administrative specialist

correctional officer

technician assistant

parole officer

nurse's aide

Commonwealth of Kentucky

My review is of the Cabinet of Health and Family Services, not the entire Common Wealth of Kentucky.  I want to make that crystal clear.

I cannot recommend strongly enough for candidates to reconsider applying for a position with this cabinet at this location.  My experience has been:  *Inconsistent policies if any at all, because they DO NOT adhere to them.  *No training other than going to a couple of classes out of town, on the job training is non existent.  What you're taught in the training classes is inconsistent with what is actually implemented on the job.  *No communication at all, what little communication there is is malicious gossip.  The management does NOTHING to check it.  *No collaboration within the departments at all.  The workers from management, social workers, to office support are too busy back stabbing, gossiping, and vying for power, and generally being full of themselves to get any real work done.  *Workers spend a majority of their time trying to get out of doing their jobs to get any real work done.  * No accountability.  *IT IS a professional record keepers NIGHTMARE, and I can't stress this enough, and most of that nightmare is preventable but unfortunately no accountability, laziness and arrogance win out thus the night mare persists.  *Too much red tape where there should be none, not enough where it is needed.  *Not given access to computer programs that are vital to perform the job, then the employees is made to feel like they're the one who is incompetent because the job isn't done due to the employees not being provided the tools necessary to do the job, and we're talking months here, not a couple of weeks.   *Management pits the employees against one another to keep the work place hostile.  *Management and social workers are arrogant and demeaning, patronizing.  * Office support is disrespectful and manipulative.  If the individuals in this agency put the time that they spend gossiping, back biting, and avoiding their jobs, into actually doing their jobs, their jobs would not only be easier, but their agency would flourish.  There are a few mature people here that try very hard and take their job seriously, but unfortunately they are up against the majority here which does not.  *The problem is NOT the clients, the problem is ALL management, from top to the bottom, colleagues/co-workers from top to bottom.

  I don't like giving these types of negative reviews, but I feel potential employees have a right to know what they are walking into when taking a position such as this. If you're a hard worker, take your work seriously, and not into the he said she said, I highly recommend that you look elsewhere.

I worked in the Lexington, KY DCBS (Department for Community Based Services) as a foodstamp counselor or Family Support Specialist. I also spent a brief time at the Scott County DCBS. Bottom line: Family Support Specialists DO NOT make anywhere near what they should for the workload and verbal abuse that they take on a daily basis from the "clients" aka foodstamp recipients. I stayed SO BUSY in the Fayette County office that I was constantly stressed out and had nightmares about my job...seriously, every night I had job related dreams. The phone calls in Fayette County are NONSTOP. The Scott County office was truckloads better than Fayette County. However, it was still very busy and the worst part was interviewing Hispanic clients because most DCBS workers do not speak Spanish, including me, and so the Family Support Specialist must utilize an interpreter over the telephone (Language Line)--using speakerphone. It's so frustrating and time consuming doing the Hispanic interviews with language line. The job can be very rewarding because there were many times that I had a true feeling that I had helped someone in need and they seemed appreciative. However, the pay is around $27,000.00 and is just not worth it. The Family Support Specialists easily deserve to be a paygrade 14 (making around 38k) or better. I have transferred to other areas of state government and almost any other area of state government is better than DCBS and you do half of the work that you would do at DCBS for the same pay.

A typical day at work will start with receiving and signing out a radio and receiving facility key. Then I will be debriefed by leaving staff and brief on coming staff to ensure all employee's are on the same page. 

A visual head count is the conducted to ensure all residents of the facility are accounted for and in their assigned area. I would then visit each unit and talk with any residents that wish to and talk with the staff overseeing the residents to make sure everything is going okay and to see if they need anything such as clothes, something to drink, etc.

I will then check all court logs to ensure no juvenile has court or is out to court. Then I will gather all documentation of the previous shift and review it to ensure no information was missed during the start of shift briefing.

After a short time each staff on shift will then be offered a break and through out the rest of the day will receive other breaks such as lunch and 15 min breaks.

I will complete any intakes of new juveniles as they enter the facility and ensure all documents from the arresting officer are correct and that a court date has been set for the juvenile in custody. 

At the end of the shift I will brief the oncoming supervisor and give all employees a chance to brief everyone on anything of importance that could have happened.

Restraints of juveniles could be needed throughout the day and are dealt with accordingly.

Read the education and experience the state requires for some of their “careers” and then look at the pay! You will work an enormous amount of hours earning comp  time that you can never use because there is no one to do your job if you need to take off, then you’ll come back to work with a mountain to catch up on. You’ll go to bed every night wondering how you will pay your student loans off with this job, or daycare, or a life... KY state jobs are all dead end jobs. You’ll die trying to get ahead but never will. Even though you work side by side with these defendants and monitor them closely, it’s difficult to get a judge to accept your recommendations especially circuit court judges. You try to save the state and the tax payers money while working yourself out of your mind to help people return to society a better person but you have so little support. There is entirely too much middle management which makes any job frustrating but pretrial jobs are divided by districts, the local managers are almost always awesome, but the district and above managers are the worst. The state of Kentucky really needs to re-evaluate these position requirements. It is perfect for a two year degree or a couple years on the job experience. Would even be a good intership program but not a career where you’ll ever make a difference! Really? FOUR YEARS OF COLLEGE DEBT FOR THIS JOB? Run people. You literally earn more, have more flexibility, and better benefits working as a full time server!

Since I have worked at the Kentucky State Reformatory for over 10 years it's difficult to give a "typical" day.  Initially shifts would be 8 or 16 hours, although now they are 12 hour days. It is an exhausting and grueling place to work dealing with 2400+ inmates when seriously understaffed. The basic day is roll call, receiving your post assignment, going to post and doing security rounds and security counts. Taking care of inmate management, disciplinary issues and maintaining a written log of the days events. The dorms where the inmates live can have 30 to 200 inmates in them and you are the only one in the dorm to deal with them. Racial issues are common problems you have to deal with.  The special management sections are run a little differently.

I have learned security protocols, use of force, firearms and report writing. Classes in CPR/AED use, general inmate management, dealing with special management inmates and violent offenders and emergency responses are also taught.

Many managers and co-workers have an "I no longer care" attitude. Much of this is brought on by the 60+hour work week and covering two or three jobs instead of one.

The hardest part of the job is maintaining a positive attitude when the moral is so poor. The most enjoyable part is when you see an inmate you have counseled or helped in some way, parole out.  Then hear they have become a productive member of society again.

It’s either a balls to the wall fast paced environment in which it’s you and your assigned co-worker trying to manage everything appropriately; or it’s entirely slow and you’ll spend the whole day desperate for something to do. There really isn’t any in-between. Management and office politics are a definite negative for this environment. Often your supervisor is filling a spot that has to be occupied in order for the facility to justify maintaining and paying the position; and while they try to select the best candidate, sometimes they simply choose the most available. You really only have to be able to walk and count to work there in the beginning, there are no stringent hiring qualifications, which means sometimes the people that show up to work with you are...interesting, to say the least. Stay in your lane, do your job, and try to build partnerships where you can with your co-workers. It isn’t terrible, but it isn’t 5 star employment either. Please realize that the inmates are incredibly manipulative, and are not there to help you or to form friendships. If they talk to you; they want something. So many people forget that it truly is an “us vs.them” environment. If the line starts to blur for you, get out before you find yourself in trouble up to your neck. We don’t get lunch breaks, can’t leave the facility to go to our cars at any time, and can’t access our cell phones for the entirety of the shift; but the benefits are really fantastic.

I honestly wouldn't recommend working for the Kentucky Department of Corrections. The pay, benefits, and work life balance or dismal at best. It's at best an entry level position in order to gain training and experience for me sought after jobs in the criminal justice field. 

The training is poor at best. The "academy" is approximately 8 weeks. You learn basic firearms training (not enough to be effective), OC exposure, basic defensive tactics, use of handcuffs and other restraints, and policy and procedures. 

On the job training is nonexistent. Supervisors were not present or avaliable when you needed them due to staffing issues. 

Staffing is a major problem. You will be expected to supervise upwards of 300 inmates by yourself. This is extremely dangerous not only for staff, but for the inmate population. 

The Department also doesn't provide appropriate equipment to perform the job. I had to purchase my own duty belt. This included handcuffs. The only things provide were the uniforms, OC spray, Keys, Firearms, holster, and vehicles. 

The Department failed to provide body armor to its officers when transporting inmates or going on hospital runs. 

Overall, I wouldn't recommend The Department of Corrections. My time was miserable at best due to staffing, poor supervision, and extreme work load. I would work in excess of 60 hours a week.

Short staffing has made for difficult work hours in the last 2 years. Pay has only in the last 3 months started to reflect the work put in by staff at each facility with a 10% pay raise and a shift differential of 2dollers and 13cents if you work between the hours of 6pm and 6AM. If you like overtime then the DOC is for you. You can easily make a lot of money but it will require you to put in long hours with little to no rest. Overtime is frequent and unscheduled if you are in security making it hard to plan family events or outings. I would say the culture changes rapidly at institutions depending on who the supervisory staff are which can change rapidly from year to year. The most difficult part of the job honestly is working with the people. you are in a public servant role and sometimes you work is not seen or valued by the staff above you. You have to have the emotional fortitude to deal with stressful situations at a moments notice. Long story short is the DOC can be a rewarding career if you devote your life to it. Just understand you will never be rich from it and may not achieve the level of success you want to without long hours of work and strong interpersonal skills. The best part though is what you make of it as well as the relationships you form with your coworkers. It can make or break your experience. 

A typical day at work includes but not limited to, completing work orders for lock/key problems, updating all pertinent files for the key shop including purchase orders for supplies, filing completed work orders, color coating emergency keys, spot checking other institutional areas that have tools for completed tool inventories, spot checking all areas of the institution for security issues. Assisting other staff with inmate problems, Conducting spot checks in the Armory of all weapons, and ammunition along with other Armorer duties.  Spot check all wall towers around the perimeter that have weapons for security and problems with the weapons or ammunition. Work closely with the deputy warden of security (main supervisor) for any notable problems and training ideas for the Emergency Response Team. Plan/schedule Emergency Response Team training days and curriculum for that training day. At times assist Central Regional Training at the range as one of their Range Safety Officers. Assist them with Armorer problems with their weapons. When scheduled assist other training areas with less lethal training classes.

I would start my day by gathering all paper work on all fresh arrestee's and call them to my desk for a personal interview.  Once my interview was complete and the information gathered was verified, I would run an N.C.I.C. and State background check on each arrestee. Once the background check was complete I would call the on duty judge and explain each offender's crime and background. The judge would then set the offender's bond or R.O.R(release on own recognizance). the offender.  Once the bonds were set I would deliver them to the district court clerk and  I would draw up and deliver the necessary paperwork to those who were to be released .  The most enjoyable part of the job was learning how to better use my communication and people skill's, despite numerous distractions from arrestee's throughout my shift. My co-workers were usually prompt and very helpful in teaching me the job, its duties, and how to better use the skills set needed for this job.  The hardest part was  that my kiosk was right in the middle of the jail.  There was constant screaming, name calling and many other distractions throughout the day/night while trying to work.  However, I quickly adapted to such an environment and had very few, if any problems completing the tasks I had to do.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Administrative specialist 5 salaries reported	$45,835 per year
Correctional officer 7 salaries reported	$37,787 per year
Technician assistant 8 salaries reported	$17.95 per hour
Parole officer 2 salaries reported	$52,501 per year
Nurse's aide 3 salaries reported	$17.96 per hour

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