are tracked.
Youth can ask for help without needing to know who handles what. We are building a youth app where requests can be tracked:
Submitted→Received→Assigned→Action taken→Closed
Referrals
We welcome referrals from Manitoba CFS agencies for youth who would benefit from a small, structured home with close adult support, including youth with complex or overlapping needs such as:
These descriptions are not labels and do not define the young person.
The agency worker contacts us with the youth's needs, safety information and timelines.
Together we look at support needs, staffing and fit with youth already living in the home.
The youth moves in with a planned first 24 hours. Emergency admissions use a shorter intake.
We build the care plan within 72 hours and report to the agency as agreed.
Careers
We are looking for caring, dependable and culturally respectful people to join our team in Winnipeg. You will help create a safe, stable home where each young person's identity, family connections and culture are honoured.
Working with us
Current openings
Select a position for the full posting.
Oversee the day-to-day running of our specialized foster placement. This is a leadership role and a relationship role: you will guide the house team while being a steady, trusted presence for the youth who live there.
Care for and support youth in our specialized foster placement. Youth in the home may have complex needs and experiences of trauma, separation and loss. You will help make the home safe, stable and welcoming.
How to apply
Include a cover letter, your resume and three professional references. Put the competition number and position title in the subject line.
We thank all applicants for their interest. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Accommodations are available at any stage of the selection process.
Apply by email
Example subject line: #20262 Youth Care Support Worker (Part-time)
Contact
Contact us about a referral, a job opening or a general question. Referral inquiries are answered first.