Pros
The clients are great. I miss working with them and helping them achieve their goals.
Cons
Where do I begin? They had me doing the job of a social worker (designing comprehensive behavior management, case management plans), a nursing assistant (counting, tracking, reporting, and dispensing medications), accountant (tracking and reporting the funds for each client and the household), EMT (performing medical procedures and first aid that should have been done in a SKILLED nursing facility by persons who are trained and certified), Case Manager (completing complex reports and presenting at various state agencies) and the list goes on and on (babysitter, parent, enabler, maid, psychologist, gardener, etc.) - - all without the TRAINING, LICENSURE, or PAY! I was literally on call 24/7 and would get a 3:00am call to take a client to the hospital (because REM didn't want to pay for an ambulance). I was berated by parents and guardians without provocation and consistently, without ANY support from management. I was sent home in tears on more occasions that I would like to admit, all with the knowledge of management. They did nothing. My first day on the job as a group home manager, my staff called in sick and I had to work almost 24 hours without sleep. I wish that was the only time, but it wasn't. If someone called in sick, it was up to me to cover the shift. I was EXHAUSTED! They finally hired some flex staff, which we thought we would be able to use when we needed them (when someone calls in sick), but were told we could only use them for employees who are scheduled for vacation, in advance. Trust me, we could cover the shift of someone going on vacation (with notice) but really NEEDED some help when staff either called in sick, or just didn't bother to show up. They also had a 24 hour hot line (WHAT A JOKE) that we were supposed to use when there was any overnight issues. It didn't take us long to realize that we wouldn't find any help there, either. When someone would answer, they would simply tell you how to handle the situation (as if we didn't already know that much) and go back to bed. I would have given anything to see them dragged out of bed at 3:00 am to handle a medical emergency, fight, behavior! And on the rare occasions I was home with my family, I would either get called in, or have to deal with my clients or staff calling me every 30 minutes. Management is either clueless (which I don't believe as I was quite frank in telling them the issues) or they just don't care. Their emphasis is on profit. period. They have a clique and anyone who is not part of that clique is an outsider and treated like a dog. I was unfortunate enough to witness a girl with no experience, had never worked in a group home or with clients, get a promotion over several well qualified, experienced managers, simply because she worked in the office with the managers (as a RECEPTIONIST). It was sickening. For the amount of work and unbearable responsibility, the pay was awful. I cant believe this place is still in business. By the way, they make a TON of money off of these poor clients. They should really give some of it to the people who are doing the actual work.
