paraprofessional

life skills trainer

special education teacher

board certified behavior analyst

van driver

Little City

Pay is not what it should be. They have newer highers, who are less qualified, making more money than long-time workers. They promise raises/promotions to get you to put in overtime, but do not deliver. They do not adhere to legal 1:1 ratios and make you jump through hoops to receive workers comp once you've been injured due to the nature of the job. About 85% of coworkers have anxiety because of the conditions and clients worked with and many staff feel unsupported by management. 

They tried to implement a crisis team to reduce staff from needing to be involved in crises, however, the crisis team consists of unqualified and young kids who don't understand effective holds/transports/high-stress situations.  Therefore, staff members are STILL responsible for crises, while the group sneaks to take breaks because they do not have clear direction and management. They take advantage of the fact that they are not being held accountable which nods to the overall immaturity of the group, minus one individual. This has put many people at risk.  The changes over the years have gotten progressively worse and it's taken a downward direction. They have paraprofessionals acting as teachers and demand a teacher workload without the pay nor experience. Over the years there has been high turnover but it's from long-time staff who are leaving - Not new people. That should say enough. 

 Some coworkers are awesome while others will make you think you're in a Mean Girls movie. I stayed out of it but everyone gossips about each other.  Due to high turnover rates, they rarely fire anyone, regardless of how many people or how many clients get lost, hurt, or bullied because of it. They use good peoples' desire to help and will take advantage of it. If you absolutely need a job, go for it. But the physical, mental, and emotional strain just isn't worth it. This is not a forever job. And usually the ones that see it that way, are the ones you need to watch out for because they contribute the most to the negativity. The good ones are the ones who end up leaving while the ones who have no other option or the ones who view their workplace as high-school 2.0 are the ones who stay. If you're still considering this job, don't say I didn't warn you.

It’s always  need  for help here. And major part of that is because of management. And the management along with the people in office show little to none remorse or sympathy. We deal with so much and no one cares that’s why there is a staffing crisis here badly!!! They have absolutely no help. No one ever tends to stay here. They can keep increasing the pay but I’m telling you. People don’t last a month here. Because it’s so hectic and you have no assistance here. You get fired for ANYTHING. THEY WILL BE QUICK TO THROW CHARGES AGAINST YOU. And with management dictating from their offices they will find anything wrong your doing and take disciplinary action. No one likes to work in environment like that it’s tough to work. Especially with children with aggressive behavior and when you have no core staff just imagine how much happens. Now The children should be treated as equal. Like they are your own or sibling. And with that comes some type of boundary, order, and tough love. We want to see these children grown and learn right from wrong. But management feels that allowing them to do anything and to you is something your suppose to allow.  and you do anything else outside of that there’s consequences. Crisis intervention here is like foreign to everyone not really implemented. You run away really which solves nothing.  There’s no hope here and it’s sad. I salute the people that sticks around and it’s probably because of Covid and hard to maintain a job.  But sometimes your dignity, and your mental health is way more important than working for people whom you think will be caring because of the work they are into & have respect for their employees but just make things even more difficult. 

I worked at Little City for a long time-many years, and I loved most of it.  I started working for LCF in 2004 and left in 2011 when I moved out of state. I was a support staff, then QMRP and in management. 
 When I started for LCF the company culture was different. I worked with a very diverse group of awesome and dedicated, forward thinking individuals.  However, during the time I was there management went through a lot of changes and restructuring. And the result was an endless cycle of new policies and changes in many aspects of not only my job, but the whole agency as a whole. New leadership came in with their ideas, and the result was less than ideal . I saw a lot of great people leave or get fired. I saw favoritism and people pushed out of their positions.  A lot of bs was going on around the time I left in 2011, otherwise my position was going to be changed so much that I would not have the same money or hours, or work with the same clients.  Everything that kept me thriving and loving this job and company for so many years changed by the time I left.  So many great staff gone, and all by really bad management practices. See -when things are going well management should reward the employees and make them feel valuable. But it was the opposite-things were going well, new management came in and squeezed everyone out and changed everything, and LCF became a totally different place to work.  

If I ever move back to IL I would consider reapplying to LCF-in the hope that it has-or will soon be-returning back to the great, cool, progressive, upbeat workplace culture that it was had and was.

The place was overall a great place to work with an upbeat environment. A DSP was always on the go in a fast track working environment. Caring, bathing, teaching daily life skills, reaching goals, community intervention, behavior analysis support,cleaning, organizing, food care, taking the clients to and from all medical appointments and overall well-being of the individuals are the daily tasks at little city. Working with children is something I enjoy. I learned/adapted to the kids lifestyles. Some of the clients are non-verbal but have their own language. Quickly picking up on their language and willingness to learn is a must at this job. You needed to know what each kid enjoyed doing, what objects they favor, and how they share communication with one another and staff. The co-workers are very helpful and will assist you if needed. The staff is friendly and I enjoyed working with my co-workers everyday. The hardest part in having this job was the ability to know each child and know how to handle every single situation that you come across. You are constantly testing your problem-solving and thinking  outside of the box to come up with a solution that is best for the client, other clients, and staff.

I can clearly state the students they serve are wonderful and amazing youngsters but it’s unfortunate that they don’t receive the education they deserve. From being short staffed continuously to the extremely poor administration and management personnel, how are the students ever getting a top notch education? The school is divided into two sections, moderate side and Thrive (high intensity) and they made it clear that they are separate. It is one school and it should have one goal, the students. Unfortunately it doesn’t happen. There are some amazing people working there that care for the students, have respect for each other and make the sense of the word “team” feel authentic. Then there are people who are more worried about gossip, drama and mayhem. How will this ever be a student focused environment. Unfortunately, if you enjoy peace of mind, camaraderie this is definitely not the place for you. Politics runs wild and deep at this place. From plain to see favorite staff to favorite students which is is unhealthy and ugly, heed my warning, it’s a disastrous place to work. 

Let me begin by stating I do love the children I work with. They are the highlight of the experience. There are some great and deeply passionate people working there. However this job does little to help its employees deal with burnout or exhaustion from a difficult job. We are not paid enough for what we do including people who have risk of physical injury due to client aggression. We have received no hazard pay due to covid and other potential exposures.  I didn't work in the homes but I heard rumors of high turnover and burnout from staff there due to chronic overtime. Some staff don't even take breaks during the day. High turnover and poor organization means its an erratic place to work which facilitates higher rates of behavioral issues from clients due to instability.  This leads to the school being a glorified daycare and actual learning takes a backseat to dealing with staffing issues.
If management wants to retain employees there needs to be better pay and more support for mental and physical well being of employees. 

Employees are openly talked down to behind their backs—and sometimes to their faces. Even worse, the staff they hire to work directly with kids? Many have no qualifications, no professionalism, and no business being in the building. Some literally mock or talk negatively about the kids in front of them. And no one bats an eye.

If you care about kids, integrity, or your mental health, this is not the place for you. Leadership makes it clear they don’t want what’s best for the kids—just what’s easiest or cheapest. The environment is toxic, demeaning, and utterly disorganized. If you’re expecting support, training, or basic respect, lower your expectations significantly.

As a life skills instructor, much of the work was independent, although leadership would check-in throughout shift and leave good instructions. Depending on the home, there was a lot of downtime or you were on your feet every minute. The job was demanding but rewarding with excellent coworkers and kids who grew close to caregivers. I would recommend working here if you enjoy a fast-paced environment and working independently. All work is on-site as a LSI and you never need to do tasks outside of your shift. So, excellent work life balance in this area and Union representation if there are any issues with pay, abuse accusations, etc.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Love working here great benefits and great people. I love all my clients.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Sometimes we had the car other houses which make a difficult because you are used to one way to where with clients and then you had to go to another house and figure it out the newest style the new habits so they make it hotter sometimes just to get pulled to New CILA

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It’s always fine in there there’s no problems. It’s a multi kilter have different nationalities ethnicities I love that 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
As always busy something new every day it’s never boring when you get to the point to the thing were covers every aspect of the clients so it make it easy for everybody as a team players

What is the best part of working at the company?
The director shows different attitudes and applies different punishments to the workers.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The work itself is a constant threat to the workers, if not from the physical aggression of the sick children, then they can always be accused of abuse or neglect by the management.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment is tense and often escalates!

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical work day is hectic, full of tension and fear;  each child must be given appropriate food so that he does not fall into physical aggression;  to give the medicines;  to change diapers;  to clean...

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Paraprofessional 28 salaries reported	$25.05 per hour
Life skills trainer 14 salaries reported	$22.50 per hour
Special education teacher 33 salaries reported	$74,273 per year
Board certified behavior analyst 27 salaries reported	$74,321 per year
Van driver 20 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour

Working at Little City: Company Overview and Reviews

Little City

Little City Ratings

Popular jobs at Little City

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected