care manager

enrollment specialist

country manager

behavioral specialist

administrative assistant

Care Design New York

There are pros and cons to working here.  It is fast paced which I don't mind.  Days go by fast and you learn a lot.  The pay is fair but they keep adding clients to our caseloads so I feel that we should be paid a higher amount than we are because of all of the work and the expectations they place on us.  They try to be a company that is like family but it is phony and if you aren't in with the people who are phony and friends, you won't be able to advance in the company.  It is sad because the company is decent and the benefits are pretty good.  The office politics are kind of awful and if they don't consider you to a be a friend or if you keep to yourself and just do your work, the office environment can be awful because they will start rumors about you and say you aren't a good worker.  Managers also act like this which is disappointing because it could be a great place to work if these things didn't happen.  They aren't very honest either, they keep things a secret until last minute.  They place last minute demands on you.  They will hire you and say you will only have a caseload of 35 people and that is not true at all.  You will end up with 40+ people on your caseload and they won't care that it is hard work for you.  They will still expect you to do everything they ask, they have created their own requirements which create more busy work that isn't necessary because these requirements aren't even required by OPWDD.  Managers will require you to do a lot of extra work and require you to submit things you've already submitted because they aren't organized and they will want you to do these things not to benefit your clients on your caseload, but to benefit themselves in hopes they will receive another promotion.  This is something managers will tell you to your face.  It is disappointing because instead of most of the employees wanting to benefit the people we are supposed to be supporting, they are mostly out for benefiting themselves.

Overall, Care Design NY is great at keeping all staff informed of changes in the field and providing in-house training opportunities as well as outside agency training opportunities. Prior to COVID-19, Care Managers were able to work from home up to 2 x a week after completing the initial "probation" period. Hardest part of the job is the gradual increase in workload and unrealistic deadlines that are placed on Care Managers. The workload requires overtime, however because of budget cuts there is limited OT approved. You really need to know how to prioritize your time to be successful. The best part of working as a Care Design Care Manager is the impact you have on adults and children with disabilities and their families. 

Typically, you will carry a caseload of 35-38 people.  However, this number may vary and will most likely increase due to budget cuts and hiring freeze. You are responsible for reviewing each person's Life Plan semi annually with their supports and services providers. You are also responsible to maintain timely contact with each individual/family at least once a month. You are to bill for at least 50% of your caseload at mid month and must have billed for everyone by the end of the month. You are to also conduct Face to Face visits with indiviudals at least once a quarter. During COVID-19, Face to Face visits have been completed via Video conference, Facetime and phone call (if video/Facetime are unavailable).

As someone who spent 11 years with a different not-for-profit, in a different state, under a variety of different managers (all with different styles), I can say with 100% certainty that making the leap to Care Design was the best decision that I have made professionally.  Care Design takes pride in their workforce through the competitive compensation package that was offered to me, and I continue to feel that every day through collaborative environment and supportive financial resources available to us.  

My team is fantastic, we get along wonderfully and each bring something different to the table.  

The commute is perfect for me personally, and the reimbursement for travel is fabulous and appreciated.

The software used to manage people (HRIS, and remote learning) is great and easy to use.

I was given everything that I needed to be successful in my role.

One of the most important factors that keeps me a part of the CDNY team is that the role and culture is relaxed and much less stress that my previous position.  Which means that work/life balance is there and I don't foresee that changing.  Many of the employees all jointly left previous positions because of poor work/life balance and poor management.  It's a priority for us all and therefore it's first on the mind when any work is shared or forecasted.

Honestly, becoming part of the CDNY team has been one of the best decisions for me personally and professionally and I'm so thankful that I was chosen.  

If you are considering applying, you should take my advice and do it.  Be selfish and have the conversation.  This is a company you should WANT to work for, and should compete your hardest to interview.  Don't wait.  Just do it.

Care Design NY is "hands down" the best organization I have worked for in my career.  There is a great sense of professionalism in the workplace and collaboration between employees regardless of position in order to get things done.  Care Design NY leadership makes routine efforts to recognize individual staff and the employees as a whole for their hard work and dedication.  Since I have been at Care Design NY, I have received two bonuses and a raise in less than a year's time.  Care Design NY has many opportunities available to train and learn through webinars, in person training and support from supervisors.  The ratio of supervisor to Care Manager is such that supervisors have the availability to answer questions and offer assistance on a regular basis.  Care Design NY is a new organization that employs many experts in the field who are sharing what they have learned with others.  Although systems are still being developed and refined within this new organization, there are many tools and resources at our fingertips now that we did not have in the Medicaid Service Coordination model that came before Care Management.  Another thing I love about working for Care Design NY is that there is a culture that we are all in this together and that mistakes are an opportunity to learn.  The people that I work with at Care Design NY show respect for each other and appreciation for the contribution of others.

Care Design NY allows me to balance caring for my own family with helping to change the lives of people in my community. They work hard to provide all of the technology and tools we need to meet our job requirements efficiently so we can spend more time focusing on helping individuals build the lives they want. 

The work days are flexible to meet the needs of the individuals we support. This has been a huge benefit to me because the flexibility has also allowed me to make sure I am there for my family whenever I am needed. I make my own appointments, so I can decide which days I want to work later or not. 

The Management team at Care Design NY really cares about their employees. They take time to get to know people and truly care about them. We are able to take challenges we face to management and they help us to work to find solutions. This fosters a work environment that is collaborative and supportive. The Care Managers and Supervisors have a wealth of knowledge about all aspects of Care Management and community resources and are always will to share that information with other team members. I love having this team of people to share ideas with because it makes the service I provide so much better. 

Care Design NY also offers trainings and plenty of paths for career advancement. They want to see their staff succeed and grow, and they make that clear to us in everything they do.

Care Design NY was a dream, we had smaller caseloads and the ability to effectively and efficiently provide for the people we support. Now that CDNY is going in the route of health home the responsibilities continue to grow on top of the duties already required and with no over time in sight. We understand the budget cuts aren’t easy for the agency as a whole but CDNY claims they are actively working towards ensuring they keep the workforce intact - well, that’s an obvious because without care managers there would be no care design. We have ridiculous deadlines, non stop webinars where almost always another bomb is dropped on us. This might sound like it’s a walk in the park but when your living through a pandemic and expected to still function that way you were a year ago it takes its toll on you. Every care manager you speak to is overwhelmed, looking for somewhere else to work, crying after their 8 hour shift, having growing anxiety. Whilst the people on our caseloads also suffer because care managers cannot effectively and efficiently provide them with the support we need because we are have 10 other deadlines to complete. They claim to be person centered but it’s less and less about the people we support and ensuring someone bills Medicaid. The turnover rate is terrible and instead of hiring new care managers they rather hike on the caseloads 45+, but they do give us the opportunity to do some yoga. 

I wanted to love this company. I loved my immediate supervisor and the regional supervisors were  just as helpful and amazing. I slowly watched as co workers got fired for supporting families without the upper management’s permission even though hands on supervisors fought for them. I witnessed co workers being shafted out of their appropriate salary because of upper management. I watched webinars every week where they methodically  stripped away the job  flexibility that they promised us when we first signed on. I left when everyone in my office felt defeated, alone, unheard, and bitter. I couldn’t allow myself to hate my job that much. I switched to a different CCO. They offer tons of flexibility and my new supervisor is  just as helpful and great. They do a better job of giving us the feeling of collaboration that no amount of weekly webinars and “shoutouts” ever could. I love being a care manager again and my families love the flexible working schedule that I need in this field. Care Design has a major disconnect between the employees, families  and the top management. I don’t think that upper management even knows what care managers do. They just like making rules and then changing them to make our jobs more difficult.

1. Communication extremely poor between care managers and suprivors. 2. Training is below proficient and NOT VERY HANDS ON, particularly for new hires who are new to the population that organization serves.
3. The organization doesn’t seem to have a solids structure or protocol, all they say is just follow your supervisors and sometime the supervisors are just as clueless. 4. HR will call you a fews weeks after just to see how well you are integrating in the organization if you state your concerns and they will just fall on deaf ears. No follow up, nothing, just basically telling you to shut up and deal with it. Yep! that's your welcome. 
5. The moment you start working they don’t care if you dont know what you are doing or you are new to the IDD population they will immediately throw you to the wolves, which not surprisingly has become apart of the organizational culture.
6. The working environment/ culture is very bad and extremely toxic. 
7. Supervisors, managers/directors are very rude, lack professionalism and are not very objective. 
8. They will also mislead you in the interview, about your workload, location (where you will be working) as well as the benefits that you will get including floating holidays and/ or work from home days. However, when the time comes for you to apply for those benefits they will outright denied them.

This is not a job for your typical Type A person who likes everything done by the book. You will be thrown in with an already large caseload with very little training. If you do not know how OPWDD, the DOH, or Medicaid operates, you will be thrown many curveballs that you will receive little support with. I had a good relationship with my supervisor but because of that role and their workload on top of having their own caseload, it was very hard to get assistance. If you are not a "favorite" of the higher ups, chances are you won't be respected very much. Everyone is overworked, very burnt out, and mentally exhausted. I myself have suffered a mental decline as well as getting physically sick over this job. The work/life balance is laughable. They took away overtime, so make sure that once your clocked out, you do no more work. Having the option to work from home 2 days a week was nice, but with COVID it's all remote with even less access to supervisors. You are also at the mercy of other providers and OPWDD to get your work done efficiently and if something goes wrong, you are at fault even when you're not. Overall, not a good place to work. 

I would like to start by saying when working in social services it can be rewarding and very frustration. I believe you really must enjoy your job to navigate through the pros and cons of social services and depending on the company there can be more pros and then cons or vice versa. While Care Design NY has been open for several months, I was awarded the opportunity to advance and become a Care Manager Supervisor. I would like to say, there are frustrating moments BUT I sincerely enjoy my job, title and salary. The staff are very friendly, caring and social. Even though we’re in the middle of a transition with daily deadlines, the atmosphere in my office is laid back and understanding. I believe anyone interested in working in social services, Care Design NY would be good place to start. There’s endless opportunity to advance, the pay is fair for social service, and it will either make you want to continue to assist people within social services or leave this career behind.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Care manager 162 salaries reported	$28.92 per hour
Enrollment specialist 2 salaries reported	$27.95 per hour
Country manager 1 salary reported	$24.40 per hour
Behavioral specialist 1 salary reported	$62,500 per year
Administrative assistant 2 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour

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