counselor

case manager

facilitator

advanced practice registered nurse

clinical supervisor

DIRECTIONS FOR LIVING

In training they STRESS that you do not do overtime, when you get your cases this becomes impossible. A regular working day can start as early as 5am if you have children to transport to placement or to school, depending you may have court, home visits, meetings etc. and this is in addition to getting paperwork done, the possibility of one of your kids on your case load not finding placement and then you become a babysitter for the entire day. You may also have to pick kids up from school and or take children to placement in the afternoon. You can have 10 or more cases depending which may mean 20 to 30 kids.

You get little to NO support depending on the Supervisor you get and the team you are on, and lawyers, judges, management and clients don't care if multiple things have been tasked to you they want what they want NOW. If you are not organized you need to learn to be FAST as well as know how to prioritize.

Between home visits, court and transporting you can put as much as 1000 + miles on your car each week, which REALLY takes has an impact on your engine, be prepared to need tire changes every 2-3 months and no assistance or compensation if your car breaks down while working or because of running it into the ground for this job. They do compensate $0.43 a mile in mileage reimbursement, but when you take into consideration the wear and tear on your car, and how often you have to refuel because you could be driving to Orlando or further depending on where the child is placed it's not worth it.

Some of the children sleep in the office and a few of them are violent and will either attack you (this also happens when you transport some of them) or they tear up the office, throwing chairs, punching holes in the walls and needless to say the Sheriff has to be called or they are so bad they get baker acted. Every few weeks each team does 1 week of on-call which entails staying overnight in the office in shifts to babysit children who refuse placement, transporting children late at night to some out of the way locations for placement etc.

The salary is really not worth all that the job entails: a babysitter, a researcher, data entry, chauffeur, testifying in court, keeping parents accountable, a negotiator, a mental health specialist, a warden. to name a few at the very LEAST this job should pay $25 an hour

Highly emotional occupation when working with the families of abused or neglected children. Ability to flex hours out to have half days or 3 day weekends. Depending on supervisor, the case manager is able to take frequent time off via flexing hours to accommodate the case managers own needs. Training is an extensive 3 month class. Depending on the team you are assigned to depends on the stress of the job. A team that supports one another manages stress well.

This job is not for pregnant women in my opinion (Due to the stress that one receives as a part of the job. It goes straight to your baby)

If you are a single parent with children that are infants, toddlers, or under 12 years old may prove to be difficult. In my time working with this company I have worked multiple 12 hour shifts on a regular daily basis. Some individuals are able to manage it with one child and help from family. However, this job is not a 9a-5p job. We work around normal business and school hours to see children within the home on a monthly basis.

The job does have on-call which is active and requires you to be on standby in the event of an emergency. On-call rotates among 6 different teams on a weekly basis. Thus, you would do on-call for 1-3 days every 6 weeks and that doesn't mean the weekend every time.

You must have a 4 door or 4/5 passenger vehicle. This job is not for people with 2 seaters/coups. We, as case managers, must follow all laws, including traffic. Thus if a child is not 12 years or older, then you cannot transport the child in your car. This job requires a heavy amount of transportation of clients to facilitate visits with birth parents.

In my position I drove approx 900 miles a week and was compensated $0.43 a mile. It adds up at the end of the month :)

The agency as a whoie has a great mission helping children and families. But this agency has lost is way somehow. After lossing three major contracts in less then 8 months, the future is suspect and uncertain. COVID has not helped matters. It is all a real shame too because this company used to do alot of good in the community and provides services that are desperitely needed, especially the mental health services to the community. 
I would highly NOT recommend anyone to work here under the existing leadership in place right now. This company is a hostile work environment with lots of backstabing and talking about staff behind their backs from the cheifs down. This company has lost the respect it used to have in the community for the services it provides, or actually used to provide. 
No work/life seperation. If you are salaried, leadership feels they can work you to death with no consideration of your personal life. In the past 4 years every time I took PTO, it was interupted for some insaine reason. This company used to be a partner with the child wellfare system yet did not provide any assistance for adoption or fostering to the employees that choose to adopt or foster. 
Granted this is a non-proofit company, but not an excuse to treat the staff that are dedicated to the mission and do all they can for their jobs as peons and servents.


I enjoyed the client/family interactions in my role. However every other aspect of the job was unbearable. Transporting clients is a major part of this job., about 60%. You are expected to transport children to appointments, school if necessary, and court hearings. With transportation taking up more than half the time, it is impossible to work only 40 hours a week. I was averaging 55 hours weekly. While the pay rate isn't bad, especially overtime rate, there is simply not enough time to do the work that needs to be done. Home visits, court appearances, and transportation are main priorities leaving little time for other (equally as important) responsibilities. Court documents, case supervisions, and parent/child visits take a back seat and are taken care of when there is time, which is not often. Requesting help with transportations is pointless because tjere are not enough relief workers. Supervisors are meant to assist when no one else can, however this never happened on the unit i was assigned to. At time of hiring and during the interview process the “on-call” WEEK is not properly explained. Typically during on call you can go on with your personal responsibilities but must make yourself available if any situations arise. That is not the case in child welfare. As some children do not have permanent placements, it is up to case management to provide care. This means on call weeks are spent in the office baby-sitting children, on top of a regular work week. On call weeks will being you up to nearly 70-80 hours.

I learned quickly that:
1. Management plans impromptu parties, carry on like it's Mardi Gras and create loud chaos so that the environment is unprofessional and distracting.
2. My first Supervisor was so vicious, condescending and nasty that she was only too happy to pawn me off on another kinder supervisor who "timed" me on my documentation, which only served to make me more nervous while I was still learning the system and the archaic, redundant paper forms.
3.  I developed insomnia from the insecurity and anxiety of the long days and often felt droopy and tired at work.  Out of anger, not concern, I was repeatedly asked "did I have a medical condition and what was it?", which is no one's business and illegal to ask.
4.  With people leaving so frequently, their smooth "partner" model never worked for me because I inherited 3 partners which added to the confusion and isolation.  Again, more chaos and confusion.
i COULD GO ON AND ON, BECAUSE i LEFT A PROFESSIONAL AGENCY, LURED BY THE "BIG EXPERIMENT".  How dumb was that?
5.  My fellow Counselors helped me so much, but my mental and physical health were more important than trying to please the powerful managers who put me through such  humiliating 8 weeks.  My last week was "training" week where I was spoken to as a child by a woman who was rude and downright mean at times.

As an outpatient therapist, expect to regularly work 50-55+ hours per week. Extremely high staff turnover in both client-facing (e.g., therapists, case managers, medication management providers) and administrative/management staff; the reputation of the agency as a "meat grinder" for clinical staff is well-earned. Starting pay is very good and there are some random perks (a free frozen turkey at Thanksgiving), but other benefits (5 days of PTO for the first year, no retirement matching, no qualified supervision for registered interns) are lacking. Clients were constantly frustrated by systemic issues/failures in the agency (e.g., not being able to reach the scheduling department to make appointments, clients' data being stolen during a reported cyber breach that crippled the computer system for weeks, medication orders not being put in correctly, clients being double booked, etc.), and agency leadership appeared unwilling/unable to address these systemic issues. 

There are good people here trying to do right by our community, and staff in other departments may have had more positive experiences than I did. From my own experience working here, between the crushing amount of work expected, the frustrating systemic issues, and the lack of consistent/effective leadership, I'd struggle to recommend this agency as an option for therapists seeking long-term employment.

I have been working at DFL for 2 years now and have really enjoyed my job as an outpatient child counselor. I like having clients come to me and my office is a good size and our building has a very clean and welcoming feel. The supervisors are supportive and flexible and the work environment is pleasant. Coworkers are very supportive and keep good relationships with each other too. I usually do not feel stressed or overwhelmed at my job although I do know it can and does happen if you do not stay on top of your work. Counselors are usually scheduled 7-8 clients a day but there are enough no-shows that there's enough time to get everything done. Supervisors are also willing to work with those who are stressed from caseloads and I have not had any problems with mine. I think DFL is a great non-profit company to work for because they do a lot for their employees. They gave out turkeys and sides to all employees this thanksgiving and do holiday celebrations and events for each building. They also host a fun career/team building event every summer which all employees are paid a full day to attend. The benefits are good - PTO, health insurance, 401K and more. I can say the salary for my position as a counselor is fair compared to that of other agencies.

This organization presents a polished image, but beneath the surface, it’s anything but ethical or supportive. From the start, you’re pressured to fall in line with the culture—or face retaliation. If you ask questions, advocate for clients, or request help, you’re seen as a problem and risk immediate termination.

Nepotism runs rampant in HR, and leadership lacks both direction and accountability. There are serious concerns regarding billing practices, including pressure to alter clinical and case management notes to fit a preferred narrative. Integrity is not valued—compliance is.

Clinical expectations (CSLs) are often unreasonable, and any attempt to raise concerns is met with dismissal rather than dialogue. Favoritism is common, and leadership openly violates professional standards—at times engaging in unprofessional behavior during work hours without consequence.

While compensation is competitive, the workplace culture is demoralizing. Leadership from the top down is disconnected and ineffective. Staff are overworked, unsupported, and ultimately expendable.

I have been with Directions for Living since May 1,2017. I currently work with the program called Family Works Diversion (Child Safety). Overall the company is a great place to work and they do many things for the employees. But the program I work in is very high stress and emotionally and mentally draining. Good thing I am single because I really don't have time for even myself most of the days. Depending on whats going on in your life also depends on your input regarding this program. I continue to learn new things everyday and by many people along with the client that educates us as well. Unfortunately there are times when we have to remove the children from the home /parental custody  which is very sad and stressful. I can honestly I enjoy bringing smiles to the family and showing the families I care for them a person and not about their mistakes. I love it when we get the client's that have come a long way and living a sober healthy life with the children still in their care. I have the privilege to have two wonderful , caring and most of all fair and professional supervisors  that I always learn from and their door is always open. All of my coworkers are great and professional and know their job as well and always wiling to assist if needed.

You will never have a work life balance again. You will more than likely be working 10 hour days and that's not while on call. On call you will probably work 13 hour days. On average you will probably work 50-60 hour weeks so if you like a lot of overtime well there's that. You will get calls from parents at every minute of every day screaming in your ear. Your day will never go as planned. Supervisors have their favorite team members and will ignore anyone else. The turnover rate is probably closer to 75% which should tell you something. I was there for 4 months and could barely do that. The case load is beyond overwhelming. You're on a protected caseload for 30 days and then they throw you to the wolves to have 30 cases in the span of 2 months. So much driving beyond what they tell you. I spent about $340 on gas per month and the maintenance I had to do on my car is crazy. The mileage reimbursement is not worth it. They say kids aren't allowed to stay at the office, but there are teenagers there LITERALLY everyday hanging around with their sticky fingers stealing everyone's belongings. You cannot bring anything valuable for this reason. Not to mention the multiple cases of child deaths in the last year.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Counselor 28 salaries reported	$79,107 per year
Case manager 13 salaries reported	$33.86 per hour
Facilitator 8 salaries reported	$73,000 per year
Advanced practice registered nurse 3 salaries reported	$66.60 per hour
Clinical supervisor 2 salaries reported	$85,950 per year

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