program supervisor

behavioral specialist

interventionist

clinic manager

associate

Easterseals Northern California

Cons: 
ESNorCal gave me the experience I needed as a growing mid-level provider in terms of report writing, soft skills with caregivers, accruing supervision hours, and conducting assessments. However, this was all virtual/telehealth. While this was pretty convenient and comfortable working my days all on telehealth, it limited my ability or experience to grow. Additionally, we also had an assessment team that conducted all initial assessments or FBAs, so the only take I had was ongoing assessments, which was also all on telehealth. Again, not too terrible but didn't give me the full exposure to the FBA process.

Also, there was much miscommunication between the clinical team and the scheduling team. I'm sure this was due to the scheduling department still developing, but often we were stepping on eachothers toes left and right when it came to  determining client's availability, my availability, the rights of our schedules, etc. We were all frustrated with one another. 

Furthermore, while I appreciated the company's emphasis on mental health, they pretty much required you to be available 10 hours a day (e.g., 9 am - 7 pm). Granted, it's a salary position so they can push you to work more. But to me, that's just nuts. No work-life balance whatsoever. 

Pros:
They had good health, dental, and vision benefits along with being partnered with Lyra where you were given 16 free therapy sessions. I did very much like this huge perk from them and absolutely took advantage of this. If I recall correctly, they also provided 1-2 days of paid mental health days outside of your PTO, which was helpful.

As for supervision hours, I accrued my hours pretty fast when employed here. I was able to meet the concentrated portion each month based on the amount of overlap I was receiving with my BCBA (e.g., 80-100 hours/month). The months I accrued little were due to me being sick or client cancellations. Other than that, this was very helpful! I ended up with 1,100 hours before I left. 

The environment here is very fast paced (when we were in the office). The company culture is very sink or swim, higher ups and trickling down have bad communication and no transparency, and your manager can make or break your experience. You really bond with the people you work with, but there is a disconnect between corporate and the employees in the everyday field doing the work. If you are interested in the therapy side, there are opportunities to grow, but you'll be paying out of pocket to go to school in order to obtain a promotion. Steer clear of any administrative positions, as they treat you like janitorial service most of the time. The pay is ok if you land a full time position, but be weary, the expectations the company has for supervisors and managers is unrealistic, making it hard to balance your well-being and work-life balance. As an RBT, you are stuck with very little hours, very little pay, but TONS of work and stress. But working with clients can be very challenging and rewarding as well. If you are looking to get experience, this can be a good starting point, especially if you are interested in pursuing higher education.

I worked on the operational side of the business and this review shoudl not at all reflect upon the therapists at ESBA or the great work that they do. I was priviledged to know them and I respect the great service they provided to autistic children. My time spent at ESBA was brief and in that time I went form being a temp to a full time employee with almost no visible change to my salary. Even though my work was gradually becoming more complex and valuable. I am uncertain as to whether there were budget concerns or not as ESBA was suddenly the benficiary of a mssive influx of funding from Kaiser to handle it's 3rd party provider billing. There was constant infighting and many people there seemed to be wasting everyone's time. A few good employees were what was really keeping that company together (along with a few hundred very talented therapists) but the operations side of the business was a nightmare with very poor and time consuming records management being the biggest concern. I have no doubt the work we did was for a good cause, but I question the abilities and judgement of senior management there. I will say that the benefits package was pretty good though since it came through Kaiser.

In the morning check your work email see if your schedule is the same due to a cancelation by client might have occurred the night before. You must have your toys and the right paper work for your clients. You drive to your clients house and began your ABA therapy for however long your session is scheduled. 15 min prior to session you pull out your job issued laptop and use you job issued cell phone that has a wifi "hot spot" built in to bill for your session. Depending on when and where your next session is you might have time to take lunch or do indirect work such as data entry. you typically have 2-3 clients a day you see. I learned some computer skills from this job, I became a better "people person". Management is not very stable this job has a high turnover rate. Co workers are great there is no commission in the line of work and we do help each other. the hardest part of the Job is moving up in the company and getting consistent hours weekly. The most enjoyable part of the job is helping the children you work with.

Working with clients is the most rewarding. It was enjoyable to see progress. Definitely the best part of the job. 

Hours were variable as there were frequent cancellations and client schedule changes. Cancelled sessions means NO PAY for those session even if we make the effort show up to work that day. There weren't always sub sessions to make up for those hours either. When hours were at its best, it seemed to not last long until another change of some sort happened. 

Management was hit or miss. There were very few supervisors who went above and beyond while many get by the bare minimum. Very few of these supervisors provided support and were open to hearing employee concerns and suggestions while others were indifferent.

Don't expect a raise... or wait a really really long time for it even though you worked hard for it. 

It's a good transition job if you're still in school, fresh out of college, or  waiting for grad school. There is no room to move up unless you go back to school for your Master's or BCBA classes. Definitely not the right job if you're looking to work full time.

Easter Seals hires caring staff and is in the business of supporting children with Autism and their families. However, the administrative side of the behavior services department is inept and lacking in clinical expertise. They won the lottery when they landed the Kaiser contract and then realized they needed to get to work putting together a plan for services. At one point they hired a brilliant woman to head up a newly established Department of Clinical Research and Development, and then promptly fired her when she questioned their version of best practice. This is a company that doesn't accept contrary views, doesn't promote men, doesn't reinforce employees, devalues the role of behavior interventionists, and values efficiency over clinical effectiveness. It is why Easter Seals is, and will likely continue to be, the butt of jokes in the ABA community.

I have had many great years at ESBA, due in large part to the community we serve and the people who are drawn to ESBA - I've worked with some great people at all levels of the organization. I have appreciated the advancement and the opportunities for job growth and input to leadership discussions. However, I feel as though my advancement with regards to title and salary have not been matched by advancement in authority, and my ability to make an impact is impeded by an overly hierarchical structure, and overly centralized decision-making amongst a small, cliquish group of sr. leaders.

Working as an RBT at Easterseals has been both fun and genuinely fulfilling. The environment is energetic and supportive, and the team culture makes even the challenging days feel manageable. Supervisors are approachable, open to feedback, and invested in helping staff grow, which creates a workplace where you feel valued rather than overlooked.
The best part of the job is the direct work with the kids. Watching clients build communication skills, gain confidence, and hit milestones makes the work incredibly meaningful. Group sessions are lively and collaborative, and there’s a real sense of purpose behind everything we do.
While the job can be fast‑paced and emotionally demanding, the positive atmosphere and strong teamwork make a huge difference. If you enjoy hands‑on work, learning new skills, and making an impact, this is a great place to be.


At first, I really appreciated the values and attitude they seemed to present. They presented as supportive to their employees and have a great philosophy of services. 
While I believe the clinical personnel really do want to be who they say they are, something is off. 
They were unable to follow through with the support they said they would give and they out me in a few very awkward situations. For example, I was asked to have a conversation with a parent that was not appropriate for me to have-- as I did not yet have the relationship necessary for that conversation; when I told my supervisor I did not feel comfortable, she said, "you'll be fine". Not surprisingly, the conversation went very poorly; especially considering they had not even told the parent I would be joining the team!

A typical day as a Behavioral Interventionist is very dependent upon your case load and the mood of your clients for that particular day. I see approximately three clients per day at home and work with children and their families on building social relationships and increasing communication. Working with children with Autism has its challenges but is very rewarding. I enjoy the complexity of my job and the constant need to change and adapt my sessions to accomodate my clients.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Program supervisor 37 salaries reported	$73,973 per year
Behavioral specialist 35 salaries reported	$23.75 per hour
Interventionist 10 salaries reported	$72,435 per year
Clinic manager 4 salaries reported	$95,500 per year
Associate 6 salaries reported	$21.50 per hour

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