resident assistant

crisis counselor

residential assistant

engagement specialist

customer service representative

DuPage County Health Department

Working here has been great. Finding a strict 40 hour work week with weekends off, sick time, and vacation is getting rarer and rarer to find as companies spread their employees thin, desperately attempting to make more money than last quarter. The EH department here does a lot of great programs for the community, and they really do a lot with what little is given. You get a lot of great experience doing a lot of different things that make you a well rounded (and sought after) professional. At the same time, the amount of programs you are expected to keep track of can be overwhelming. The salary that is offered IS NOT competitive with other health departments in the area that have a lot less of a work load given to employees. As a result, new hires rarely stay longer than 2-3 years since they are now competitive candidates that can find better pay in any direction they choose to go. The department is also always short staffed since employees (and their experience) constantly walk out the door. This makes it almost impossible to get ahead in your work.  

The worst, and at times the most time consuming, part of this job by far was fielding calls from an entitled and internet-educated Du Page county public who are convinced their neighbor/landlord/landscaping eyesore is a detriment to their health, and that we can somehow make up and enforce laws to fix their problem. The positive I take away from this is that if these trivial issues are the majority of what is complained about by the public, we must be doing a pretty good job. Otherwise, people would have more serious health concerns for us.

Community mental health and crisis intervention work is challenging, but rewarding. As an ESC, you will answer calls on the DCHD crisis services and NSPL lines. You will do on-site, mobile crisis response (residential, hospitals), and CARES/SASS crisis evaluations. Policy and procedural training was very thorough, but there is a lack of training and support when it came to the practical, day-to-day activities and responsibilities. There is a teamwork mentality amongst coworkers, who are very supportive of one another. One particular supervisor is amazingly supportive, helpful, and encouraging! Other supervisory/managerial staff are less approachable and more critical. 

Pros: I really enjoyed answering the crisis and NSPL lines. I felt as if I was able to provide compassion, support, and resources to people in acute crises. Most of my coworkers were wonderful. Pay and opportunities are great for non-licensed, bachelor's degreed, grad student. Pension and benefits are great. 

Cons: There is little follow-up or case management required in this position. There is a high turnover rate and most days/nights the unit is short-staffed. You will frequently be asked to cover other shifts. You are required to work 5 of the 11 paid holidays. The environment is high stakes/high stress. Your work will be micromanaged and critiqued, and productivity is tracked very closely. IMPORTANT: Be prepared, most of the subject matter deals with suicide/suicidal ideation. This may be triggering and/or traumatic. Debriefing and self-care are a must when working in this position!


A typical days work consist of checking in and out clients, updating clients info and ensuring client insurance is consistant, directing customers to correct location and answering phones, critical thinking when resolving clients concerns and issues. 
I love working for DuPage County Health Department
I learned a lot working with the Mental Health population and Woment Infant and children department, it has given me a better insite on what people with mental disabilities have to deal with on a daily basis. The health department also provided a wide variety of classes such as "Hearing Voices", "First Aid for Mental Health", CPI classes, trained in Confidentiality and HIPPA, Blood-Borne Pathegens. 
Trained in Vital records and Enviornmental Health issuing Food Permits and familiar with Water Samples. 

Management is great in ensuring we are kept up to date on any changes and new information within our department.

My co-workers and supervisors have been nothing but supportive in working with a team approach and learning is ongoing. It has been a joy to work along side such wonderful people, each department though separate, work very well together when needed. 
 
The hardest part of my job leaving this job that has such a valuable impact on my life as an individual.  Clients that have also made an impact on my life as well, they have made me a better person, I am able to see the person and not the disability.

The most enjoyable part of my job are the clients, connecting with them on a daily basis, getting to know them and their families, helping and serving my community with all the resources that the county provides.

Extremely disorganized with little to no relevant training to new employees. They will omit a lot of what the job entails in your interview. No one knows what is going on, ever. Supervisors aren’t in communication. This is crisis work, but it could be coordinated a whole lot better. Any suggestions go unheard. The place has a ton of potential, but they are in over their heads. People are leaving left and right, no one stays more than a year. Every shift is short-staffed. You’re lucky if you have 5 minutes uninterrupted to breathe or use the restroom in an 8-10 hour shift. Coworkers can be great supports, but managers not so much. Regular staff can run the place better than supervisors You will be told that someone is always there to help, but it’s not true. No supervisors are on site on nights or on weekends, and you’re lucky if there is one available after 5pm on weekdays. During the day, they’re there but unavailable. It feels like no one is in charge of anything… it’s  chaos. You will burn out doing this full time or even part time after a fee months. Good for PRN/on-call work if you enjoy crisis work. You’ll learn a lot by being thrown into situations unprepared, but leave traumatized. Definitely don’t recommend to anyone new to the field- not a teaching environment. Ultimately, avoid at all costs. Pay is Not worth the toll on your own mental health. 

Orientation was disorganized and unprofessional.  Poor presenting skills, was not a welcoming environment during initial learning.  No agenda provided and there were several miscommunications around scheduling and no one knew what time they were supposed to be where. 

The at is way below all other public health agencies, no financial incentive to stay. 

The executive director is big on work life balance from the ivory tower while lower level staff have no balance at all.  Supervisors are overworked have 20-30 direct reports.  Minimal support from leadership, they place all the blame on supervisors and staff when no one can keep up.  Everyone there including their leadership team seems like they are in crisis caring for clients in crisis.  Workplace violence gets enabled and ignored, micromanagement has a whole new level there.  Staff sleep during shifts and cover for each other.  I caution anyone looking at this agency to seriously consider whether or not you can handle being worked till you drop and have no passion left to give the world.  

A typical day at work would be the admission of patients, medicating patients, collaborating with Psychiatrists and other staff regarding patient care. I learned how an outpatient psychiatric facility operates, as opposed to hospitalization of patients. At the end of 2012, Management changed. New management asked staff that had worked at the DuPage County Health Dept. for years to retire, hiring new staff, eliminating positions, and changing protocol. the workplace environment became threatening, writing up people for anything that Management thought was a problem. Staff was always threatened on losing their jobs. The hardest part of the job was having Social Workers manage Nurses. Social Workers not having a clue as to the job of the Nurses. The most enjoyable part of the job consisted of working with the patients, helping them, and working with peers in the Nursing Field.

Reorganization happens regularly which keeps the agency in a state of chaos. The organizaiton is very top heavy with many unnecessary Assistant Director positions. These people have been promoted to their level of incompetency. Opportunity for internal promotion is nonexistent unless you are politically connected. The Executive Director just left (Feb 2014), and a few of her political hires left with her, and I expect more will leave.  The agency treats interns doing their practicum/capstone very well, and we have hired a few as permanent staff.  If you don't mind low pay, this is the place for you. About 3/4 of the building at 111 N. County Farm has been remodled with inexpensive but functional furniture, so accomodations in the remodeled areas are nice. In 2014 my insurance increased so much that I will bring home $1,300 less at the end of this year.

Poorly managed. Supervisors see the problems but do nothing to address them. They foster a culture that makes it hard to be motivated. They turn a deaf ear to ideas. They don’t care about burn out. The training is sink or swim. Once you’re on your own it’s up to other employees to train you. Supervisors don’t take the time to answer questions. They point to material online to answer questions. What’s worse is how personal they take everything if you provide any type of negative feedback. They make changes to make life easier for them not employees. Employees want to help clients but it’s as if it comes at the cost of the employees’ mental health. The work done could be so much more affective if the place was run better. 

This was a temporary position.......My day would normally be to handle all clients coming in for appointment in the Mental Health division. I would also field calls for the doctors, set all client charts for the following day. Set billing and filing for all client charts. Take care of client filing system and organizing the system for easier understanding for the doctors. Management was a VERY young person that too controlling others way too far. All associates that worked with this person would take matters to her supervisor because of her issues. Working with my co-workers was great. They all helped each other in whatever situation was at hard. We all worked as a team. The hardest part of my job was seeing the people that were there for the doctors. But my most enjoyable part besides working with my co-workers was getting to know the clients as a person.

Love the environment here! Fellow employees are very kind and helpful. Managers respect work-life balance and are supportive with helping you to excel at your position. The benefits are good, but employee turnover is high due to lower wages and fast-paced atmosphere, which tends to overwhelm new hires. Employees here REALLY care about their clients, and go above & beyond to respect their rights and individual goals. The job itself is not difficult, but does require time management, basic computer skills, prioritizing tasks, and patience with sometimes needy clientele. However, the job is extremely rewarding and fun overall. The atmosphere is fast-paced yet relaxed; if you are confident and productive, supervisors are pretty hands-off and let you do your own thing.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Resident assistant 16 salaries reported	$15.77 per hour
Crisis counselor 36 salaries reported	$57,104 per year
Residential assistant 6 salaries reported	$15.00 per hour
Engagement specialist 20 salaries reported	$35,284 per year
Customer service representative 11 salaries reported	$15.77 per hour

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