direct support professional

licensed practical nurse

area supervisor

caregiver

registered nurse

ResCare Community Living

Having worked in numerous locations over the years, the most enjoyable part of working for Rescare, is easily the clients and getting to see that staff do make an improvement in the lives of these clients. However, the professionalism and culture of the company has become malignant. We do not set staff up for success. We do not train our staff and give them the proper tools to have confidence in doing a job that there is nothing easy about. There is no easy job with this company, and that's fine, but part of managements role is to ensure that our staff are equipped with the right knowledge to take care of a vulnerable population, and we fail at that, and that generates frustration on the part of staff and our clients. We practice consistency, but we are inconsistent. Also, work/life balance does not exist here. It is 80+hours a week. It's exhausting and leaves no time to do the job, or any role here, properly. It does not matter how many times you emphasize this to administration...there is no indication that they care. You ask to do less than 80hr/wk, and they ask you to do more. Pay leaves a lot to be desired. I started with the company in 2005, and RN's, LPN's, BSP's, SC, 30 minutes down the road at a sister agency start out making more. You can point all these issues out to administration and all they can reply with is stating the agency I work for and the agency 30 minutes down the road are 2 separate agencies...Huh? Come again? We do not work as though we are all under the same umbrella. Don't get me wrong, if you want to go and work at other agencies to help them out in a time of crisis (which has cropped up several times over the years), they'll take all the help they can get, but to make the wages fair across the board, is, as far as I can tell, unthinkable to administration. Corporate bureaucracy will always exist anywhere you go, ResCare is no different, however, we are a reactive company vs a proactive one. Healthcare isn't something to leave up to fate and stars and hope for the best, we are dealing with people, vulnerable people, but our practices are deplorable towards our staff and by default, it lessens the quality of care we promise to exercise with our clients. The review specifically asks 6 things. 1.) A typical day at work: Meetings, some scheduled, some not. You deal with it. Staff calling, or others needing something right now. Answering a pager (for years you didn't get anything for carrying a pager, it's only been in recent years that you get paid $50/week), staff showing up in your office asking to be trained with no notice because Area Supervisor's left it up to staff to schedule, vs the AS completing this task. Typing up billing notes, reviewing physicians orders, getting called out, completing med pass, and you might be done at 7pm if you're lucky, and numerous times, you pull up in your driveway and then get paged back out again. That's a typical day. 2.) What you learned: I learned how to communicate. I started with this company as what I would describe as a reserved, shy person. This place will strip you of that, you have to have a voice because no one will be a voice or advocate for you. You have to be that for yourself, or you will get trampled on. 3.) Management: I've seen management change over the years. You cannot pay someone to care. Either they do or they don't. Unfortunately people and the corporations they run do tend to get blinded and lack any sight beyond money, and it becomes the only language they speak. They no longer speak the language of human kindness and compassion. ResCare has fallen to the same depths as so many companies before them. Management began good and has progressively deteriorated over the years, and is now ran by different players than when I started. 4.) Workplace Culture: Malignant. Poor work morale. 5.) The hardest part of the job: Your bank account does not reflect the insane amount of hours you put in in a week. Again, there is no easy job here, however, a decent paycheck does tend to make you feel valued or at least encourages you to come back and do it all over again. But you cannot make it from paycheck to paycheck here. Also, in the last year alone, I've put 40,000 miles on my car. The mileage reimbursement in my area is only $0.31/mile, but that does not cover, for example, say I get paged from my home to a location that is 2 miles from the office. I can only charge mileage from the office, which equates to 2 miles, but am not compensated in any way for the 30 minutes it took me to get to said location and then 30 minutes to go home. The lack of paycheck aside, there is no support at our agency. No one to turn to for help. I've turned to my direct supervisor and then the ED several times as working 6-7 days a week is too much for anyone (not for days, but months) and you're on your own. 6.) The most enjoyable part of the job: Easy! When you show up at a house and the clients are genuinely happy to see you! It makes all the other negative aspects of the job a bit more bearable. Overall...ResCare is difficult to work for if you have a family. You can say multiple times that you have small children, that you'd like to at least work a normal day, and it never matters. You will always get stuck working more at the expense of your family and your health. Oh, I should mention too, that at least at my agency, as a nurse, I have no health insurance for my children or myself. The cost is astronomical and the deductible is some egregious amount, like to the tune of $3500 for everything. It's the shoemaker's kids that do not have shoes and it's the nurses children that do not have healthcare. I should also mention that the tuition reimbursement here is not forthright as advertised. It is very little to begin with, however, the agency has to be meeting their financials in order to offer this benefit. I'm one of the very few people that went to college while working here, stayed, and 10 years later I'm still paying on my student loans. It's something to think about. The clients are not only the best part of the job, they are the heart! It's crushing to see an agency start out so good to only become corrupted to the point where staying on is too much of a liability, and knowing in the back of your mind that someone will have to pick up the slack and praying that it's done correctly, and being powerless to see that through.

I was hired for the BSP position. This position is in line with my education and experience. Since it was a M-F position I was able to easily keep my part time job that keeps me going and am very invested in. When I got through training I had no idea for 2 months who my boss actually was, what I was to be providing to the service coordinators at the meetings and any other job duties I was responsible for. I did get to know the clients and some staff really well which was rewarding. I got my 3rd  boss after 2 months or so and finally had guidance on documentation that I needed to complete for meetings, monthly reports, etc.. I finally felt confident with that part of the position. I didnt ever feel heard and felt others were in competition to prove they were going above and beyond. I stayed quiet and did what was expected of me. I got pretty frustrated because I was given directives and then told later that things were to be done another way. I started to really observe what was going on around me and felt like it was time to start looking for another job for many reasons. I hated to leave the clients as I was very im invested in helping them in any way I could behaviorally.  I was then told my position was going to be merged with the area supervisor position because the program was not going to grow and they felt this was the best move. I never wanted to be area supervisor because it is an endless job that doesn't allow you a life outside of the agency. I watched the former area supervisor and believe it should be a 2 person job. So, I was expected to be area supervisor, which is 24/7 and on call at all hours, every day plus continue being the behavioral specialist. I was told to think about it and let them know the next day. If I said no that was basically saying that I quit and I couldn't at that point just quit. I asked when I was expected to start and was told immediately. I voiced my concern that I was not giving up my part time therapist job but was given no time to adjust. I asked for a few days off for a reason but was told I still had to be on call, even though I had off and was not given any time. I stated I would not go in to cover shifts as I couldn't and it was agreed upon. I asked about a raise since I was expected to do 2 full time jobs 100%. I was never given one nor did they acknowledge it. I was told many of times that I would have help since one of the houses was hard to staff and that was a lie because everytime it came up the same thing was said... I wasnt in this alone and she (my boss) was there to help, she just couldn't that day/night. For three weeks I did nothing but cover shifts and deal with staff problems. They pulled me away from my position that lines with my education and experience because they didnt want to hire someone else. After having to cover a house almost 3-5 times a week for 4 to 15 hours and working almost a week from 5 am to 2 am, sick, stressed and exhausted with no help I quit. I dont ever abandon clients and hate that I didnt get to say bye to them but my mental and physical well being is more important than working like a dog for a company that didnt appreciate the effort, they to help when certain things were extremely difficult and exhausting. They didnt compensate for adding another full time position and was actually make alot less when I broke it down because I was expected to be at the staff and clients beckon call. I dont think I have ever felt stress lift off me from a job/agency than what I felt after turning in all my keys and office equipment and documents. There are some amazing DSPs, a few management and the clients are great but it wasnt worth risking my health.

The clients of this company are the only reason I give this company 3 stars. Gossip was terrible when I was there. Management was terrible and liked to talk about you behind your back. If someone called in and they tried to get you to come in on your day off and you actually told them no, my boss would put a guilt trip on you for saying no, I ended up saying yes more times than no due to the guilt of saying no and knowing the house would be understaffed that day. The clients were awesome! And due to my experiences I feel I should give people a tip that have never worked with individuals that are developmentally disabled, when you first start working in the homes and the residents of the home start having behaviors, a lot of the time it is their way of testing you...after an adjustment period they will learn that you are there to help and not to harm and its easy to develope a routine which is very important to them. Too bad the people in the office doesnt seem to care about them as much as the staff in the homes. The office personnel literally ran off one of the best nurses I've seen because they accused her of "caring too much for the individuals" after someone contracted a staph infection after a surgery! I could tell some stories but I won't. Working at the houses isn't bad at all. They work you one week and the next week you only work a day back and forth. The houses are very under staffed and unfortunately the clients pay for it. They also were having a problem with shortage of company vehicles to take clients places but frowned on you driving them in your personal vehicle. One house went around 2 months without having a vehicle and also several times ran so short on food that I could not cook them a meal because there wasn't enough of any kind of ingredients to make anything! They also tend to run through Area Supervisors and they are the ones that do the grocery and cleaning shopping for all of the houses. So if they don't have any area supervisors because they quit or get put on administrative leave, you never know when or if you'll get groceries. But in all honesty, if you can tolerate nonstop gossip, management either breathing down your neck or not caring at all, people like to call in quite a bit, some staff had the "I'm the best I don't have to listen or help anyone I can sit and play on my phone or sleep or do nothing but watch tv" attitude, hours can be okay if you actually get to stick to the schedule, they like to bounce you from house to house, and you figure out their pay schedule which is like their own little code, and you can only clock in and out using the landline phone in one of the houses so if the power goes out you have to file a punch correction(if you fill out too many of those they jump your case) and you are very goal orientated about just being there to help the clients and have a thick skin you would make it here. Also they do not seem to promote employees here, and they tend to hire more outside the company than promoting within, at least at the office I worked through. If you do try to work for them good luck to you!

ResCare is a facility where disabled adults are put into homes to be assisted with their everyday needs. We have group homes for mentally disabled people who can't take care of themselves, can't finance their money right, or have mental disabilities. In Muncie there are 3 different houses: Walden, Godman, and Garver. I worked at Walden the most, that was my main home. There are 4 different kinds of shifts that are available to work: 6am-2pm, 2pm-10pm, 10pm-6am and weekend shifts which are 16 hour shifts from 6am-10pm. I often worked the weekend shifts, but I picked up extra hours just about everyday throughout the week. Also a grocery shopper for the household is needed Monday-Wednesday. You get to pick which day you want to go, it's once a week that you grocery shop and they give you 5 hours to do so. I worked Tuesdays from 3:30p-8:30p. I ended up having 37 hours weekly getting paid $9.50/hr before I picked up shifts. In my home there are 8 consumers, 4 men and 4 women all with different disabilities, but my house is the highest functioning. Throughout the week is when the consumers go to work from 8a-3p. In the AM you cook and pass morning meds, then get their lunches ready for the day and take them to work. When they get home they get a snack at 3 and dinner around 5:30/6. They also get 4pm meds and 8pm meds before they go to bed. After 8pm meds is when all but 3 go to bed. One of the 3 goes to bed at 9p, another one out of the 3 goes to bed at around 10 and the other goes to bed whenever he pleases. The weekends are different.. 5a/6a/7a meds are passed, breakfast doesn't have to be cooked until later because it is the weekend and they like to sleep in longer and relax more. They all have assigned days to do dishes, laundry, chores, bathe, and kitchen help. Showers are done as pleased by the ones who aren't stubborn, chores and kitchen help is done everyday. The latest time breakfast is to be cooked is around 11a. One of the consumers has meds that need to be passed to her at 12p/1p. Latest time lunch is served is 2p, they get snack at 3. Dinner is anywhere between 5p and 7p, then 8pm meds are passed then most go to bed after that. Some stay up because of the weekend. Throughout the day they can do whatever they want, they have no routine during the day on the weekends. One of the consumers smokes every hour on the hour, but he gets your consent on the hour. If your late telling him he gets upset and has a behavior. Once you get the hang of it, it's really easy and fun. Plus you get the chance to have a special bond with some of the housemates. It's a good feeling once you create relationships with them. It's very important to document everything they do from eating, sleeping, activities, bowel movements, showering etc.

They work you hard and this is highly skilled labour job but pay min wage, not flexible with hours. They schedule you how they want without asking and wont work with you when your needs change. House management harasses staff and upper management ignores complaints. There's petty rivalry between management that undermines the safety and well being of the staff and clients, it's extremely hostile, the upper management plays favourites with staff and management, allowing staff/management  who neglect and abuse clients and their duties remain because they are wildly understaffed. They break state regulations about client/staff ratio, the excuse is that "they are in the office" but that's untrue as the management leaves the site without notice or is unavailable due to "calls", leaving the duties of two people to one person.  There's back biting and gossip, everyone complains about everyone else's shift but no one wants to do their own work, often leaving it to others and outright refusing to do assigned duties, as this is a care facility that means people aren't getting changes or bathed or having clean linens and clothes unless one staff is willing to do everything themselves. They don't increase pay as they certify you for various tasks, when you're med certified you're not paid more than staff who aren't even though you're doing more specialised work, the management will schedule themselves overtime and cut hours of people they don't like. they'll go out of their way to get you fired from a second job for personal reasons. STAFF/MANAGEMENT STEALS FROM CLIENTS and coworkers. people will go YEARS without a raise. It's disorganised to the point of endangering clients, new clients will be there for weeks with no instructions or care orders given to staff. Blankets and pillows are torn and requests from staff are new ones are largely ignored. this is a multi-billion dollar company but Management will try and act like rescare can't afford to buy basic necessities for the house, they constantly let things like cleaning supplies run out for weeks at a time. Broken equipment is never fixed, even if it unsafe to work without it/unsafe for the clients. There's NO communication between management or staff, we never knew when appointments were to have clients ready on time or if there are schedule changes for their normal routine. There's a client that SEXUALLY ASSAULTS female staff but management refuses to have 2 staff or male staff with him, leaving female staff to fend for themselves alone. There's so many more issues but those are the worst ones. Don't work there if you want to be treated like a person.

Most days at this company were filled with frustration after frustration. There was no accountability for the employees and the disciplinary process was so long and convoluted that it's unlikely that will ever change. The staff did not communicate and were bogged down with too much work and too few supplies. It was extremely common for the houses to run low on food and for the staff, who were earning minimum wage to work long hours in volatile situations, to provide food for the clients so they wouldn't go hungry. The budgets were too tight in the day program so the clients were rarely able to leave the facility on trips. When the company I worked for was bought out by this one, it became unbearable to go to work in the morning because you knew how stressed your clients would be due to their situation and lack of care.

Management was accessible but essentially useless. They seemed to do their best to improve things for the clients but had no recourse to do so due to the pervasive red tape of such a large corporation. It feels criminal that bureaucracy should rule an organization meant to help people with such an iron fist.

The employees were a mixed bag. While some seemed to genuinely care, others came in to collect a paycheck and leave without giving thought to the fact that they were taking care of other human beings. Many danced the line of neglectful or abusive behavior. They earned a pittance for such a vitally important job and it showed. This job is a career, a vocation, not simply something you set aside at the end of the day.

The hardest part of the job was watching the clients suffer for little to no reason. To see someone who's reliant on the assistance of others go without Christmas presents because they didn't have enough money to buy their own was awful, but not nearly as terrible as seeing someone go without depends or other necessary hygiene items until one of the staff took it upon themselves to fill the need because the company wouldn't provide it for them without going through extremely long and unhelpful processes to release money.

The most enjoyable part of the job was the clients. The ones I cared for were as close to my heart as anyone in my family, and it kills me to know that they have to live in Rescare's system. They brought joy to my life, no matter how hard their struggles were. Seeing them triumph over their illnesses, seeing them make progress on themselves despite all of the obstacles stacked against them was incredibly inspiring and made all of the bad days seem insignificant in comparison.

A typical day at work requires teaching the people I serve how to do things, which I very much love. I have learned how to approach behaviors, and a ton about medical stuff, which I adore in doing my job. My personal direct manager is very good, knowledgeable, supportive, understanding, and willing to listen and  work things out. However, many managers are not trained well and seem to have an attitude with the employees. Some are power trippers who thrive on control. My personal workplace culture is currently very good. People respect each other, are friendly, and are good to the people we serve. However, in the past, there have been employees that seem to enjoy being in control and talk badly about coworkers behind their back. Some supervisors will not respond to staff when staff reaches out. Some supervisors won't answer their phones. I, myself, and several of my coworkers,  have been sick, sometimes at work, and they will not answer their phones. I think supervisors, or someone, an on-call person maybe, should always be available for these reasons. I personally know of times an employee was very sick at work and couldn't reach a supervisor. And then, when you do get ahold of supervisors, some, not all, are irritated and try to make the staff feel guilty for calling in. My particular place does not have people call in hardly ever, so when we do, we don't want to be made to feel bad. And sometimes really bad things happen, like family emergencies, and it is crucial someone respond. Also, I do not like their threats of making us work 12 hour shifts and alternating weekends, when everyone at my site does their job. But the moment you say you're not available for an extra shift, they threaten us. For the record, forcing people to go to 12 hour shifts will really hurt the staff. Many of us are single parents that need to be home for our children.  The hardest part of my job is when supervisors put unreasonable demands, such as completing a large amount of tasks in too short of a time. Also supervisors and Q's can treat direct care staff with condensing and irritable behavior. Staff do want to be heard, respected, and appreciated.  The most enjoyable part of my job is interacting with the people we serve. I really love and care about them. And I love doing all med coach duties.

I was a DSP at ResCare for over a year - They will move you & not tell you why you're being moved or lie as to why they're moving you; they don't properly train you; if you take the 50¢ pay increase, you're not entitled to anything; you'll be scheduled 8a-4p but if there's a call off & no coverage, you're staying past 4 - I was mandated 3 nights in a row & they're "not allowed" to do that, it's supposed to go in rotation & they claim you can only be mandated up to 18 hours - That is a lie, a friend of mine was mandated for 22 hours one shift & we were short for the next day because he was told to just take the day off & I was mandated; the management is horrible, as in the Home Managers, the TCs, the PCs & even the RNs. There's a couple LPNs that are great but it's seriously like 2 outta 10 that are good; as long as you have a Bachelors Degree, you can work as a TC, which means you're supposed to know how to handle the consumer's on every level & train the DSPs on it but if you have a BA in Theater, how are you supposed to handle a paranoid schizophrenic who's fighting half the staff?; they go off of hearsay rather than actual proof so if another staff doesn't like you, they can report you which will cause you to be investigated which means you're suspended for at least a week without pay; they will schedule you on your days off without asking even though it's a violation of their policy. It's a horrible company, I feel sorry for some of their consumers but the majority of their consumers are horrible & know they can act out without being reprimanded & can also lie on staff to have them fired or moved - I saw countless people moved from different waivers because they were doing their job & the consumer didn't get their way so they lied on the staff to get them out of their homes. The whole point of ResCare they say is to help individuals be more dependent & to even phase out but they don't - They baby the consumers, especially the bad ones. They also lie on paperwork to get money through consumers & management will steal it - There was a home manager & a DSP who were equally stealing a consumer's Black Lung pension & tried to blame others for it & another home manager was also stealing from a consumer & passing a DSPs receipts off as the consumers. They're a horrible company & I would NEVER recommend anyone work for them or acquire their services for someone they know.

It was a good job and I got a lPlanned and conducted weekly staff meetings.  
 Manages leasing activity to ensure budgeted goals are achieved; breaks down monthly targets to daily/weekly, individualized goals; leases apartments.   Provided team leadership and focus; held staff accountable for results.   Provided coaching and feedback to staff; ensured job expectations were known and followed for all persons on the team; ensured consistency of personnel decisions/actions. Managed staffing schedules.   Organized, conducted and directed special programs or social events.   Establishes and maintains a systematic and well-organized housing waiting list.  Manages income and expenses to achieve operational budget; review and approve property expenses; authorizes expenditures.   Assists in preparation of annual Operating Budget.  Oversees the administrative functions such as rent collection, bank deposits, lease renewal management, payable functions, weekly and monthly reporting and file management..  Handled paperwork and administrative issues to ensure property remains in compliance with city, state, and federal legislation pertaining to local building codes, fair housing laws, the Federal Fair Housing Amendment, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Maintained good public relations and interacts with clients, customers, and co-workers in a respectful and professional manner.   Recommends general improvements when needed.  All employees are expected to perform any reasonable work requested that falls within the qualification but not specifically described. 
2    
 Ensuring Individuals, with developmental disabilities are safe, healthy, and living in a clean environment by overseeing their group home residence. 
 Actively supervising, coaching, and mentoring Direct Support Professionals that work within the group home. 
 Supervising the planning , implementation, and documentation of programs designed to meet the social, emotional, physical, and personal needs of the consumer. 
 Planning and participating in group outings for consumers 
 Managing the shopping for the home’s necessities such as food, clothing, and household items 
 Scheduling and driving consumers to doctor’s appointments, shopping trips, and day programs/schools. ot of experience

The pros of working this job was the ability to work at your own pace especially when a routine was established. The work is basic and typically are things that are done at home (examples include doing laundry, cooking meals, and doing other basic housekeeping tasks). Most clients are easy to care for but there will be days when they get on your nerves especially during behaviors.  This job is an essential job so it is, for the most part, a guaranteed job even during a pandemic. The work schedule is fixed (2 days on, 2 days off, and 3 days on during one week then 2 days off, 2 days on, and 3 days off the following week).

The cons of working at this job consists of poor work/life balance especially due to staffing issues. There is a GREAT possibility that you may be stuck working in a home 24+ hours so if you are not a workaholic, this job may not be for you. Please note that this job has staff work 12 hour shifts instead of the typical 8 hour shift at most other jobs.  Be prepared to work alone  in these homes since most homes operate on a single staff even if it would be more ideal that they double staff homes, especially during the day shift, since many clients are high medical need or have high behaviors. This company has been known to cut corners in order to save money despite the repercussions it causes towards clients and staff. There is no clear chain of command in most homes and many of these homes are disorganized when it comes to paperwork and locating pertinent information. You may be called in to work in other homes if there is no staffing available [this would normally take place during your day off]. Also, don't expect to be fully/properly trained on the clients when being pulled to a home which isn't your normal, assigned, home because the staff you'll be relieving will be eager to get out of there. Expect things to be dropped on you at a moments notice without much time to prepare. 

I believe that this job does have potential for improvement if they would quit cutting corners, ensured that their staff were properly trained, had a clear cut chain of command,  would all work as a team, and learn how to work smarter and not harder. 

Would I recommend this job? Honestly, I  would leave the decision up to the job seeker and if they chose to work here then great and if not,then also great. 

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