residential specialist

behavioral specialist

clinical supervisor

substance abuse counselor

senior support specialist

Intercept Health

Recruiting- typically recruits younger, just out of school staff from all areas. This isn't to provide a diversified staff but to get employees that have no kids or obligations to relocate for the job and then make the job their life. A lot of this process is smoke and mirrors to get you hooked.
Pay- on paper it looks good. They tell you a year's salary upfront but don't tell you that you won't get FT hours due to school breaks, snow closings and teacher work days. You are required to work more than 8 hours a day you have school but don't get paid for more than 8 hours. 
Daily- you work at a site by yourself. This job is very lonely as you only interact with your clients. You do not get to use therapeutic skills except on rare occasions or in small amounts throughout the day. You are going to classes with kids all day. You may have to be in 6 places at one time. You spend your days doing rounds in the hallway. You are supposed to have a maximum of 6 kids but often have over the billable amount allowed. You are still expected to complete all paperwork for all clients with no assistance, support, or flexibility given from management. After working all day you have to go home and do a good 3 hours of work without pay and take calls from parents at all hours.
Coworkers- they are great but you have very little interaction with them. They are always changing due to high turnover rate. Some leave voluntarily and others are let go for the most pointless things. You are required to pick up slack when others leave. Counselors are always being shifted around in order for the company to make the most money without the program coordinators having to do any work. 
I have learned- Virginia is an "at will" state, they can fire you at any time and don't have to have a reason. And that a when you take an approach of quantity over quality- you fail. That's the approach this company takes.
Management- generally less educated/experienced than those they are supervising. Create an environment of uneasiness, stress, confusion, and fear. It seems to be in an effort to keep everyone distracted and prevent anyone from figuring out what's behind the green curtain! You won't get any clinical supervision as boasted on the website. You won't even get any staff development training. You will be told changes in policy and new policy on a frequent basis, not given anything in writing, and be expected to read minds.  
Hardest part- no clear guidelines, no motivation, no acknowledgement, no feeling of job security.
Easiest part- the job, working with the kids. How they get away with billing the high rate (for each kid per hour) to state paid insurance is beyond me. However, spending your days keeping up with the kids requires you to work may hours at home.
Advice- before you take a leap into this company do your research. Read the real reviews left by actual employees on this and other sites (it's pretty obvious the ones that have been completed by HR). Look up the position you're applying to and see how many times it's been listed in the past few years. Don't just trade your life for some magic beans.

When I first started at Intercept, I was eager about the position, gaining experience, and the knowledge I would acquire in my new position. 

Right off the bat I was given a full case load and was expected to complete all responsibilities with minimal and unproductive training. The supervisor is unhelpful and quick to micromanage situations. Not only does the supervisor micromanage, but please be certain that anything you tell her will surely get passed along and talked about with other co workers during their smoke breaks and/or after hours hang out sessions or phone calls. This will include discussions about other employees and their confidential work information. 

Furthermore, while the supervisor is great at micromanaging, she is unable to effectively delegate responsibilities, often times leaving one or two Family Consultants (FCs) or Case Aides with an atrocious amount of work, while other FCs are able to sit idly by. The working environment is lazy, and you will be expected to step in and help those people out with their reports or workload during extremely late nights (which are mandatory) at the office, even if you are caught up on your own paperwork. There are nights in which you will be required to stay crazy late hours, and if you don’t stay you will be talked about by cliques in the office. When licensing comes, you will be expected to stay until the supervisor determines you may leave. You will be considered an exempt employee and there are no limitations surrounding the amount of hours worked. You are expected to be on call 24/7 and answer to supervisor phone calls on night/weekends even if you aren’t on call.  

Some of the perks that will be offered to you in the interview are PTO, flex time, and remote days. I was rarely able to flex or use remote days without pushback, attitude, and eye rolling from my supervisor. Because of this,  I stopped asking despite my best efforts to be caught up on work. Quite honestly, it was something I rarely asked to do because the supervisor was rude and crass about it.  You cannot take PTO if you aren’t caught up on your work, however, the supervisor has a tendency to play favorites so if she likes you then you might be able to get away with it. If not, good luck requesting PTO because your request will be denied. 

Then, there is the driving. You will have cases who live in foster faster homes that are in various counties within Virginia, sometimes super far away, and be expected to drive to see them 2-4 times per month. Or you can have a client whose DSS agency is 3 hours away, and you will be expected to drive the distance to attend FAPT meetings, court, and other mandatory appointments. You won’t know ahead of time that you are getting this type of client nor will you have a say.  You do get mileage reimbursement, but it’s such a small amount compared to the large amount of wear and tear you will put on your car. 

The job itself was something I actually enjoyed. I felt fulfilled and loved being able to establish rapport and relationships with my clients. The management and company is the most corrupt and unethical place I have ever worked. If you really care about the well-being of children and your own mental health, this is not the place for you.

Are you kidding? beginning with promises never provided, denying promises, promises upon hiring for on-sight licensure supervision, false advertising, constant CONSTANT changes in supervisors (counted a minimum of 6 a year and sometimes more), no sense of team work, no team activities/events, unrealistic expectations and petty behaviors out of director so far as to having an employee actually "take names" of those risking their life to come in to the office to turn in their paperwork by early morning deadline when schools and roads  were closed, extremely dangerous conditions, and even she nor supervisors couldn't make it in, promises upon hiring regarding getting paid during the first 30 days based on your weekly average to 3 new employees and then denying the promise 30 days later resulting in extreme hardships waiting 10 weeks for initial pay, never called in unless there was a problem in which you were not allowed to provide explanation or misconceptions or constant miscommunications where they have you already formally "written-up" and your basically forced to sign or otherwise you would have no job, extremely unprofessional supervisors who have trouble making decisions on their own, consult others in management. then supervisors/management changes so frequently, they ultimately blame the employee, constant firing evident by director standing over employee at every move, even gathering their personal effects until they leave the building (I mean what could someone want, a paperclip, ink pen, etc), unethical billing practices and some double billing standards, incredible GREED going to extreme extents to BILL BILL BILL!!! No compassion or care for employees; never knew the first thing about FMLA or any other normal business practice where the employee may be entitled some rights, crazy irrational and unprofessional hiring of supervisors as far as hiring "package deals" in order to get a promising young puppet. Unfair practices regarding licensure supervision rushing through the select few while others who were promised in house supervision were tossed to the side. And finally, treating employees extremely unprofessional and unethical ...I probably should check into that...after all, I do have two such instances voice recorded on my phone,

My 1st review was denied due to violating the rules. Someone just didn't like the truth. So I'll try to summarize more while being as honest as I can. The sign on bonus advertised could be true.. I got 1, but it wasn't what's in the current ad(I'd call it desperation) I was offered a salary plus a monthly bonus (which was very nice, almost my mortgage) that I was under the impression would be easy to earn as long as I did my job. I saw a portion of that bonus 2 times, November-April. I asked several times why not..the only reason I ever got was the company was behind. I agreed to be on call. I was off very few days while I was there, and when I was the company made me feel bad about it. Training is a joke. Support is joke. While supporting the residents is very important, and I will never go back on that being a passion of mine, the staff is not compensated enough. I can't tell you how many times my staff came to me asking about something because they didn't feel supported by the higher ups, and I had to tell them I didn't know because I felt the same way! While this company does make money off the residents, the kids should not feel like a $, but they do! That is not ok! This company needs to seriously re evaluate how they handle their staff and those that use their services. I spent around 7 years working in juvenile detention centers, and that was easier and more structured than this. This program is a joke. I hate to say it because I truly care about these kids, but it is a joke. These kids deserve better than this. The staff deserve better than this.
It broke my heart to leave this job, but I had to. You're mental and emotional health matters in order to help others!
If you truly don't care about being called in on a daily basis. Not being compensated or supported for your work. Ok with the residents running the house? Whether it's safe or not? Go for it. I do not recommend!

This position requires you to work a full 8 hour school day with no breaks. You have to then go home and complete hours of paperwork and notes- as well as take calls from parents and your supervisor (at all hours). You often have more clients than allowed by Medicaid. You are required to provide services to all clients and told to manipulate billing (aka commit fraud) due to the amount of clients, or credit more hours when school is dismissing early, etc. The school staff, other counselors, client's and families are great to deal with. They make the job worth doing. The area "supervisor" lacks in education and experience but is advanced in trying to create a hostile working environment and making discriminatory comments. The regional director provides the bare minimum oversight to the program. There is no clinical supervision provided although it is promised as a part of the job. There is a very high turn over rate due to unhappy employees and/or the fact that they take full advantage of the "at will" employment policy. If they don't like you- you're gone, regardless if you work hard and with no consideration for the clients. TDT positions are rewarding- I would just suggest that you go with a more reputable company. There is a reason that this company always has multiple jobs posted and the same jobs reposted over and over again.

The most enjoyable part of the job is working with the kids.

The hardest part of job is having to deal with the unnecessarily stressful work environment- a regional supervisor who changes your job description every day and blames it on her supervisor in Richmond. Management does not get you any of your paperwork on time but if you're late then you get written up. During my time with the company I've heard racial, homophobic and sexist comments made by supervisory staff. The job isn't hard but the environment is mentally exhausting. It's just not an organized or happy place to be. 

Management seems to be in a fake it til we make it mindset. Sadly, they are just making things worse on the kids, their employees and unbeknownst to them, they are making things worse for themselves.  

The coworkers are basically nonexistent. You work solo at your assigned school.   

Typical day at work is a typical school day. You shadow kids around. If you want a challenging job- this isn't for you. If you want a job where you get to use your formal education- this isn't for you.

I am learning what I want and expect out of a company and what just doesn't cut it. I see all of the red flags to look for in my current job search.

You must be willing to move and make sure everyone in your care is safe. In this profession, whether a Flex Counselor or a Supervisor in Training, you can not sit around at this job!  If you are a structured person that can follow directions and are able to communicate those guidelines to the residents in a friendly, yet, "matter of fact" way, than you should consider this entry-level position.  You WILL get lots of hands on experience in a team oriented atmosphere. The management will assist you in your position and seasoned staff will consistently model the expectations.  

Most recently, the resident count has been 7 to 8 residents.  The residents can be quite challenging!  But, like most effective therapeutic group home setting, YOUR consistent zeal to be an effective, positive role model in the life of a youth in crisis coupled with consistency, fairness, and effective communication will only assist you in earning advancement in the company. The ratio is 4:1.  There are 8 bed at the Newport House (NH) location.   This is a two-story home so be ready to go where you are needed.  

Be ready to hit the ground running.  The NH Staff will assist you and we work together as a team!  We strive to make sure that the home is secured, structured, supervised, but, most of all, our residents are cared for in a tough love, structured environment with the goal of giving each resident time and the tools necessary to become better members of society. 

I wish you well in your job search and maybe you will decide to help us continue to make a positive impact on the lives of our youth!

1. They don't give you all the facts at the door, just lie to get you in. 2. Shifts are not covered by the required personnel and management is little to no help. 3. Your position means nothing you are all doing the same job or cooking and taking them out and monitoring the kids. These are things that should be handled by specific people that are hired to do them. 4. Training is not training. You are shadowing someone who may not even being doing the same position as you. Do not get your hopes up thinking you are about to change lives because that's not what this is. 5. The people here treat this like its pit stop for kids, there is no real mental health learning opportunity here. The clinician is not there as a therapist. They simply speak for 15 minutes and provide the meds. 6. Kids are able to talk disrespecfully in the presence of staff and the younger staff play all kids of vulgar music with the kids like they are not professionals. 7. You need to be flexible because the position is not a set in stone schedule. If you were told it was, this is a lie. 8. Time with the kids where you should be counseling doesn't exist. They have a schedule to keep and that's that. If you have come here to change lives and make a real difference, it's not happening here. They need people who are more qualified. Because they are not equipped to handled what NEEDS to be done yet. That said, they love the kids (some of them, aimed of them could give a rats behind about them) and out of everyone I worked with only 2 of them seemed to have a genuine passion for these kids and helping them. They need better training too but they have the skill within them. Management needs help too.

Worked overnight at a group home that used to be a nursing home supposedly. I will say that the job was very easy. 

A typical work day would be completing a checklist of paperwork, cleaning, and performing routine checks on the residents.

There is plenty of training when you first start. I learned a lot about trauma informed care.  

Management was friendly enough although I never saw them due to working overnight. 

The workplace culture was that all of the residential staff worked with each other for the most part.

 The most enjoyable part was making connections with the residents.

The hardest part and the reason why I quit is because strange things would happen there overnight.

Doors opening and closing by themselves, I would hear footsteps in the halls when all of the boys were asleep in their rooms, blinds opening and closing by themselves, the washing machine would go off many times for no reason, and I had this feeling of being intensively starred at while I was in certain rooms. It is impossible for there to have been another physical person there causing it because it would happen before my eyes and I was alone in a room. I have never experienced spirits or anything before starting this job and it made me very uneasy.

I loved the job but I think if I as at a different house it would’ve been better. It really messed with my mental health and caused my anxiety to skyrocket. I am so much more at peace after leaving. I feel bad for the boys who have no choice but to live there for months at a time

A typical day at work was that you just never knew what the day would hold. This is consistent while working with children in need of these services. However, the turnover rate was horrible and this put a ton of stress on the employees left behind. Also, they regularly change policies and tack on extra duties without compensating for the work.

I learned that although there is an open door policy after failed attempts to resolve an issue - anyone who felt the need to have a conversation with someone at the main office, were shunned or experienced repercussions that were not worth the attempt to get an issue resolved. Management says that they will provide opportunities to all employees who demonstrate excellence in their position, but I found that promotion, starting pay and pay increases seem to follow the same pattern for certain persons and not others.

They have an excellent internal review process & team that helps keep the workplace up to par. The company does try to ensure that the state laws, licensure, and Human Rights guidelines are followed. But the work place hostility and turmoil throughout the company, in my experience, overshadow that they are at least trying to do what they are supposed to do as a licensed provider. If possible take a pass or just prepare for bad attitude and lots of yelling, smoke and mirrors.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Residential specialist 164 salaries reported	$19.25 per hour
Behavioral specialist 74 salaries reported	$23.00 per hour
Clinical supervisor 99 salaries reported	$79,747 per year
Substance abuse counselor 73 salaries reported	$92,326 per year
Senior support specialist 6 salaries reported	$50,833 per year

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