mental health technician

case manager

peer counselor

clinical supervisor

program supervisor

Lutheran-Community-Services-Northwest

Lutheran says that they follow a set of 10 core (WISe) principles. But don’t be fooled by the glamorous appeal they lead on... 

• unconditional- they promote this in the teachings and workings with staff, however, if you do not fit into the “upper class, favorited class” of this organization then you can forget about unconditional care for yourself or the families that you serve. Employees are treated differently based on their relationships with management or lack there of. 

•family voice and choice- while you would think that this would be simple to follow...think again. They do what suits the organization functionally and financially rather than what is in the best interest for the family and their preference. 

• the WISe program was put into place in Washington state from a lawsuit. If you’re  going to work here, you need to be familiarize yourself with the WISe manual... front and back. You are often asked to do things that is not in accordance with the manual and put both yourself and clients in dangerous situations. You could be at risk of losing licenses that is if anyone above board found out because let’s be honest keeping secrets is the way of the game at this organization. 

This organization has an extremely high rate of turn over. This is not because this is a top of the line, friendly, and out going place to work. 

You should also know... this used to be an amazing work place. The opposite of everything mentioned above. There was a giant shift in management and people were moved into positions not based on merit but on the relationships they had acquired “favorites”. Since the switch it has been a down hill race. To have proof of this just attended community meetings and ask around about Lutheran... the proof is in the puddding. Do not however ask management about the community negativity, they will just say “I don’t know what your talking about”. There is zero desire to change and that is a shame as our community could really use this amazing program. It needs to be ran by different people.

The families make the struggle worth it for a time. You will find yourself seeking out your own therapy after a while. They promote self care... beware, it’s self care that works for them and their case loads. 

The rating for the CEO is only because the local org scares you into not go to the top to solve problems.

I need a book to write about how this organization crashed the great mission that the mid level management and their staff carried and were able to serve hundreds of vulnerable population from diverse communities. The Upper level Leadership were never connected to programs and staff. CEO and the upper operation directors are completely disconnected with what the programs and they only care about getting big salaries from the programs funds. They didn't stop there but started to destroy programs by bringing a district director on board who didn't miss any opportunity to show her racism, silencing the voices of the staff who knew how to manage programs and get the work done. Bully and and micromanaging was the new leading style. This approach was aimed to cancel the true mission of serving diverse communities who were gathered around LCS programs known as Refugees Northwest. They completely crashed the spirits of equity, inclusion and diversity among these programs. They were so disrespectful of staff that anyone who would come forward and talk about concerns, they were asked to leave if they don't like the new style of Leadership which was basically a dictatorship. This pushed many staff and managers to leave. The Upper Leadership of LCS became aware of all these issues and problems, its not that they didn't stop this, but were promoting that. This caused the programs, grants and resources of funding to collapse and for partners lose hope of things to improve. There is not a need to talk about the poor benefits the staff had and they were still fine as they were feeling they are getting rewarded by seeing the change and good impact they were doing in the life of the clients. Benefits got worse over years and almost it was like paying all your medical bills due to the high deductible and premium from your own pocket. CEO was proud of those employees who started to work another job during weekend and after hours to cover their medical bills and life expenses. 

The best part of working at LCSNW is that you know you're helping people. Whether you work directly with clients or just sort out the calls or help with paperwork, everything you do is done to help our clients. It's really encouraging to know that when you go to work, you're making a difference in someone's life- either the clients, or your coworkers.
It can be rough working in a non-profit organization, and sometimes our job security is thrown out of control. The Travel Bans put into place in 2017 meant a dozen or so employees in the Refugee Resettlement Program lost their jobs or had wage/hour reductions. The entire process was heartbreaking and stressful.
It also depends on where you work. I had positions in two of LCSNW's offices, and the environment of each location was vastly different. One was chaotic, competitive, and it wasn't uncommon to hear workers yelling at each other or even their team lead. The other was basically a dream-come-true in a workplace. Everyone wants to work together for the betterment of the clients, there is great communication between coworkers and even separate programs within the building, and the manager is consistently calm and incredibly helpful.
I love working at LCSNW, and I would recommend it to anyone who has the chance to work there.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Great colleagues all pulling in the same direction. Lots of meaningful work that facilitates the entry, integration and journey to citizenship for refugee and displaced people. You will find a welcome environment for creativity and initiative with plenty of professional support.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
As a  Limited English Proficiency (LEP) instructor you will find it a challenge to adapt to ongoing open enrollment. Student entry levels are disparite and turnover can be high due to family dynamics and the demands of finding and keeping employment.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The environment is collegial and management is accessible. Communication is open and new ideas are welcomed. It's a rich multicultural environment characterized by acceptance, respect and DEI.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I was a half-time instructor who was permitted to work remotely to conduct my prep, record keeping and most team meetings. Direct instruction was 12 hrs/ week. Periods of formal assessment were especially busy.

Amazing families and co-workers. Hours are "flexible" but watch out. The flexibility refers to early mornings and many late nights based on the family's availability. Schedules change frequently and with little notice. Challenging if you have your own family. Middle management is weak and inexperienced. Coaches don't know how to handle personnel issues (FMLA, PTO, reasonable accommodations). Unfortunately, there is little consistency in how employee issues are managed. Favortism is blatant, morale is low. Middle managent uses Child and Family Team meetings (a tool for our families with behavioral youth) as a way to "solve" employee issues and workload challenges. Policies change weekly which makes expectations muddy at best. Caseloads are above the recommended maximum caseload. Bi-Lingual Care Coordinators are expected to translate all paperwork (double the paperwork) with very little compensation. Many of my co-workers are looking for other jobs. If you're considering LCS, keep looking. This place is a miserable dead end and not worth the stress.

The clients, and by extension, the job is actually amazing.  Unfortunately the management at LCS is awful.  Management only promotes their friends, usually the OG (Originals from before LCS's massive growth) and everyone else definitely on the outside.  The management takes long lunches, leaves early, arrives late, takes MANY vacation days.  Everyone else is required to work like dogs (weekends and evenings) despite management claiming to care about creating a good work-life balance it just isn't true.  The work environment is awful, and the HR worker is not an actual advocate for the employees (like she tells you), but rather bff's with the management. BE WARE, they will ruin your career.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The Beaverton SUD Team dedication to serve the clients

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
That upper management has no experience nor credentials to lead the SUD program.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Management ignores the value or opinion presented by more experienced staff regarding SUD policies/regulations and delivery services.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
At the Beaverton office the interaction among the staff was excellent, the main problem was the constant and unjustifiable changes of policies or procedures by management. Many people given orders about how to do the job.

Unfortunately, LCSNW is a place where their mission is being compromised by the way the leadership is treating their employees. Health, Justice and Hope for employees? Nope. There are many wonderful and passionate employees here who are committed to serving the community in a variety of ways, but they are given unreasonable amounts of work, and remain disempowered, unsupported, and unheard. There were many unethical decisions made while I was here, which is why I ultimately walked away. I was not trained well and thrown into messes the moment I started. I would never advise someone to work here due to the hierarchy, disorganization, and keeping poor leadership in roles of authority and not being open to change. *Dates for employment changed for anonymity. 

This company has been seeking to fill two positions in their office. I applied in August 2018, I had an informal phone interview in October, was told I would be contacted for the next step in the process, and applied again in January after speaking with the "HR" and Office manager about the open positions. No one has called to communicate whether I am qualified for the position or if it has been filled. I see the positions posted on Indeed everyday, which tells me the jobs are still not filled. I do not understand who they intend to hire, as I know a few other people who have applied for positions a well. What a joke! I would not even want to work there after experiencing their application process- I would feel as if had to beg to get in! Congratulation to anyone who actually gets an interview!

LCS keeps children safe and families together, they value the families they serve as well as their own employees.  They have a large variety of programs addressing the needs of vulnerable families and depending on the program you may have a flexible work schedule or fixed. Program managers are understanding and supportive of their staff. It can be difficult to leave your work at work which is true with most social work positions. Team collaboration is great and super helpful, you don't feel alone in the field. Love the coworkers and the clients. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Mental health technician 35 salaries reported	$36.10 per hour
Case manager 70 salaries reported	$25.87 per hour
Peer counselor 27 salaries reported	$26.48 per hour
Clinical supervisor 2 salaries reported	$42.11 per hour
Program supervisor 16 salaries reported	$38.39 per hour

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