special education teacher

leasing agent

clinician

behavior technician

direct support professional

Elwyn

A typical day at work could be anywhere from 8 to 16 hours, with time for one half hour or one hour long break. Shifts were from 6AM-2PM, 2PM-10PM, or 10PM-6AM, and staff were often asked to work doubles when someone else would call out or something would come up. Daily responsibilities included basic housekeeping for the clients, such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry. On weekdays, we would wake the children up, feed them breakfast, pack them lunches and take them to school. Second shift would pick them up from school, feed them dinner, and engage in program-appropriate activities until bed time. The overnight shift required 15 minute bed checks and completing any household chores that had not been completed during the day. Whenever the clients had doctors appointments or home visits, we provided transportations. Over the summer activities were planned that were appropriate for the abilities of the children in the program, and the staff were in charge of transporting and taking care of the children when outside of the facility. 
     The management did their best with the resources they had. The organization and communication could have been improved upon, but important notices and changes were eventually communicated to all staff. Management was personable for the most part and were understanding when scheduling conflicts came up. 
      The coworkers I spent time with loved working with the kids and always did their jobs the best they could. They cared about the children and would often spend money out of pocket to bring the kids clothes, toys, and other activities. 
     The hardest part of the job were the inevitable tantrums that would occur despite the staff's best efforts. The children would become violent and destructive towards themselves, their peers, and the staff. However, for the most part, when the meds were balanced and the staff were attending appropriately to the behavior plans of the individual children, tantrums were minimized. 
     The best part of the job was when a connection was finally able to be made with a child. Once they got to know you, they listened more often and engaged in more bonding and responsive behavior. Watching them form relationships with people and do well in other areas of their behavior was very rewarding.

I’ve had drastically different experiences at different departments at Elwyn. A lot depends on your boss - doesn’t it always?  You won’t have work life balance unless you set really strong boundaries. You can’t be too available or approachable or they will overwork you rather than holding incompetent coworkers accountable.  As a DSP, my manager had no problem burning me out to the point where I was incapable of being present for my own family and friends.  After transferring and getting promoted I work from home with a flex schedule and am less stressed than I’ve ever been.  Again, it really depends on your department, your role, and your boss.  Pay scale here is a joke. Employees hired externally are making more than people who have been here decades without raises.  For the most part, front line management are totally inept and untrained for their jobs.  New leadership is instilling a level of accountability that is necessary and totally appropriate but it’s not what people here are used to.  A lot of old heads at Elwyn don’t like the changes that are making the company better- so for instance, I just found out that manager that overworked me and burned me out got demoted in the last reorg so at least they’re trying to do something about the wretched job culture that’s been plaguing Elwyn.  So take some of the stuff you see on here with a grain of salt.  The culture is pretty awful in residential units especially. You’ll see a lot of enmeshment with the staff and front line supervisors. I thought working in outpatient settings were better and less toxic.  

If you are an independent sort, than the Special Instructor job is for you. If you like small group teaching and spending time in your car than a classroom than apply.
School districts and Intermediate units give you more time off. Elwyn gives holidays and only two weeks paid off. You have to earn 4 hours of sick and vacation every pay period while school districts and Intermediate units give more time off like summers or working an extended time off during the year. 
Special Instructors work all year round while Speech and other therapists have off when the children have off during the breaks in Early Intervention.
The management I work with do not have principal certifications or K12 Supervisory certificates. They do not explain things well or know how to manage people. They management and case coordinators are more concerned with what parents and OCDEL wants in Early Intervention, than do what is best for a child. They have no understanding of what an Individualized EDUCATION PLAN means.

If you do not care if your word means anything and you do not mind being steamrolled than apply.

I say this wholeheartedly do not apply. My worst experience in teaching. Many days I left upset with management and the way they do their job.

Beware off a company who has to put a video out there about how they are attached to job advertisement.

During my time with Elwyn Institutes I was impressed by the level of dedication and concern that the organization showed for its residents.  It was privilege to contribute to the well being of an organization dedicated to improving the lives of those with disabilities.

While at Elwyn I learned the value of serving your customers and learning to anticipate their needs.  My average work day began a 7:00 AM and ran until 5:00 PM.  Me and my team were responsible for providing environmental care to 300 acre thirty plus building facility with two additional buildings in West Philadelphia.  In total I responsible for nearly 1,000,000 cubic square foot of cleaning space.  My team and I managed approximately sixty people with the majority being immigrants from Africa.  By embracing the culture I was able to forge positive relationships based on respect and integrity.

The hardest part of the job was that I was contractor and at times I was torn between doing what was in the best interest of my customer and being able to stay in the black as far as the bottom line was concerned.  I love the challenge I learned to cultivate a network that proved to be a valuable resource in times of difficulty.

AM shift on weekends are more flexible compared to weekdays. Weekdays are more structured due to day program schedules. Outings sometimes with clients occur if they want, and usually ADLs are done throughout shift but the clients are all sweet and know their needs to express to you. I learned a lot about their med conditions and feel good helping them with the basic needs that we take for granted. You also learn how to interact with your pts closely and how to handle their behaviors, which can at times become too hard. With great teamwork in the shift, you can feel the load lighten. Documenting at end of shift is straightforward, your tasks are pretty clear-cut, and you learn your patients well enough to know what to be aware of. If any incidents happen, I enjoy the extra trainings that are then given related to that topic. Great place to work while you build yourself experience. Be aware of how you present yourself just like any other job, and make the most of what you can to keep the home afloat. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
This company is extremely cutthroat and, in my experience, showed very little care or respect for its employees. Leadership was disorganized, unprofessional, and lacked communication and support. Employees are treated as disposable rather than valued team members, creating a toxic and stressful work environment.
I was shocked by how poorly situations were handled behind the scenes. Instead of supporting staff, leadership seemed more focused on protecting themselves and pushing blame onto others. Morale is clearly not a priority, and it shows in the culture of the organization.
Based on my experience, I would never recommend working here, and I personally would not trust this organization with services either. People deserve to know what they are walking into before committing their time, energy, and trust to this company.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Poor leadership, and lack of communication 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
1 word…Horrible! It’s very disconnected, no sense of relationship building. A bunch of silos where no one communicates with each other. Horrible, horrible, horrible! 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Quiet, a bunch of meetings with phony people!

My tenure at this organization was a growth span of 20 plus years. Career advancement and management empowerment was initially met with challenge, however, as times changed certain organizational philosophy of management styles did as well. I advanced to the corporate office of the organization and found the upper management culture more positive and focused on steering the company forward towards a future investment in non-profit services for physical and mentally challenged populations.

The hardest part of the job as a claims administrator was assisting the medical providers in concluding 'fake injury' of less than honest employees. The most enjoyable part of the job was the personal and professional growth I obtained working for this organization that allowed me to utilize skills and acquire new ones to assist me in performing my duties to the best of my knowledge. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to serve as administrator for this organization.

Typical day at work begins with doing rounds making sure trashes are taken out,rooms are clean and getting information from the staffs that being released and management.Then,residents get picked up from various programs and taken to appointments or back to the building where their medications are given and activities start.During activities is when staff and residents have conversations and have fun together and also learn how to work and communicate with them.After activities, they go to the dinning room for dinner where they eat and socialize. This is one of the enjoyable part of the day.After dinner, they start working on their goals to improve their independence which is nice to make people happy helping them to feel independent. The hardest part is making sure all residents are showered and put to bed. when they all in bed then staff begin documentations before they leave for the day. All this get done during  the day because of my hard working supervisors and co-workers that work together to make the day successful.

Working in Early Intervention was one of the most emotionally satisfying and interesting jobs I've had, but don't ever consider this position safe or valued by the company. Elwyn's admin in Media chose to fire over 40 assistant teachers due to co-vid, but instead of laying them off or even furlough, forced a resignation by only offering and cornering them into night shifts working with adults. All of the staff in those facilities unionized because they were only getting paid $10 to work overnight, so admin moved other workers like cattle to fields they have no experience in. Single moms who worked with Elwyn for over a decade were left without insurance/UC compensation during a pandemic. In 2018, before any pandemic, I was warned not to apply to Elwyn because they treat employees like bodies, and I'm finally convinced that the administration could care less about how much it matters for good people to work with 3-5 year olds or anyone with mental health diagnoses. This is not a school or facility to care for those with disabilities. They'd rather hire strangers than give fair compensation to long term employees.This is a business, and they just need people to fill the shifts.

I was assigned from agency with no understanding of how the company was as an office assistant at the Bascom Ave main office, can't tell you how unorganized this company was. It was a messed due to the QA manager that left within two week notice on my first week there. Before she left she was complaining how low she get paid for what she was doing and talking smack about the director. And how someone quit before I came in with no notice. All that didn't bother me until second week kicked in. It was beyond stressful, continuing two people's mess they left behind with no training and giving all incorrect information by the director. No ten minute break, and lunch is only 30 min. When it can get busy you're literally being pulled in 5 different direction all by yourself trying to get everything right was very hetic. They expect so much with little training or help, it was ridiculous. And sometime gets so quite there it's so depressing. Boring job I would say, unless you're an elderly person. It will look like everyone who comes in will probably leave shortly after. I was literally tired of the place by the third week. It's BORING, with too much work.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Special education teacher 3 salaries reported	$72,500 per year
Leasing agent 3 salaries reported	$57,000 per year
Clinician 6 salaries reported	$70,833 per year
Behavior technician 4 salaries reported	$17.75 per hour
Direct support professional 3 salaries reported	$17.38 per hour

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