direct support professional

clinician

youth worker

behavioral health counselor

care manager

Elmcrest Childrens Center

While the organization promotes a positive mission, the internal culture does not match what is advertised. Leadership is highly centralized, and decision-making appears to rest almost entirely with one long-tenured operations leader who effectively runs the organization. The environment feels outdated, resistant to change, and disconnected from modern workplace standards.

There is an unspoken expectation that employees “live the job.” Work–life balance is essentially nonexistent. Being available beyond normal hours is treated as the norm, boundaries are not respected, and dedication is measured by how much of your personal life you are willing to sacrifice. This leads to burnout and high turnover.

Management style is rigid and personality-driven rather than policy-driven. If you are not personally favored, your role can feel unstable regardless of performance. Professional disagreements or alternative approaches are not well tolerated, and once leadership forms a negative opinion of you, it is very difficult to recover.

Communication is poor, expectations change without clarity, and employees are often criticized rather than coached. Concerns raised in good faith do not feel safe, and confidentiality does not always seem respected. This creates a culture where staff feel pressure to stay quiet to protect their jobs.

There is a strong sense of favoritism and uneven accountability. Many good employees leave not because of the work itself, but because of leadership, lack of support, and the constant stress.

If you are considering applying, ask very direct questions about work–life balance, leadership style, how employee concerns are handled, and what happens when conflict arises. If you value boundaries, transparency, and fair treatment, you may want to look elsewhere. RUN!

I loved working with the kids, that part of
The job was fun and enjoyable..especially to help change childrens lives is one of the best things ever..but the management was horrible..a manger was mistreating a child and I did the right thing by turning the supervisor in and all it did was cost me my job and nothing happened to the supervisor..others have also turned in supervisors for mistreating the YDP’s as well and nothing is done about it except for the YDP’s get treated even worse..It’s extremely sad that we are there to help kids but with so many employees coming and going is just hurting the kids..it’s not right for what happened to me and
I could have appealed it and would have won but I put up with being mistreated and with supervisors talking bad about me for four months because I loved my job working with the kids and I went Above and beyond my duties to do my job well and to help these kids But bad management is the reason why they lose good employees..before you terminate someone you should have to have proof of the action first and not just take the word of someone, that’s hearsay..it’s not right at all, especially when they haven’t had any write ups or anything on their record at all..but because I turned in a supervisor it cost me my job at what I worked so hard for..I just hope this doesn’t happen to someone else! 

This job allows you flexibility with scheduling your clients and the activities you do with your clients regarding their treatment plan/goals. This is great for people who like being creative and aren't too keen of the 9 to 5. Your home is your office, so you can do all of your paperwork from your home or the office if you choose. You clock in/out from the app/website Paycom. Usual work hours are 2 pm to 730 pm since that is the time the kids are available after school, unless you have younger kids or kids that aren't in school, which you can schedule in the mornings and/or weekends if you choose. Care managers and supervisors are welcoming and approachable. The job pays between $14/hr to $22/hr depending on which services you provide (HCBS or CFTSS) and education level (high school to masters). It is a good starter job to gain experience. 

Downsides: If a client cancels last minute, you have to make up those service hours in the same work week (if you are full-time) and if you don't, you will have to use your own PTO. You will also only be allowed to work 35 hours a week maximum if you are full-time and must hit 35 hours every week to avoid using PTO.

Working here was an absolute nightmare. First of all the benefits are horrible and the pay for the work you are doing is awful. You’re expected to be beat on and disrespected by children for 12-15$ an hour and god forbid you get sick and try to call in you will be told “I don’t care what’s going on you need to be here” despite doctors notes of mono. Half of the staff feels they do not need to do their job because they’ve been in there so long. I had a two staff without a walkthrough talkie and one being a manager while I was in a room alone being threatened with staff scissors by a resident after 8 calls for assistance another resident finally got another staff in there. If that’s not enough one angry resident can land you under investigation for child abuse and that doesn’t take a couple days. They have employees there who can’t leave because the investigation is taking months and months and because of that they’d have to apply and list that they are under investigation for abuse. This place promises group work effort and that you will never be on your own yet time and time again I and other employees were left to take care of things ourselves. Management will call out whenever they get a paper cut and change schedule because they can and leave a whole shift with out management support. Don’t step foot in this program.

The board of directors really be pulling people out of retirement to run a child welfare agency. Then, got the skeleton crew leading the agency. Most other child welfare agencies have their most educated and experienced workers in executive leadership positions. Elmcrest, just gives these positions to people who have been there the longest. Things are going to keep crumbling until they get some new blood in their ranks. Unfortunately whenever someone new comes in they get voted off the island by the good ol boys. If you want to do good work this is the place but don't call it home. Until the Board of Directors can stop talking about golf at their meetings and actually look into the shenanigans going on here, this place will continue to fall apart. My advice: let the ceo enjoy her retirement, check the credentials of the executive team, and get some supervisors who will actually listen to they staff. No reason why they got people with graduate degrees reporting to people with 2 and 4 year degrees. Also, no reason for executive's to be fraternizing w they staff, both in and out of the office, or bed ;) Do better y'all 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Serving and caring for the children. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Transporting the children in poor weather conditions to their community activities.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Friendly and supportive environment. The company’s top priority is the children we serve. The company is working on being an inclusive, fair and just place. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I worked directly with my clients, one on one or in groups and sometimes with other staff. My job is human empowerment. I teach, coach, and/or advocate for the children daily. I helped them with their daily living activities. The children worked on achieving their goals daily. I helped them do this throughout my shift. We usually work together in the local community (I.e. in school, a library, a store, post office, supermarket, a park, etc), or wherever the child requested. At the end of my shift, I completed progress reports for each of the children I served that day.

My co-workers were some of the best I could have asked for. Many of our residents were good kids who I felt needed me. However, there are some kids that Elmcrest will accept that have violent felonies on record, and they will mix these two groups together. Stating concerns about safety has gotten people fired from this job. Another co-worker of mine was fired because he wanted to keep the schedule he had for almost a year (the schedules are NEVER kept the same for very long there).

Management is awful and distances themselves from as many issues as possible. Supervisors are lazy and will leave shifts early or take their own names off the schedules to avoid work where possible.

Overall is a very shifty agency that will lure you in on the promise of "giving back to the community" and decent entry level pay. Be warned, the pay is not worth the stress, and most people are burned out with a couple years.

I was genuinely nervous to start working at elmcrest but as soon as I started I fell in love with it instantly. The kids do struggle sometimes but when they are not struggling it is such a fun time. I feel like management is very helpful and supportive and my coworkers personally are very accepting, helpful, and are very outgoing. They have made me feel like apart of the team the first day I entered the cottage. They continuously compliment me on my work and are always willing to guide me in the right direction if I have questions. I have loved working at elmcrest and even though I have only been there for about 3 months I can see myself working there for a long time. I don't look at it as a job, I genuinely enjoy going to work and I am passionate about helping those kids achieve all their goals with the help of my colleagues. 

I am often encouraged to seek meaningful trainings and education opportunities that interest me. Elmcrest provides their employees with free college credits and awards pay increases for each level of education (or certification) completed. The administrators really encourage people to be their best and they help in any way they can. I'm afforded the opportunity to take time off for my children and families needs with the greatest amount of support and understanding. Elmcrest stands by its mission "Building on the promise of children and families " in regards to their employees just as equally as the children and families we serve. I am proud to be a part of this team. If you show your dedication to the mission and values, you will succeed and grow quickly in this agency. I have been promoted twice since beginning two years ago as a Youth development Professional. This agency is willing to grow and become a greater version of itself as each day passes. 

Elmcrest is a rollercoaster. Many see the agency as a stepping stone and don't stay longer than a year, while others find a home and seek advancement. With this comes some issues with consistency. However, the agency is good at filling the gaps with new employees or finding employees from other programs to fill in. It's easy to build relationships with your fellow coworkers, as you go through the ups and downs together. My management team in my program was outstanding, they were excellent with training, resolving issues with other employees or with the youth, and encouraged me to reach out to them for anything. The hardest part of the job is sometimes feeling helpless when the youth are having a crisis. The best part is when you see the youth use the skills or strategies you teach them, to help themselves in those crisis situations. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Direct support professional 21 salaries reported	$21.43 per hour
Clinician 5 salaries reported	$65,359 per year
Youth worker 3 salaries reported	$20.12 per hour
Behavioral health counselor 3 salaries reported	$40.67 per hour
Care manager 5 salaries reported	$24.23 per hour

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