Pros
I have worked at FPS for over 8 years in a few different capacities. What I can tell you is that upper management has done a pretty incredible job navigating the changes implemented by DMAS (Medicaid), DBHDS (Licensing) and the MCO's (Managed Care Organizations / Insurance). I am encouraged by the conversations and communications that happen and helps us to be better advocates for the people we serve. Being here as long as I have it has been nice to see a significant increase in pay. Some coworkers complain about our pay, but I am really passionate about serving the people and families that are assigned to me. IF you have a strong passion for serving people, your money woes takes care of itself. Some people dont really understand this, but I have been here a while and will try to explain. I am a non-exempt employee. That means I get overtime if I work more than 40 hours per week. However, I also understand that any Overtime has to have preapproval (usually it would be because a client is in crisis and I have to respond). But I am also paid on what FPS calls a Salary Plus model! What this means is that I have a base salary (mine is $32,000 a year.....sounds low, right?), but I also have an hourly incentive rate (mine is $24/hr) that kicks in after I have done 22 hours of billable work. FPS sets an expectation of 30 billable hours of work each week, but I can do more if it is clinically necessary. Anyway, what I wanted to share is that if I do the math for when I meet the expectation of 30 hours billable per week, it looks like this.
I get my salary of $32k which equates to $615.38 per week (first 22 hours of billable work)
I then get my incentive of $24/hr which equates to $192 per week (for the 8 hours per week that gets me to 30 hours of billable work)
So, then $615.38 + $192= $807.38 per week.
$807.38 per week x 52 weeks = $41, 984 per year.
And that's if I only bill the 30 hour expectation. I have learned how to make this work to the advantage of the people I serve. And FPS wants me to make sure that our people are served well. The vacation and sick leave provided to employees is pretty amazing too. Especially for an employee who has been here as long as me. I get 25 days of Vacation Leave each year. I also have another 24 days of Sick Leave. And then 10 Holidays to add to that. The key here is to remember self-care, but also be sure to have a plan for your clients when you do take time. We serve people, not french fries. Anyway, I love working here....many of my coworkers have been here a long time too and have become like family. COVID really messed things up for a while, but I think a new normal is setting in and we are all adapting to a new culture in the workplace. As long as I continue to feel like FPS is focused on serving people, I will be here.
Cons
This is not necessarily a Con about FPS, but the paperwork for this line of work is and has always been ridiculous. Adjusting to a new electronic health record has been exhausting, but I am also trying hard to use it because it can help me be so more efficient with my time.
Cost of insurance went up, but we do not get a cost of living increase here. :(
Mileage...FPS pays $0.30 per mile, which is atrocious given todays gas prices.
