youth counselor

case manager

clinician

assistant supervisor

social worker

Childrens Home of Poughkeepsie

One of the better jobs you'll find in the area. There needs to be better communitcation between staff, supervisors, and the workers in the Main House. Main House staff (directors, social workers, etc.) need to also listen to the input of the direct care staff (youth counselors) since youth counselors are the ones that are with these children and hear their constant wants and help them with their struggles. The children there come from different backgrounds and you won't make a good connection with all of them, so be prepared to either be threatened by them or for them to give you their utmost respect. Some kids will make false allegations against you, but as long as you follow protocol and those allegations are actually false then you shouldn't have anything to worry about (some of them are also all talk so lol). The staff I worked with were chill for the most part, but there were definitely visible cliques going around. They say to watch out because children like to split staff, but staff like to split other staff as well. Overall, the main campus is severely understaffed. You will get mandated at least once or twice, or you might get pulled to help out in a different cottage/program, so its good to be familiar with all the youth, what triggers them, and what they enjoy doing in their free time. ALWAYS DOCUMENT EVERYTHING AND REPORT EVERYTHING TO THE RS. They tell you not to be on your phone but if you aren't near the log book, then use the notepad on your phone to document stuff, and write a report on it later. They will be on your case if you miss out an important detail that you might not have thought was important, or if you honestly forgot to report to the RS. Overall, yes the job is stressful and there is a lot you have to remember but some of it becomes second nature after you get used to the routine of your program and there will be people who are either in the same boat as you or are willing to always help out. There will be times where you can take the youth out on trips, and there are a few recreational activities for them to enjoy on campus as well, so there is some fun involved with the job. Be careful if you get put on leave though. I was on leave due to an injury that occured on the job. I had ran out of leave hours (I was on leave a few months prior for another work injury) and they terminated me without much of a warning.

DO NOT WORK HERE UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE OVERLY STRESSED, PART OF A DEMEANING WORK CULTURE, AND HAVE A CASE AGAINST YOU.

The job is not secure. There is no 'ifs' or 'buts' about it.

Staff are not treated appropriately by clients, other staff, and management. The more staff you meet in management, the clearer it is that too many are disconnected from the job and your tasks, which is beyond what is listed in the flowery job description. Structure here is close to being non-existent.

Management is too well connected with the Office of Children's and Family Services (OCFS) and therefore understand how it works. For example, if someone in management, or many someone's in management, dislike you for any reason, you will and can be accused and go through a very time consuming and stressful investigation. The same can be said if it is a client that is known or has made false accusation etc. based on past behavior and so on. The recourse, in that it is false, for that is also stressful and very time consuming. And that is if you can find the appropriate recourse to assist you (legal or otherwise). Your rights to what you can do are very limited and the company is very aware of that. Worst that communication between staff and management is very low to begin with. Don't work here due to this alone.

Concerning the clients, aside from too many cursing you out, it can go beyond with other inappropriate language, physical aggression, and hand gestures as well. The appropriate consequences, if any, are close to being nonexistant.

The benefits are fine, but there are better or equal benefits elsewhere.

Do not work here unless you very specifically are required to work here. If you do, I suggest you to document everything, and being detailed.

I felt as though this agency did not care for their staff members. They treat staff like they are disposable and it really discouraged team members to look for positions elsewhere. The staff in higher positions promote equality but favor certain individuals over a lot of the smaller staffing who work directly with the population served. 

I started noticing individuals that were under qualified being promoted/receive raises when they were related/best friends with upper management. A lot of individuals are related but never stated it to HR and so now the company has various family members in different roles that make it diffIcult to get promoted. 

I also noticed the favoritism, especially when an incident occurred and most of these members are passive aggressive to the person that reported an incident.  

You will experience burnout and feel used by the end of a hard week even though you passionately want to do a great job working with the children. 

Overall it’s a big management issue. Management is very poor and lacks support for those that need it. 

I worked in a residential home. The day to day tasks were unclear constantly. Asking questions and wanting to learn was frowned upon. The other employees created a hostile environment. The employees were rude, abrasive, and passive aggressive toward the residents. The employees would bring in their personal beliefs, opinions, politics into the workplace and created an uncomfortable place to be. They employees would sit on their phone the entire day and refuse to take the residents to activities in the community because it was “too much work” or “boring”. These workers either need more education/training/or simply a new job. This environment was supposed to be therapeutic and there was absolutely nothing that went on that I can describe as therapeutic. I wish the residents in this program the best because they are not receiving proper care. 

Working as an Overnight Youth Counselor at the Children’s Home of Poughkeepsie was a rewarding experience. The organization truly cares about the well-being of the children and provides staff with the training and support needed to succeed in a challenging but meaningful role. Management was approachable and always willing to listen, and my coworkers were dedicated and supportive, which made overnight shifts much smoother.

The position taught me patience, communication skills, and how to stay calm in difficult situations. It felt great to know that my work directly contributed to providing safety and stability for the kids. While the job can be demanding at times, the impact you have makes it worthwhile.

I would recommend this job to anyone who wants to make a difference in the lives of children and is looking for a supportive team environment.

I worked there for three years in direct care (2015-2018) and I think the job is what you make of it. If you really love kids and want to make a difference in their lives, then this a job for you. If you’re working for a paycheck, then don’t. Direct care roles are better suited for people without attachments (kids etc), as there is the possibility to be mandated for longer hours than scheduled. However, you also got paid to go to concerts, Mets games, and to attend a lot of fun local events with the kids in care. 

The Children's home offers quality care to children from infant to 18 years of age. I offered art therapy to individuals, and groups focusing on improving behavior and overall mental health. I saw between 12 to 18 children per week. I joined in team meetings and clinical assessments, treatment plans were part of my duties as well as planning for discharge.
we were all trained in using the sanctuary model of treatment which worked very hard in training everyone to work as a team. I respect the people who work there and was very sorry to leave that position.

The job itself is not secure  they dispose people like their not human beings.  They make the strangest people into supervisors; literally 99% of the supervisors look like they have no friends, their all weirdos.  The place have no structure.  They are cool with Office of childrens and family services, so if the director don’t like you, she will set you up for failure and you’ll catch an investigation  DO NOT WORK HERE UNLESS YOU WANT TO CATCH A CASE   also the children chill curse you out lol  Yes they have pto and some benefits but I’ve seen better.  Run the other way, you won’t feel like you’ll be working there for a year, too many wannabe chiefs and not enough Indians

Working w the clients we served was a joy. However that joy was often mard by unprofessional leadership. Expectations and responsibilities changed on a dime and the inconsistent expectations were weaponized by Management. You can work hard and give 100% but if your not brown nosing leadership or completely sacrificing any semblance of a work to home balance then you WILL be villianized. Manament is notorious for retaliation. Be careful, leadership will let you down... would not recommend working here until leadership makes sincere, REAL changes. 

the pay is decent, but that doesn't mean the work is worth it. Long unpredictable hours, including mandations and no real system to make sure that people are mandated fairly. the children have behaviors and some will be come physical and they are generally disrespectful. The agency under appreciates it's childcare workers and treats them as disposable. There's almost always overtime available because of such a high turnover.  
This job is emotionally and physically stressful and can make it difficult to maintain your personal life. 
However, some kids are really great and you will bond with them. Some of the co-workers are cool too.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Youth counselor 13 salaries reported	$22.35 per hour
Case manager 2 salaries reported	$75,000 per year
Clinician 3 salaries reported	$67,667 per year
Assistant supervisor 3 salaries reported	$27.00 per hour
Social worker 2 salaries reported	$63,000 per year

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