direct support professional

direct service provider

qualified professional

outpatient therapist

behavior technician

Easterseals PORT Health

Vet of 9 years, left within last year.  Typical day depended on level.  Sr Management (Corporate) seemed to have lots of time to write new policies, critique field programs, but never seemed to be willing to help.  Programs making close to Minimum wage were given cuts, while Sr. Leaders (Corporate) changed their job titles to get more pay.  HR leader went from Director to VP to Senior VP to Executive Director the Chief, and it was a known quantity why that was done, as no additional staff added.  All the while same person pushed for pay cuts for staff making $10 per hour because reimbursement rates cut.  So, basically Medicaid changes that influenced rates didn't influence Raleigh pay, but field pay from front line to Managers was impacted regularly.  

Get to know the CEO (LAW) or you'll be gone, I've learned that staff from 10 to 20 plus years were either laid off or termed, and most have no clue why.  They were told "restructures" but managers with far less credentials were kept, because they were known to be the "LAW's" PETS.  

The work itself was great, dealing with QP, and field staff was wonderful, but hearing their complaints about pay, knowing that nothing would change, and also knowing how much money Raleigh would spend was sad.

Wanna see...Go visit a "field" site like Greensboro, then go to Raleigh and compare.  Somehow we could find money to make Raleigh look pretty, but off sites had deplorable conditions and were told that we had to meet the budget to get better.  Rules didn't apply to Raleigh/Corporate as excess was constant.

So, not a lot of positives to say, just a warning to vet things before thinking it's good.  Reputation in most areas is bad, Cardinal/Sandhills aren't fans and they are 2 of largest MCO in State, and most was due to how Corporate forced things.  I suspect that's universal, but who knows.

Prior to leaving everyone walked around wondering when we'd get let go, as instead of Corporate coming to assist, they'd hire branding, and consultants, send them out and rarely themselves ever show up, though the CEO would boast of how she was going to get to programs.  When you see a consultant more than your internal bosses and leaders it's bad.

Financially, they are in bad shape, ended 2015 with over $3 million lost.

Program directors are unqualified, lack empathy, and do not like to be challenged.  The less than a days' wage on-call stipend is weaponized when staff expressed on-call burnout concerns, and on-call days have not significantly decreased in over a year, mainly because staff does not stay on.  In-person crisis response is capricious, and lacks consistency, sometimes resulting in a 12 hours response where no crisis intervention is completed.  Medical admission paperwork is often misplaced by the director of our Crisis house, resulting in admission delays.  No respect for staff experience or knowledge, staff is treated like they are less than, buy management.  Staff is not heard, despite the frequent refrain of "I hear you," from program director and others in leadership during frequent and repetitive meetings.  We are told that we "bring oxygen" to clients and their families, however, there is no empathy or respect for the staff from leadership.  No oxygen for those doing to work.  No assistance when traumatized, no sick days, poor benefits.  Turnaround time is far too long for a crisis response, and there is no flexibility in the program.  We act as case managers and perform duties beyond our job description, and when we ask to discuss it, staff is criticized, and told "Maybe this isn't the job for you," and "you knew what this was like when you signed on."

Easter Seals has a wonderful mission, goal, and work culture. They have a diversified staff and I was treated fairly and respectfully for the most part. My manager was knowledgeable and experienced in the work and thus could give good advice on how to be successful at the job. The best thing about the manager is that they would stand up for their direct employees. The job itself is rewarding because of the amazing clients and families you get to work with. Helping a client get their first job or any job and seeing the smile on their faces is priceless. The job expectation of how to maintain your job is highly stressful. For example, you are expected to help at least one client per month to obtain and maintain a job. You were constantly reminded that if you did not achieve that goal you could lose your job and that can easily weigh you down mentally and emotionally. The pay is extremely low and it was frowned upon if you tried to have a second job to help supplement your income because they were concerned it would interfere with your clients work schedule even though all the employers I worked with were willing to train the client around the job coaches schedule. I would have stayed if the pay was at a living wage or at least if they would have supported me in having a second job to help supplement my income, which again could have been doable. 

Greeting parents and children starting at 7:30 am. Attending to hand watching as the students enter the classroom. Having morning music on for a great start of the day. Breakfast is at 8:30 and Assistance and I help serve children. After breakfast, hand washing and toileting  are on our daily schedules. 9:05 it is group time when the children learn basic Spanish, sign language, ABC's, numbers, shapes and colors.Music and movement are also include in lesson plan that is my favorite time of day. After group time children are sent to centers to play before outside time. Upon returning to class after outside time it's music and movement time while my assistance and I prepare children for lunch and nap time. I work as hard as my assistance, I also potty trained students, cleaned tables,swept and mopped floors. We are all teachers and and the children learn from all of us.  The hardest part of the job was trying to keep everyone happy. The most enjoyable part of my job was watching the children grow and learn. When nap time is over, children get up use the bathroom wash hands and get ready for snack. After snack children were allowed to play in all centers. Before I leave for the day the children were going outside at 3:30 for the last.the time.

Easter Seals itself is well respected and appears to be a great organization; however their START program is not! In fact, I noticed while on a recent job search, the program has changed it's name. 
A typical day would include driving to one of their locations either at a CSB or residential home. There was never a clear directive when it came to where to meet at. This was usually very last minute. I learned that it is very hard to start a program and execute a job role when there is no pre-established job role. Everyone seemed to be lackadaisical and placed little importance on doing much of anything. Workplace culture was terrible. Despite telling my manager multiple times that a co-worker (equal position as mine) was creating a hostile work environment, this worker's behavior was allowed to continue AND EXCUSED, I think partially due to the fact that he and the manager became friends. The hardest part of the job was maintaining pleasantries with hostile co-workers and within a hostile work environment that was allowed to continue despite mediation. The most enjoyable part of the job was meeting a couple of nice co-workers, but most importantly, getting the heck out of there!

If you’re looking for a job with a laid back, respectful, stress free environment, this isn’t the place for you. Supervisors are a joke and need several WEEKS of PROPER supervisory training. The job it’s self is stressful, dealing with all types of aggressive behaviors with absolutely NO proper training. You’re basically thrown in and just expected to know how to handle them. When you ask for support or better alternatives than getting physically beat up daily, you’re told “we’re working on it” they in fact are not. Policies change daily. By several different people to fit whatever narrative they want to give you. HR is useless. Don’t bother, they will give you the run around. If you want to know anything, good luck. Everything is a big secret, even though you will be the one working directly with the kids, they still feel you don’t need to know. Have a nice phone, or clothes, shoes, anything personal you don’t want broke, leave it in your car. They do not reimburse for anything, even if it’s the glasses off your face that a kid broke or damaged. Need a mental break because the aggressive episodes are too much that day, good luck. They’re too short staffed to offer that. The list truly goes on, The only positive out of this whole organization is the kids. 

Coworkers/colleagues at ESUCP are some of the nicest, caring people you’ll ever meet. 

Most are paid poorly for the work they do. Benefits are well below average. There are no annual raises or performance reviews. Leadership is poor. Employees do not have clear roles and responsibilities and leaders have too much on their plates to manage. Responsibilities are not delegated appropriately and employees are not empowered to carry out their work and make day to day decisions. Executive team doesn’t communicate well (with other team members or to their employees). Employees are not kept informed or engaged. Policies and procedures and proper oversight in general are lacking, there is a high degree of inconsistency in how work is carried out, there is no structure or support or accountability, and business decisions are not made timely or smartly. Overall: The company does a lot of good for a lot of people, but lacks good leadership, governance, strategy, and follow-through/execution, and quite frankly, quality of care/service delivery is not what it should be due to limited resources including staffing shortages, poor communication/expectation- setting and oversight, and lack of process standards and accountability. 

The upper management team lacks leadership and is often threatened by staff who ask questions about roles and job responsibilities to ensure the quality of work. When they feel challenged by staff who advocate for themselves, their quick and frequent response is always, "Maybe this isn't the job for you." Retaliation from upper management is often subtle and they find a way to push you out when they feel threatened. A repeated lack of respect for staff is displayed toward and in front of other staff and staff gets called out for simple mistakes such as using the wrong clinical terms. The residential program manager has never worked a full 40-hour work week and was frequently MIA or that her phone died. She and other upper management were often difficult to reach. Upper management will admit individuals into the crisis home/s that may not be stable and safe in the least restrictive environment. When a crisis occurs, and someone gets injured, and they're questioned by QM/Licensure they're quick to throw the most vulnerable and least argumentative staff under the bus. This team has had high turnovers and so many qualified staff have left due to the toxic work environment and culture.

I have been doing patient care since 1998 whether it be in nursing homes, hospice, client residents and etc. I enjoy working with disabled individuals, mentally handicapped, low cognitive, learning disabilities, IDD, and etc. In 2013, I was hired to work with children in elementary school setting teaching the children the ADL’s of every day life  showing them how to do things for themselves I did this up until 2016. Then I moved to NC and got hired with Easterseals. My job started out as working with one on one with a client who needed someone to help her reach her goals each day to eventually go back to work. Then my shift changed to just Residential Care and filled in at other group homes. I enjoy working with each of the residents, getting to know them personally, sharing laughs and smiles throughout the day. I work with a great group of people that help each other complete tasks. There is no “you do this, I do that”, there are no clicks, we all work together for the residents. I enjoy coming to work knowing I make a difference each day with each individual in the home. I don’t do this type of work for the pay, I enjoy helping others and bringing sunshine into their lives.

The office atmosphere was quiet and pleasant with pleasant, cheerful people to work with.  Management was mostly positive.  Most of my work involved using a computer.

I learned to bill developmental disabilities services using a variety of on-line software.  I acquire skills and knowledge that could transfer to a medical billing environment.

The hardest part of the job was dealing with the multiple issues that could cause the agency to not be paid for performing a service and meeting the deadlines for being paid.

The most enjoyable part of the work was the mentally engrossing work involved with reporting and analyzing data.

During the last few months I worked there, the Agency experience a financial squeeze. This along with reorganization of the accounts receivable department produced a less positive and more stressful work atmosphere. Eventially positions were eliminated due to lack of work.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Direct support professional 710 salaries reported	$15.77 per hour
Direct service provider 14 salaries reported	$17.86 per hour
Qualified professional 47 salaries reported	$22.11 per hour
Outpatient therapist 68 salaries reported	$56,860 per year
Behavior technician 49 salaries reported	$19.13 per hour

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