direct support professional

in home caregiver

behavior technician

life skills trainer

caregiver

Chileda

I began in 2021 in what was labeled an entry-level DSP position, though the level of responsibility and emotional demand far exceeded that title. The work itself was meaningful, challenging, and deeply rewarding. I genuinely cared about the kids and invested myself fully in their growth and well-being.

After 8 months, I earned a TA position and was initially excited for the opportunity to expand my impact within the organization. Over time, however, I gained a clearer understanding of how the organization truly operates. Despite the dedication and advocacy of frontline staff, it became evident that upper management’s primary focus was maintaining full enrollment. Full capacity meant increased revenue, yet that revenue did not translate into improved staffing ratios, stronger support systems, or compensation that reflected the intensity of the work being done on the floor.

Staff were routinely expected to exceed their capacity in already understaffed environments. Unsurprisingly, burnout among some of the most dedicated employees became common. Rather than addressing systemic strain, turnover was treated as an individual issue.

Within the classroom environment, I experienced ongoing concerns related to supervision and professional accountability. A significant portion of the instructional workload consistently fell on me, while credit for that work was not. When I advocated for myself, I was told by the education manager that she “did more for me than for other TAs and that I should be grateful”. That response reflects a culture where basic support is framed as favoritism rather than leadership responsibility.

I frequently went above and beyond for this organization because I cared deeply about the students. Ultimately, I was terminated with no substantive reason beyond “seeming unhappy in my position” and a year old coaching form with no relevance to the situation. After sustained understaffing, lack of accountability, and diminished support, that conclusion felt less like an evaluation of performance and more like a dismissal of valid concerns.

The work with the kids was meaningful. The culture surrounding it was not. 

Working at Chileda felt like leaving a toxic partner. You don’t realize how much you’ve been tolerating until you step away and regain clarity. 

The air is much clearer now.

Working at Chileda consisted of taking care of residents needs and making sure the environment was safe for everyone present. A typical day included making sure the houses were clean, watching the residents and documenting their behavior, and assisting the residents in completing their morning tasks to start their day. As a lead staff I also was in charge of scheduling staff to teams, transcribing the daily communication logs into the computer, and meeting with the behavioral staff to help make treatment plans for the residents. I would have to say the hardest part of this job would be when the residents would have an episode. Using a combination of techniques we would attempt to get them to calm down and cope with the issue that they were having. Many times this would lead to aggression and restraints would have to be used. Although working with this on a day to day basis can lead to a large amount of stress it was always rewarding seeing how far the residents came to working out the problems they had.

I loved working at Chileda and working with the children. You can see the impact that you make everyday, it can be challenging at times but seeing the progress in the students makes it worth it. With that being said, management is horrible. There is very little support from management to those that are working on the floor with the behavioral students. There is inconsistency within the disciplinary procedure at Chileda as the managers and directors are highly cliquey. Short staffing is a consistent issue at Chileda so floor staff are expected to pick up the slack and take on more work than necessary. Toxic workplace environment as everyone is cliquey, favoritism is also a big issue amongst management.  
Floor staff do not get days off approved as often as management gets off. I had over 100 hours of PTO and would request days off and they would not get approved.

Coworkers were wonderful and some of the students were amazing to work with, however there seemed to be a lot of distrust between shifts on work being done. 

Additionally, being understaffed while they kept bringing in more students to live on campus was tough on many staff and made many leave. 

Being fired could be dependent on if higher-ups like a staff or not. Some people won’t be fired for being awful people and doing little for the company but some will be fired over nothing despite giving their all to the kids there. Would have been much better if not for the cliquey feeling from some management. 

Otherwise, it’s a very meaningful job that can be rewarding! Especially when you develop rapport with students and they’re excited to see you, it tends to make the worst day your best! When you get those students you’ve grown a relationship with, it can make the job so much easier. 

Loved working with the students however, the most challenging part of the job was dealing with management as they do not support floor staff as much as they say they do. Management is not willing to work the floor besides the house manager who is required to, the Residential Director favorites employees by choosing who he personally likes. It is commonly said between the floor staff that if he does not like you then you do not stand a chance advancing within Chileda. There is a lot of room for improvement in the administrative roles at Chileda to be considered supportive to their employees. When I left Chileda, I did not realize how much it affected my mental health. The students will change your life forever because the work is so valuing and rewarding but it is important to monitor your physical and emotional health when working here. 

This is isn’t the place for anyone who is hesitant to take charge in a situation or someone who does not pay attention to detail. The behaviors that you deal with on a daily basis can often become escalated or aggressive without any warning and you need to be able to respond appropriately following the policies and protocols you were training on for proper restraints and escorts. This job also requires some general health aide duties including assisting with bathing toileting and changing adolescence from the ages of 6 to 21. It requires a lot of patience and unfortunately a lot of the time you are balancing many things at once without much help. You really have to have a passion for working with adolescents that may have trauma backgrounds or lack basic social and communication skills. 

I had worked at Chileda for just over 5 years it really is such a rewarding job. It is very challenging as people have said. It is no walk I the park. The relationships you build with the students is the best thing in the world. For the students it can be hard starting over in a new environment. Once they are a little more comfortable and ready to open up their trust to you it really opens your eyes to why you are there. Unfortunately as time went on I felt very less appreciated as a staff. Working day after day with the most toughest students but then not being able to succeed further than where I was. I personally felt this was due to who people knew that were higher up and was not dealt with fairly. 

Chileda is a very challenging, but rewarding place to work. There a lot of opportunities for building teamwork skills, learning about mental health, working with children who have a variety of abilities, and watching young minds grow and succeed. There's a lot of support from your team members and I learn something new every day. Some days can be very stressful and challenging, but each day brings a new opportunity to grow and learn. I would highly recommend working here if you have a strong desire to gain experience working with kids, especially if you are going into the fields of education, social work, or psychology.

HR protects the high up employees at all costs. Worst management I’ve ever worked under. Do not work for this company if you value your mental health. Staff who have friends in management get away with repeated policy violations while others are dismissed for trivial matters or for “making waves” by bringing serious issues to the attention of the directors. Rather than address the problems in management leading to high employee turnover and burnout, they simply write off every complaint and departing good worker as “just another disgruntled employee”. If your company consistently loses good workers, you have bad leadership.  The kids are great and most of the floor staff and teachers are doing their best. It’s a true shame what this place could be compared to what it has become. 

Chileda is a great organization. Their values align with the leaders within the company, and they took input from staff working with clients. I greatly appreciated the connections and growth with this position. They taught me valuable skills that I utilize as a master's level mental health professional. As an employee, I felt valued and appreciated. The culture was much better than my previous employer. Management actually cared about my own well-being and self-care practices. My coworkers always stepped up in crisis situations. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Direct support professional 25 salaries reported	$21.32 per hour
In home caregiver 23 salaries reported	$19.10 per hour
Behavior technician 22 salaries reported	$17.50 per hour
Life skills trainer 1 salary reported	$23.00 per hour
Caregiver 6 salaries reported	$19.33 per hour

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