Pros
Benefits are decent (Vacation accumulation and health insurance is pretty good in my opinion) You wind up loving the clients
Cons
-Pay (Some positions pay less than working at Dunkin Donuts) -Treatment of Direct Care Staff (They get all the blame and hardly any credit even though they do the most for the clients) -Training (The restraint training adds up to being a punching bag for the aggressive clients) -Illegal staffing ratio (They understaff the clients on the adult and children’s side constantly to save money that is given to them by the state. These decisions I’ve found to be made by the people in the offices upstairs rather than those who work closely with the Direct Care teams. -They don’t give vacations to the adults. Only 3-4 days off a year with the exception of Federal Holidays. (There was a client who after receiving chemotherapy, would rest in a bed at the day program rather than at home with a staff) -Nepotism is the name of the game with office positions which are never posted when open, just filled quietly by friends and family members of office staff. -Direct Care staff are expected to be maids, nurses, chauffeurs, maintenance workers, cooks, behavior therapists, and perfect data recorders. They are also expected to shovel several feet of snow, and to climb up on top of company vans to clear the snow from the roofs of the vans too.
