service coordinator

program manager

service manager

case coordinator

facilitator

Kern Regional Center

I retired from the Kern Regional Center in Oct. of 2012. The work involved writing reports, going to meetings with staff, parents, school staff, and clients. The work also involved obtaining Kern Regional Center services as well as community services for people of all ages with special needs that are Kern Regional Center clients. I was also a Community Services Specialist during my last eight or nine years at the Kern Regional Center and this work involved visiting group homes and helping administrators/careproviders make sure that the necessary rules and regulations were followed to provide good care for the clients that lived in the group homes. Quality Assurance evaluations were written on each group home.  I went to work for the Head Start program in 2013. I later returned to the Kern Regional Center on a temporary contract to do reports and then was asked to take on a service coordinator's caseload until other staff could be hired. I left toward the end of 2015 due to Kern Regional Centers budget concerns. The service coordinators as well as other staff are very busy people, because documentation and obtaining services for the clients is an important part of the job.  I think that you need a caring heart from the clients because the work is demanding.

My experience with KRC raised significant concerns about management practices and workplace stability. Interviews were conducted in group settings with multiple candidates at once, which gave the impression that applicants were treated as interchangeable. Although salary ranges were advertised, experience and qualifications did not appear to factor into starting pay, as new hires were consistently placed at the lowest end.

Turnover was extremely high, leading to frequent reassignment of families to new service coordinators—sometimes multiple times within a single year. I personally worked with families who had already had five or six coordinators, which negatively impacted continuity of care and staff morale.

Despite maintaining a fully up-to-date caseload with no overdue items, I was terminated without explanation and told only that I was “not a good fit.” There was no prior feedback or opportunity to improve. A coworker was also terminated after requesting schedule accommodations for a graduate school internship, raising concerns about flexibility and support for professional development.

Overall, the organization appears to rely on entry-level pay while expecting high workloads and use of personal vehicles, contributing to burnout and high turnover.

A typical day you are trying to get a consultation with the director of client services to get purchases approved for your consumers. Program Managers are not trusted by upper management to make any decisions on their own, so everyone is waiting for the consult with the DCS. You are forced to jump through hoop after hoop to get any services, questioned so intensely at times-you become a nervous wreck. You feel the pressure from consumers and families-them not realizing you are trying to get services approved for them. The work is fast paced and you are always busy. Policies and procedures are changed on a whim and are rarely communicated with staff. Communication is lacking in all departments, but it is particularly bad in case management. 
The caseloads are high. The culture is negative and the environment toxic. There’s a lot of gossiping amongst all staff-crossing the lines up into upper management. Even though there is a Union-service coordinators are fired often. Program managers have been terminated in groups and for no apparent reason. High turnover and constant termination  within the organization. HR always sides with upper management. The benefits are good, but the pay is low for the amount of work and stress. 

Working as a Service Coordinator at Kern Regional Center has been a rewarding experience overall. The work environment is supportive, professional, and focused on helping individuals with developmental disabilities and their families access essential services. Management and coworkers are generally approachable, and there is a strong sense of teamwork that makes daily challenges more manageable. The position offers meaningful opportunities to make a positive impact in the community and build valuable case management skills.
However, the workload can be quite heavy at times. Service Coordinators often manage large caseloads, multiple deadlines, extensive documentation, and frequent communication with clients, providers, and community partners. Balancing these responsibilities can be demanding and may occasionally affect work-life balance. Despite the challenges, the supportive workplace culture and the satisfaction of helping clients achieve their goals make the role fulfilling. It is a great position for individuals who are organized, compassionate, and able to manage a fast-paced workload

Don't be fooled by the nice and clean appearance of this company. Just pick up a newspaper. It may seem all great at first, good pay, all paid benefits, a pension. Then you spend some time there and you realize it was all a lie. KRC took our pension away and we can't even get social security! They threatened to get rid of benefits and risk pay. Families who live pay check to pay check now have to figure out how they will come up with the extra cash to provide.  I really enjoy working with my co workers and the people I served. However, the politics are horrible. You are always looking behind your back. Even now as I write this someone is going to find out and retaliate again me. That's how bad it is here. I came to the regional center to help people. But it was hard. Parents were very stressful as they think we're lazy and we never call them back. They don't realize how much work we have to do and little time we have to do it. Never take vacation off! If you do you will fall behind and never catch up.

I have seen a lot of reviews on KRC and I worked there for a year and a lot of what people are saying is true but it depends on who you are. I think I had some favor with my program manager and others and was able to sit back and see a lot of what was going on. There is a lot of work to do, sometimes it can be difficult to find a PM for assistance so the SC's back each other up however we could. I enjoyed my time there cause I stayed out of the drama and kept my door shut as much as I could. I didnt make friends or join any clicks and you'd be smart to do that as well. The union is strong which is great, benefits are excellent, pay is great. You're kinda on your own when you get started, from orientation to getting to your office, its like night and day. Keep on your deadlines, return client phone calls and CYA with emails and you'll be good. Some fine women there too if you are a guy, just saying.

There is too much for little pay, management seems overwhelmed with the high turn over rate and cannot keep up. HR manager does not have a degree for this role and the rest of the HR team are all temps barely learning the position. IT is also overwhelmed with all the tickets, there is only two people and about 300 employees so it takes a while to get assistance. Your desk and office that is assigned to you is all outdated and very dusty and not modern. Overall just stay away if possible, most who get hired just say they needed a job but the only ones that stay are management. Do not apply or leave as soon as you can please. They don't even have water machines and you have to bring your own coffee, you can't even find utensils here.

This agency could be a great place to work if they had good strong leadership. Too many high level important positions have been filled by unqualified people who fell into the positions by default. There is a huge disconnect internally that seems to be fueled by egos and not the important mission Kern Regional Center advertises. Kern Regional Center is responsible for serving Kern County but the focus is their immediate main office. Everywhere else outside of that is ignored, underserved and abandoned. There are a handful of quality employees but the majority are long timers set in their ways, difficult to work with, and egos that make for a negative working environment. Work load is over and beyond manageable and not what was initially advertised.

This agency has deep rooted foundational problems that start at the top. Between unmanageable caseloads, traveling all of kern county, and lack of support from management, the staff in the field is on their own. Management will report all is well to DDS, at the cost of their own employees. Management has a history of retaliation and using intimidation as ways to control the staff. Everything gets swept under the rug at KRC. The ones truly suffering are the clients and their continuity of care and services. The staff turnover rate has become outrageous due to the current management. Run!

A typical day at work included answering phone calls from clients and their families regarding the care and management of their finances that we provided.  The management was superior and professional. Caring for the needs of the clients was the most important thing to our management. The workplace culture was enjoyable and the staff worked well together. The hardest part of the job was sometimes communicating effectively with the clients due to their disability. the most enjoyable part of the job was working with the professionals in our office and our home office in Bakersfield.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Service coordinator 8 salaries reported	$27.49 per hour
Program manager 4 salaries reported	$86,742 per year
Service manager 10 salaries reported	$27.80 per hour
Case coordinator 2 salaries reported	$26.03 per hour
Facilitator 3 salaries reported	$29.06 per hour

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