direct support professional

disability support worker

program manager

psychiatric technician

caregiver

Albertina Kerr

The real trouble with Kerr is that as an organization there are not enough junior leaders minding the activities of an undereducated, underpaid and under motivated workforce that is asked to provide life sustaining service to some of Oregon's most fragile citizens.

There is little management presence in its individual work units and this leads to a culture of punishment for misdeeds rather that reward for outstanding service. Due to the management structure in the organization upper leaders almost never see their subordinates performing well on a day-to-day basis, they only deal with issues that arise as a result of employee misbehavior. Managers in Kerr DDS are managers in name only, they are really just policemen. Inevitably this creates and sustains a culture where, at best, disabled Oregonians needs are often not consistently met and at worst, results in situations of horrific abuse, all conveniently ascribed by management, to the actions of aberrant employees as opposed to the culture that spawns them.

To be fair is is not exclusively the fault of Kerr upper management. For the most part they try to do the best they can within the limited scope of their knowledge concerning how to effectively manage people. The main fault lies with Oregon State budgeting and the poor quality of oversight provided by the state agencies overseeing Kerr and the other DD and Mental Health Providers in Oregon.

On the plus side Kerr's Youth and Family mental health services run much better than its Developmental Disability Services. The factors that contribute to this are a highly educated workforce and good oversight from management, the State of Oregon and the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations of which Kerr is a member.

The irony is that in addition to being the most educated workforce at Kerr the most entry level of Kerr's Youth and Family Services employees are also the most directly supervised, in contrast to Developmental Disability Services who employ managers to oversee up to three group homes and have lead staff with little or no authority. In a typical week the manager may only be at a 24/7 group home for 15-20 hours. Over 95 percent of employee misbehavior and injuries occur when there is no management present.... Statistically, direct care workers at Kerr have a one in six chance of being injured on the job due to poor training, safety practices and supervision and most importantly, management hubris.

Albertina Kerr Centers is one of Oregon's largest and most visible non-profits and sadly it is horribly broken. Fixing this noble institution is not impossible but it can only be truly fixed with management changes at the very top and a serious restructuring of the way in which its services are performed and overseen at all levels, especially with regard to its Developmental Disability Services.

If you choose to accept a position with Kerr be very aware of what you are walking into and be prepared with an exit strategy if you try to bring your concerns to management attention, you will be disposed of.

A typical day at work is seeing employees extremely tired, unhappy at their job and really over worked and stressed out. Everyday we have a crisis intervention with a youth and restraints have to be used on the kids. Thankfully, I never did a restraint. No one is happy at Albertina Kerr, everyone is miserable (and the managers pretend to be okay, but they are just are as stressed out).
Being in a locked down psychiatric facility where the youth are confined and treated a certain way, I try to make the best of it. My best part of the day is to interact with the youth, have a dialogue, maybe make them laugh.
The supervisors and managers here are heartless and really cold. They are super stressed out, so they take it out on whos under them. There is one specific supervisor that trains workers, and she basically has a power control trip, and a very unprofessional demeaner.
Not only did this place give me nightmares, but it also made my health worse. And because of my health, I got fired. I felt like I had no hope left in this field of work due to this organization, but then again I celebrated when I got terminated. What I didn't know is that my last shift, I had other workers review my every step, so they have evidence to fire me. When I came into a NIGHT shift, I was put into a small office and told that I am not able to do my job correctly and that I risked the lives of the youth and the employees. Reasoning behind this is that you cannot leave the youth alone in the "unit" but my shift partner stayed in the office and a lot of the youth wanted to use the bathroom in which you have to unlock it. They had about 3 other workers in the unit all at once (without me know that they were analyzing me). I was there to get fired. It was so exaggerated and a huge blow to my self worth.

Also, I was under a lot of pressure from a supervisor, telling me how disappointed she is with me, and questioning my illness and trying to pry and tell her what was wrong. I told her she made me feel VERY uncomfortable and I prefer not to have those long extended conversations on how I'm not doing my job correctly and to get along with it. I wanted to just leave, I wondered why they hired me in the first place.

I could go all day and say why I really hate working for this organization, but I'm just going to end it with this statement:

Its obvious why these youth get either 1. transferred out of the program into another program instead of back into the community 2. become worse inside this facility and more escalated and 3. their stay is longer than the programs expectations because they do not see improvement.

I advise everyone who wants to apply at Albertina Kerr to look into the reviews from other employees and see if the 11 dollars is worth it for you. 

*Also, there is a high turn over rate within this company (theres always someone quitting, getting fired or moving on to better things, so really think about that before you even set foot into this organization!

In a typical day at work staff are responsible for the general health and well being of those we serve. Everyday living activities, medications and treatments, community outings, any appointments and ride scheduling are usual. Bowel care, hygiene and showering, behavior supports, medical supports and individual supports are pertinent to the job functions.

In just over a year I have learned a great deal about the MRDD community and what it takes to be a caregiver. I continue to learn new things which is one of my favorite parts of the job.

The management in this particular program is null and void. Most programs have steady management teams but this one has struggled tremendously. We are currently without a program manger and without an assistant program manager. The lack of team work and communication make this a difficult environment to work in. Staff here seem not to work together to create a positive, healthy work environment. It seems for selfish rather than person centered.

The most difficult part of the job is having to work with difficult behaviors however, staff are trained in how to appropriately address concerns and work closely with a behavior specialist. Aside from the job duties, the lack of trained and able bodied staff is very difficult. It becomes tiring and staff experience burn out causing most to quit within months if not weeks of getting hired. 

The wages could be better. Benefits package is great and support for staff and their families is available, The wage itself have more than 3/4 of some 850+ staff to be collecting welfare benefits for their families. It is rather difficult to live within your means on a low wage. 

The best part of the job is the personal rewards staff get from enriching someone else's life. Job perks like basketball games, beach excursions, vacations to Mexico and other destinations are well liked. There are plenty of opportunities to get persons served out into the community and be involved. Those are my personal favorites to the job. Those are the things that have kept me here so long!

This job is very different depending on whether you are in a medical home or a behavioral home. In a medical home, you are constantly moving, lifting, preparing meals, administering medications, helping with toileting or changing adult diapers, helping feed people, helping with personal hygiene...basically, you end up being a person's body and house keeper. In a behavioral home, you have a lot less that you're doing because people are generally mobile. They can help you with house chores, they can toilet themselves, and generally don't need you in the same way. However, you end up having to deal with angry and violent people.

Depending on which house you're at and who your residents are, this is a very rewarding job. Personally, I prefer being in a medical home. You help take care of people who can't take care of themselves, and I made many friendships with my co-workers, residents, as well as residents' families. However, there are always a few "baddies" in the bunch.

Some co-workers do not follow the rules and/or honestly do not care about the people you're supposed to be taking care of. Some residents are really difficult to work with because of behavioral issues, and are abusive to the staff (verbally and physically aggressive). And if you can't deal with bodily functions, you really aren't going to be able to make it in this line of work.

My experience has been that you can't expect any help from management when you have trouble with a co-worker or a resident. You are expected to either deal with it, or leave the company. When you are in a county where you are part of a union, you are not treated as "part of the company", but that's to be expected really. It just seems like in a union, they are constantly looking for an excuse fire you if they can. When you aren't in a union, there is more of a "team atmosphere" between management and care-giving staff. They try their darnedest to keep you around if you are a good worker because they don't want to have to hire and train someone new.

There is really no room for advancement. The benefits are alright, medical etc. You have to complete a LOT of training, on the job, online, and in a classroom, but once you're trained, you only need to take refresher courses occasionally, and you're paid to go to the classroom trainings.

Albertina Kerr was a great experience for me. I learned a lot from the kids, and most of them are fun to hang out with. However, everyday is very stressful and chaotic. We can get to a point where staff are afraid at the beginning of the day because they don’t know what’s coming. The building isn’t run by many people, so we barely have the adequate amount of help we need. Many people call out on a daily basis and were left to struggle. It’s a 10 hour long shift, and we get 10 minutes breaks, if none at all on a bad day. There’s not much you can do when clients attack you, which is worrisome considering how many staff members got concussions. 

Regarding coworkers, they are sweet but also loud and are two faced. They talk immaturely about everyone behind their back, but can act very nice in front of their face. After a shift, we’re expected to write notes and finish work on computers, but it’s nearly impossible to do when coworkers use this time to “hangout” and talk very loudly, selfishly not considering those that have a lot of work to get done but can’t because of their loud talking and laughing. Coworkers can also talk immaturely about how you do your work behind your back, which makes it hard for anyone to get the right feedback and learn from their mistakes. New employees are given 6 shadow days, but don’t learn much when shadowing cause nothing is clear, the they are expected to know everything after those 6 days and are judged if made any mistakes. 

Overall, coworkers are sweet but loud, and obnoxious. Clients are awesome most of the time, but some can be very hard to deal with, evidenced by them yelling, not listening to expectations, spitting at you, hitting, trying to hurt other peers, etc. The shift is fair, but not worth the pay to work 10 hours straight with a 10 minute break (usually more cause you’re forced to stay at work after a shift). Most employees burn out because of this and become mentally exhausted, if not depressed. Most enjoyable part is knowing that some clients enjoy your company and are being helped.

Management is constantly promoting "lean" business practices, yet has ridiculous money/time wasting policies i.e. only maintenance can change lightbulbs (requiring a work order which dispatches a maintenance worker to drive from Portland to Marion Co to install a new lightbulb), staff are made to travel to Portland from Marion county multiple times to complete training classes that are no more than a non charismatic person reading a power point presentation (these classes could easily be turned into online modules staff does on their own at their home programs), managers withhold extra shifts and manipulate the overtime policies and work in programs other than their own to increase their paychecks, (rather than filter available shifts to hourly staff, which is more fiscally responsible) and numerous other ridiculous policies that are inefficient and waste money-it's painfully obvious that with more efficient procedures they could easily afford to pay competitive wages. Management rules through threats and fear rather than collaboration and does not seek out feedback from DSP staff (who are the people who actually know the clients/routines/homes best). Upper management seems more interested in having paying bodies in beds, rather than selecting and placing clients that they are realistically able to support. Often overly violent clients are put into environments that do not have enough safe guards and appropriate staff to ensure staff is safe at work. Anyone who applies here should be clear that they will be put in dangerous situations and will most likely be injured by client violence (and management will act like that is a normal work expectation). Overall, they are an extremely inefficient company where staff is not respected.

I do not recommend people to work for Albertina Kerr. It is a lot of long hours and quick burn out. When you ask assistant directors and management above them for help they done do anything to help you. I recently just stopped working at Albertina Kerr as a program manager. I turned in my 2 weeks to my AD and she immediately tried to convince me to stay. I had to let her know that there was nothing that could be done to convince me to stay because I was so upset about the lack of support I had been receiving. At this point both the CEO of the company and the chief program officer both asked if I would be willing to talk with them and I said yes.  

They both heard my concerns and agreed with me that everything I was saying was concerning for what had been going on and the lack of support that the program had been receiving from my AD and Director. During my last week of employment my boss requested that I attend a meeting with her and our Director. During this meeting I was told that they wanted myself and my APM out of the program the last three days we were there and to just take the clients and go drive around during the state wide stay at home order. 

Later that day I responded by email telling them that I could not do that as there were too many loose ends to tie up around the program before my last day on Friday. In this email I also called my boss out on talking about me negatively behind my back and also telling people to not send needed documents to me. She responded to this email by coming to the program the next morning with the Director of the programs and letting me know that there was just too much tension happening and that they wanted by Keys, bade, and work phone. They then walked me out of the program without even being able to say proper good byes to the 2 clients  in the home. 

SO like I said this is a horrible company to work with and I do not recommend anyone to work with this company as all of mid level and upper management need a complete turn around as they are too top heavy.

Working with the company for a long time, I have seen this place go from really great, to really horrible. The people you take care of are awesome. It is very rewarding to work with people who depend on you for most things in their life. It can be challenging but, most jobs are. 
The management and the way this company has changed is what makes people want to leave. They DO NOT appreciate their staff, even though we do the most important work. Feel lucky if you ever hear a thank you from someone. They focus on small meaningless things and worry about what you said on Tuesday at 3 o'clock, instead of finding ways to make the clients life better or thinking of how they can show appreciation.
You are expected to show up to mandatory meetings that the management hardly shows up for.
If it wasn't for our union, most people who have been here a while would be fired.
The assistant director in lane county is a micro manager who does absolutely nothing productive to help the company grow. She gets her kicks by writing people up and firing them. 
None of the upper management know how to work with the clients as they never step foot in the houses, unless it's for a meeting with people outside the agency so they look good.  Never expect to get a raise, and if you do, it's most likely about $0.10 every year. They are too involved in buying more houses, instead of giving raises and staffing the programs appropriately.
I wish I could say that this is a great company to work for, but it's not anymore. 
And the reason is solely because of the management and the rediculous policies they have in place. 
If they didn't let some managers run the show, things would be a lot better.

It was a very rewarding job as a psychiatric technician where you really can make a difference to the kids, but I was highly stressed, developing sleeping problems, and not paid very much considering I was fully in charge of up to 10 kids with behavioral problems, usually with only one or two other tech's.  The psych-tech's get to direct therapy skills groups and the goal of the company really is to help the kids, but it's a lot for the pay.  Sometimes it is fun, but the teens there can be dangerous and the younger kids generally have even more acute problems.  It can get messy.  The work environment is professional and there are great young people working there, but Albertina Kerr unfortunately promotes an environment of tattle tales.  Even the hardest working, caring psych tech can have management or co-workers confront them or report them to CPS for even the slightest deviation from the rules.  Even if you're using your best judgment to help kids that sometimes try to deceive you, you have to answer to management if anything goes awry or if kids accuse you of anything.  Shifts are long, and if a patient is acting up you can't leave.  So you never really know when you're going home.  They have a good system although minimal training for physical interventions, but they basically would rather the tech's get assaulted than be proactive when kids are out of control.  Really I mostly regret that I couldn't keep working there even though I was very good at it, since I didn't always feel supported and it was too much stress for the pay.

Don't overstay your welcome at Kerr, on the front lines or you'll end up with PTSD like the rest of us. Since working in hospital environments I think the traumatic work (not only stressful, but traumatic) is largely due to lack of employee support. There is no security, psyc technicians teach therapy groups, are bachelor's educated, run general education groups, etc but are also the only staff that are required to physically restrain children. Talk about ruining rapport as we are their only staff resource 24 hours a day. 

Not to mention the holds do not account for staff safety what so ever. We are told not to remove hands when a teenager or kid (usually as big as adults these days) chokes a staff member with their hands around their neck--and are not only supposed to calm ourselves through the natural fight or flight response (it's possible and mandatory for the job but also mentally  breaks down staff) while doing some unnatural twist motion to "get out of it". 

There is something to be said about natural consequences as many kids and teens here never learn due to lax thereputic methods. Physical punishment isn't the answer but kids must have some sort of structure for behavior expectations because abusing staff is not okay. Many eventually learn this the hard way and end up in juvenile detention once they're out of hospital settings. Staff is paid barley above minimum wage to not only be verbally and emotionally abused daily but also physically.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Direct support professional 286 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Disability support worker 80 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Program manager 18 salaries reported	$21.00 per hour
Psychiatric technician 45 salaries reported	$19.65 per hour
Caregiver 36 salaries reported	$17.65 per hour

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