senior case manager

social worker

school principal

driver

wellness coordinator

Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens

CCBQ, especially the corona behavioral health clinic, is a mess.  Pros: great staff, as they are a kind, dedicated, cohesive group that truly cares about client outcomes and about each other.  People help each other and stick together.  Staff appreciates each other.  Good pay and good benefits.  Room for advancement (from therapist to supervisor after obtaining LCSW or from supervisor to director).  
Cons, which outweigh the Pros:
Supervisors do not get much individual supervision (this may be changing since I stopped working there as an assistant director was hired who will supervise the supervisors).  
Intake is open access walk-in, twice weekly, and as much as supervisors try to keep it organized, it is chaotic and stressful for all staff.  
Management is punitive and does not seem to understand the daily stress of the job.  Upper management and HR are aware of the high turnover but management has not made any effort to improve working conditions to reduce the attrition rate.  
Caseloads are too high for therapists and supervisors.  Supervisors are overworked and work several hours before or after their scheduled days are over, including on weekends in the office or using a work laptop (required for supervisors), with no overtime pay.  Therapists and supervisors are expected to complete all documentation (progress notes and treatment plans) concurrently, which is nearly impossible.  They end up writing poor, not very detailed progress notes in order to keep up with the paperwork workload.  There is very little training for new and current staff members, and hardly and professional development offered.  Staff are expected to use time off to attend outside trainings.  
Staff get written up and given a new 3 month probation for poor performance.  However, the acting "director" does not allow for improvement, and staff are quick to be terminated if mistakes are made during this time.  The weekly individual supervision that is required is not necessarily provided to staff that get written up (especially if they are supervisors, as the "director" isn't available).  
Turnover is incredibly high.  37 staff members, including supervisors, therapists, directors, and administrative staff, left or were fired during the nearly 2 years that I worked at CCBQ.  3 staff members were fired during the last month that I worked there. This turnover is detrimental to clients.  New staff are often left with caseloads of clients who have not been contacted in some time and paperwork that needs to be completed immediately.  Clients who have been receiving services for 3 years or more reported to me that over the years, their therapist has changed at least 4 times.  Clients' cases are closed too quickly due to poor attendance without taking into account clients' life stressors that affect attendance.  
Bottom line: if you are a new therapist who recently graduated from school, think hard before accepting a therapist position with CCBQ.  If you are an experienced therapist or supervisor, think even harder about it.  I do not recommend this agency to my worst enemy.

I worked as a therapist at a Catholic Charities clinic for a year before I handed in my resignation. Initially, I was ecstatic to work there and quickly felt welcomed by my colleagues and direct superiors. I immediately loved working with the clients there and even though learning new computer systems and the workflow of the clinic were challenging, I felt I caught on pretty quickly. Unfortunately, since self care of the employees is not anywhere near a priority of Catholic Charities Mental Health Clinics (don't let them fool you), the 45 person caseload I was promised, quickly rose to 85 persons- with numerous high risk clients included on that list. When this was brought to upper management's attention, it was quickly put back on the therapist (me and every other therapist that brought it to their attention) and how I was not doing my job properly by closing client cases in time to make room on my caseload. I "drank the cool-aid" and believed that maybe it was JUST me at fault, so I worked very hard, came into work early most days to catch up on paperwork and close cases as needed, asked for help with strategy, but still- the workload continued to pile up and the expectations rose beyond normal limits. We were responsible for an insane amount of paperwork, expected to have everything in WITH DETAIL by the end of each day- no mistakes, while having a full daily schedule of clients seen back to back (clients who have experienced serious trauma mind you), with little to no break in between. Note taking? We were expected to collaborate with every client- which may work for some clients, but is extremely unrealistic in the time frames we were allowed to have for every client. It started to feel more like working a factory- an anxiety provoking factory where if you missed one single note, you would expect a reprimand email the following morning with threat of being written up. In addition, anyone who works in this field or a field similar to this, knows that it is NOT healthy for a person to continuously absorb that level of emotional information from 80something clients AND be expected to perform other job duties WELL with no reprieve. It is not normal nor should it be expected. There was very little support from upper management and no encouragement whatsoever. It always felt like the sky was falling and we were to blame, no matter how hard we worked. Management hired during my last months there was not a good fit and had very little self awareness to the role that they played in the severe decline of our work productivity. We were hopeful for change but were severely disappointed.The work environment became more toxic and the only thing keeping me going were the connections/ support I had with the other therapists working there. I was sad to leave my clients and colleagues, but just like I tell my clients, self care is important- if we don't take time to care for ourselves, other areas of our lives will suffer. 
To sum up, don't work there until your sure there has been a serious change.

Management is punitive, not empathetic, unsupportive, very little training for position. I did not have individual supervision even once in the past 6 months. Management doesn’t seem to care at all about staff of clients. Very unethical workplace environment that bordered on a hostile workplace due to acting Director’s and upper management’s lack of any empathy and good social skills treating staff. Their standards are really low as they really only care about productivity making caseloads too high rather than quality of care which in reality is extremely low as no room left for real patients’ care. Main goal is only productivity. And their workers perform poorly because nobody gives them real supervision and teaching. But when workers fail the only way Director/Management deal with them is to write them up and then firing. This process management call as “low tolerance”. I call it zero insight into their incompetent skills with dealing with problems and their staff. 
I worked uncompensated on my own time or I would never be able to finish my work. I had laptop and spent at least 6 months using it mostly at home in order to keep up. Turnover is very high. Clients don’t feel really cared having every 2-3 months new workers and waiting to be seen often up to several hours because of overbooked and walking patients. Clients are also being overcharged when they are undocumented. Morale is very low and stress level is very high. 
Upper management should start thinking about quality of patients’ care first, change intake process, provide time for paperwork. They have to make a commitment to retaining staff. And they have to stop asking their acting current Directors, Clinical Supervisors and social workers to write positive reviews after they see true negative ones to look better. People who read these reviews are not stupid. They should rather make changes inside to keep their staff and change work ethic and environment. Everywhere nowadays in mental health system workers are under a lot of pressure, stress, and have to multitask. But nowhere one could see such ongoing frequent turnover of social workers, Supervisors, Clinical Directors who are leaving Catholics Charities maximum within year (but mostly within 6-8 months) after starting their job. It take place not because something is wrong with them but rather with upper management who created such conditions when staff have to leave.

Working in this agency was one of the most negative experiences I have had in my career. The aim of management was to collect money and as a result, management was unresponsive to staff concerns. Social workers and mental health counselors were given high caseloads of 65+ clients on their third day. Management depended on other therapists (who had similarly high caseloads) to train new hires. After one week in the clinics, therapists would receive emails regarding overdue treatment plans and warnings that they would be written up if they didn't start seeing clients and completing treatment plans. Documentation was significant (as is expected in this field) with absolutely no time given to complete paperwork. Clinical supervision was almost nonexistent and didn't allow staff to develop or hone clinical skills. To stay afloat, my coworkers all showed up to work hours early to complete documentation and answer client phone calls. To top it all off, clients were accepted to clinics despite needing much higher level of care. When therapists voiced concerns, management was often dismissive. Due to high caseloads, clients (often regardless of risk level) were seen every other week, did not have vital paperwork completed due to overwhelming amount of paperwork, double booking of clients occurred and client and therapist dissatisfaction was rampant. As a result, staff turnover was rampant. Management was dismissive of staff concerns, and became outright hostile when staff expressed these concerns. Management (specifically director of field operations and the VP) were extremely punitive from day one. Management often justified heavy caseload and high expectations by stating that staff were salaried instead of paid fee for service. This company did nothing to help the development of professional skills within their staff, and every move they made was calculated towards generating revenue, at the cost of staff and clients. This is not a company I would ever recommend working for. 

This place was once a gem but is now a stone in the fiery pits of the underworld. The only saving grace is that  coworkers try their best to cultivate a comfortable work environment for each other. Management (immediate supervisors and upper admin) are emotionally and verbally abusive. The company is absolutely toxic and the working conditions are completely unethical.  Clinic employees are constantly belittled, gaslighted, intimidated and disrespected. It’s truly hard to believe that everyone in charge is licensed to be a therapist. I wouldn’t recommend this company to my worst enemy.  This is truly the place therapy comes to die. It’s run like a factory with an emphasis on productivity and billing and nothing else. Therapist, psychiatrists, & supporting staff are all worked until the point of burnout with no care and no support from admin. Caseloads are regularly over 70 clients per therapist with continuous intake and barely any supervision, sometimes for months. There is absolutely no clinical guidance from supervisors, their only advice is for you to close the client’s case. Work life balance and “self care” is non existent. I regularly worked overtime (12 hrs days as well as coming in on Saturdays for 6- 8 hours) with no extra pay in desperate attempt to try to stay afloat. There are many days where I would go the whole day without eating or drinking because the work was so demanding. It was so overwhelming that I’d have nightmares about the work. By my second year of employment I had daily panic attacks as I approached the office each morning. The pay is pennies compared to the actual workload you complete.
Although there is a lot of PTO, you can’t actually  take it without going through 12 steps to submit for approval and then coming back to a mountain of work & struggling to play catch up for weeks. You never feel like you’re on steady footing. Changes are constant and none are implemented for the betterment of  employee conditions or for the care of clients, just to get more money. It is not worth your mental and physical health to accept any job here but especially a clinical position. Heed my words and RUN!!

So, I'll start with the pros I guess.... not a entire desk job get to go out into the community to meet your clients. You get compensated for your travel when meeting clients or assisting clients to medical appt. Ill say good benefits and discount program, but you are not informed of the discount program from management I found out through a coworkers I became close with. Umm that's pretty much it for pros. Now the cons, no overtime so if your stuck working past your shift whether it be because a visit went past the time or you are dealing with a client or housing issue, don't expect to be paid. Oh did I mention, once a week your on call 24/7 and are expected to answer the call regardless of the time or you will get written up. If the call requires you leaving your home at 2am to meet the client or etc., you are expected to do so. They tell you that you can leave early another day, but never happens. Your task pretty much consist of counting mess and checking on your clients and going into their homes (4 out of 5 clients have filthy homes which is disgusting, smells, and has rodents and roaches). The actual work environment itself where your desk is located feels like you're back in high school with all the gossip and childish talk. The turnover rate for positions is extremely high. THe 1 year I was there felt like someone quit every month. I mean I feel there were more cons than pros, but I will not continue. Overall, the company is great for the community, many resources and assistance, but to work for not so much. To say the least, my son was seeing a therapist from here and 3 months in he had 3 new therapist so I had to switch him, completely different dept. from where I worked and even they had a high turnover rate.

As program manager of Cribbin House for CCBQ I would complete daily walk throughs, ensure appropriate staff to consumer ratio, respond to emergency situations, behavioral challenges, allocate funds, delegate daily duties and tasks to staffs, ensure compliance of OPWDD standards, ensure appropriate documentation of pertinent paperwork for consumers health, occurrences, goals, etc daily. The program manager position has been a job that I've thoroughly and consistently enjoy. Being able to work with the consumers on a daily basis and impacting their lives for the better is a very gratifying feeling. I believe that the hardest part of the job is to ensure that your staff stay motivated and enthusiastic about the work that we are doing with these consumers. These consumers depend on staffs to gain independence, confidence, and a sense of purpose. I continually encourage my staff to interact and participate in daily activities with the consumers. This position has taught me many skills that I will utilize in my future endeavors in the management field.

A typical day at Catholic Charities was always different, but very busy. Handling multiple calls to doctors' therapists' patients'. Escorting patients to their therapists' office. Prepare all pockets for Tuesday Triage of new patients. Making sure I took all necessary information from patient to scan and create a file for them. Translating when needed. Running to pull charts that were still being worked on by therapists. Retrieving charts for therapists and next day patients to have everything at hand and make it more easy. My manager was great. She worked very hard and always held meetings to make sure we would all be on the same page about running efficiently. The hardest part was when patients became irate and we had to call the police to escort them due to both their safety and ours. My most enjoyable part of the days were when the kids came in for their group sessions with therapists.

Working at Catholic Charities is deeply meaningful for those of us who aim to do social servive work within a faith based context. For me there is no such thing as a typical day because the situations my change with developing needs and emerging social crisis so we need to be on our toes. This however is the social reality and so one must be adaptable to the changing reality and the diversity of client's needs. I have learned so much in the way of accompanying people in need and discovering the various resources that can address the needs we find. Being an advocate for people in need is a special calling and that brings great joy and meaning to my life. The workplace culture is wonderful because I very much feel heard and respected and as such I can also hear and respect the wisdom of the community to see how we can deliver the services and programs we offer. The most enjoyable part of this work is that I can feel like my faith is very much expressed in what I do.   

I can only speak for Catholic Charities’ behavioral health clinics, but it’s easily the worst place I’ve ever worked. The amount of the work they place on clinicians and supervisors is absurd and unmanageable. And when you bring these concerns to upper management, they won’t make any changes. I tried to stay as long as I possibly could because I really do enjoy working with clients but the sheer amount of work was damaging my mental health.  They are more focused in getting more new clients without any regard for retaining the clients who are already receiving services. And they certainly don’t care about retaining staff, the turnover rate is ridiculously high, and every clinician I know that resigned did so not because of the type of work, but the amount of work and complete lack of flexibility/support from upper management. The clients deserve better than burnt out clinicians hanging on by a thread.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Senior case manager 72 salaries reported	$33.13 per hour
Social worker 44 salaries reported	$77,625 per year
School principal 54 salaries reported	$23.58 per hour
Driver 37 salaries reported	$19.28 per hour
Wellness coordinator 47 salaries reported	$32.03 per hour

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