residential counselor

residential assistant

case manager

program supervisor

intervention specialist

Oaks Integrated Care

Oaks was my first real experience working with youth with intellectual delays.  Though this was difficult and demanding work, I learned to enjoy the kids and I learned to really care for them.  When I left Oaks, I found that I really missed the kids who earned a place in my heart...despite sustained injuries during acts of aggression by consumers.

However, I did not necessarily enjoy the management.  For example, I felt very unsupported by my supervisor who was stretched in many different directions.  My supervisor rarely, if at all, attended staff meetings despite my requests and those of the staff I supervised.  Verbal support was given, but tangible support was absent.  In fairness, however, I will again say that my manager was stretched across many programs and probably unable to give me the support that I needed/

Another concern was the lack of support given by HR when conflicts arose or when staff members were not performing.  Concerns about staff that effected staff morale and program operations and that were repeatedly documented were, in my opinion, inappropriately managed when presented to HR.  For example, repeated efforts to address staff lateness was not supported by HR who basically asked that we accomodate his/her lateness.  In other matters, I often felt that I, rather that the individual who caused the infraction, was being slapped on the hand for trying to manage staff conflicts and personnel concerns.

In summary, I found a real love for the kids.  I believe that most of the staff worked extremely hard to provide a caring, safe place for them.  However, the few staff who were less thoughtful and respectful of their team made the work more difficult and helped to cultivate a negative environment.  Management provided little support and HR further added to my frustrations.

Your expected to do beyond your job requirement and then some. Supervisors if they don't like you for whatever the reason they write you up, they look for any reason to do this . When you try to prove that the problem lies with the person or persons who for their own personal reasons want you out continue to badger you give you all the demeaning work and dare you to say something in your defense that way they can write you up for insubordination and tell you just as much. I wont say all Supervisors do this but a lot do. My only bad experience in my career had been there. You don't get raises they do give a bonus check at the end of the year this is based on your job performance which your Supervisor sends in so needless to say I was screwed out  of a decent bonus every time. I was never written up until this Supervisor was in charge never had a problem with anyone I worked with and was told by new hires that the Supervisor during giving the new hires an interview told them not to trust me I am a trouble maker and don't do my share and think i'm in charge. This being said shows that they ( the Supervisor) was afraid because I knew more than they did about the job and thought I would make them look bad. I say this because I was offered the job several times but refused as I could not commit to it due to personal reasons and that is the reason the Supervisor was so unfair unprofessional and continued to pick with me everyday to get me to leave or to get me fired and when it was reported nothing was done about it reasons they say were it's hearsay even with witnesses to state this was indeed going on. This was My experience with this company...

I am a Mental Health Clinician and have worked here for a while.  This organization will push you to the max. There are bonuses, but not raises.  Even when you take a higher position, do not even expect much of an increase (or a fair one).  There are people who have left, because they were promised more pay, but they were just stringing them along.  More and more people are leaving for better jobs, so that should tell you something.  I feel conflicted about management (in general...I'm not calling out anyone in particular).  There's either a complete lack of communication and disorganization or micromanagement overkill.  The amount of responsibilities are increasing.  Nothing is ever good enough.

Clients do get good care here in general and resources to help them improve their lives..  But there seems to be very little care or concern for the staff. It's like people here are disposable.  As programs expand (which is great for the clients), the treatment of staff seems to get worse.  There's some favoritism and unfairness, just like others have said.  They seem to use people too. 
 Oh...and they have a "do not close" policy when there is a blizzard!!!  

Pros: I love working with the clients and helping to make a difference in  their lives. I have formed some great working relationships, time off is generous, I've had some flexibility with hours and decent benefits.  Despite the cons, people are generally friendly and helpful.  You do get great experience here, so it's a good starting place.

They just do not seem to value their employees enough to give any incentives for staff to stay.  It's just a revolving door now.

I worked for this agency for 7 months and I finally had to run out of there. I ALWAYS give at least 2 weeks notice, but in order to preserve what sanity I had left, I couldn't stay a day longer. Then they refused to give me my vacation time that I earned (and wasn't allowed to take while I was working there).
I was brought on to open 2 DDD houses in Pennington in July, but worked in Westampton until they were supposed to open in September. I worked there learning my job until October when the Prog Sup of that house found it unbearable to work under our Director RB and quit. I had to take over his position as well because my houses weren't open yet, but still had my job to do as well. When I found it difficult to work both positions under 40 hours a week and still get everything done, my Dir said I shouldn't have had problems since my houses weren't open yet. I was to be on call for both houses once my first house opened, but even before my first house opened, I was on call every week and for the dumbest sht imaginable. When my own house opened, I had absolutely no support and was supposed to not allow any overtime for my staff, which would have been fine, had I had the time to hire staff. I was the one who had to work 60+ hours each week without any break. 

They also don't give comp time when you have to work over 40 hours a week. Plus, their time keeping system automatically takes off your hour for lunch whether you have to work through it or not. They are monocrats and have unrealistic expectations for their salaried group home staff.

I was just an intern, gaining my hours for my master’s program. I was there nearly 10-12 hours a day to collect 1,000 before graduation. I was luck to have my own office which is unheard of for an intern. I did IOTSS and the partial care unit. My favorite was the evening partial care. The team for the evening partial care was awesome, nice, and funny. It made working there worth it! The clientele were awesome, since a majority of them were working adults with families themselves to just looking for help with their diagnosis disorders. There were barely any issues among clients, drama was seen more within the staff. For some reason IOTSS and management thought they were better than the partial care team, and don’t get me started on the awesome Oasis team. When I had lunch with them, I finally understood why the partial care team ate by themselves in their office. All in all it’s a decent company to work for I just wish management had more empathy. My dad had a heart attack will I was interning and I missed nearly
a month, because I was driving daily to the hospital, and when he was released I would drive him to the doctors. Mind you I had a newborn with me as well. So it was a stressful time, my school understood and tried to remain in contact with my internship. However, management was ready to terminate my position. Luckily partial care stepped in on my behalf. 

I liked working in this company because I liked serving the people that I served. Though since this company specializes in everything, it specializes in nothing. They merged a few times with other companies and any time a company merges it looses its focus! They got too big too fast!

They can't hold in the volume! So they had to shuffle in new people without proper training. A weeks time like most companies which is nice just to start. They won't fire you for simply mistakes because they need you. Its a great company to work in college or right after college, but not a company to work for after you get experience move on.

I never got to full time hours and didn't get benefits. Even though I was always promised more, my manger just really couldn't deliver. The manger was way too busy with too many programs to handle. The manager was always available to be called and considerate in conversation, just had too much on their plate to really be able to care for the families like a healthy work place should.

The people in charge of the agency make decisions based on how much money they can funnel from programs into their own pockets.  The directors take their orders from the VP's who take their orders from the chiefs who only want to maximize revenue and minimize payroll to frontline program staff.  They are very good at this and utilize some less than socially just (but not illegal) business practices to do so.

It is very disappointing to see that the mission of service to other people is used to enrich an elite few people who want to feel important.  

$  I CAN NOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH THAT THE ADMINISTRATORS AND PEOPLE IN CHARGE DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE HEALTH, SAFETY, OR HAPPINESS OF CLIENTS AND STAFF UNLESS IT SOMEHOW CREATES REVENUE OR PERCEIVED IMPORTANCE FOR THEM  $

If you work here and are not connected to one of the people who are already in charge, you will be treated as a dispensable and replaceable cog in the machine that prints money for the select few at the top. 

Diversity is a joke.  The agency is disproportionately run by white women.  

Working at Oaks was exciting at first, and then I actually started working in my position and only about a month in I started applying for other jobs. Do yourself a favor and just try for positions elsewhere. They're fine for the experience, but not advancement. And definitely don't expect a pay raise. Ever. My supervisor never answered her emails or returned phone calls because she was "too busy." Lack of communication has made me leave other jobs in the past. Communication is a key skill to have in this field/position and for supervisors or coworkers to not have this skill is upsetting. Incidents with consumers slip through the cracks and other counselors encourage you to leave these events out of daily notes. Everything is a fireable offense - I always feared I would lose my job if I ever did anything incorrectly, but then substitutes get away with whatever they want and are never reprimanded. They say there's no repercussions for whistle blowers, but they discourage you from ever filing formal reports or grievances. Work load is slow unless you have a difficult consumer. Just... Try to apply elsewhere.

A typical day at the office? Well, you have to watch who you talk too. It's like high-school cliques. Can't trust anyone. Especially older people who's been there for over 20 years. 

People at my office work efficiently and quietly. 

What did I learn?
Honestly, I had 1 hour of training for my position and I was never taught or shown how to order office supplies, scheduling, or office procedures. I was thrown in there no support. 

Management-
It's a rotating door with Management. I had over 5 different supervisors since being here. Staff shortage. They understand when you need to leave for an emergency or a doctor's appointment.  Management previously  didn't care much of the staff. Feels like you can do whatever you want with no care. Management will talk behind your back negatively. 

The hardest part of the job? 
Not having staff for coverage. Hours change no notice. Overworked for little pay. 

The most enjoyable about the job?
Connecting with my staff and consumers. 


I was looking for a company culture that would feel like family because I believe that if I am going to spend so much time in any job, it should be one that I enjoy around people that I enjoy.  When I arrived for my interview, the F.I.S.H. Philosophy was posted on the wall and I immediately knew I found the organization I was looking for.  I've been with the organization for a year now and joining Oaks was the best decision I could have made.  I learn so much from my peers and my team is top notch.  My supervisor is thoughtful and very responsive and genuinely cares about Oaks' mission and the consumers we serve.  It is a very large organization so communication is key.  If you have a question about something, just ask. Things move quickly and everyone is willing to help instead of having your struggle to find the answers.  Working at Oaks is what you make of it.  The work is not easy but it is very rewarding.  We literally get to impact the lives of so many on a daily basis.   

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Residential counselor 15 salaries reported	$18.72 per hour
Residential assistant 3 salaries reported	$19.41 per hour
Case manager 36 salaries reported	$46,025 per year
Program supervisor 23 salaries reported	$59,008 per year
Intervention specialist 20 salaries reported	$22.32 per hour

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