The clients are wonderful, the management is lacking
Pros
The people I worked with were the perk. I always enjoyed seeing the individuals and looked forward to what the day would bring. There were outings, appointments and the grind of daily living chores. I worked at several homes and it really depended on the management more than the clients whether the work environment was hostile or friendly.
Cons
House Coordinators have way too much power over the clients lives. I witnessed many who treated the residents like children and would send them to their rooms to make the HC's job easier. HC's generally have little to no education and really no real knowledge besides what's on paper about the people they are supposedly serving. Management is on call 24/7 so they get lazy during their daily work. Double standards abound with them doing everything the general staff is not allowed to do. Can't count how many times I've called out an HC for lying about something stupid that was going on in the house or caught them punishing/secluding a client which is not allowed. Managment has no problem leaving staff in the dark about certain issues and letting staff deal with the fallout and blame. Managment does not document a lot of incidents so new staff come on and are completely unaware of what they are walking into. I witnessed a member of upper management get hit repeatedly and say, "We're supposed to report that and call this number but he's done so it's okay." Pay is low for the high risk you take with some of the clients.
