direct support professional

nursing assistant

direct support caregiver

residential manager

qualified intellectual disabilities professional

St. Coletta of Wisconsin

I only work weekends (6am-9pm Saturday and Sunday). 
I then have Monday-Friday off! This works great when you have children or going to school. I have been at St.Coletta for 6 years now. Overtime I have seen a lot of things, the good and the challenging. When St.Coletta is thriving, it’s easy to take some time off and a overall happy place to come to work everyday.  Yet I have also seen St.Coletta in the middle of a staff shortage, poor residential management, or budget cuts. As a loyal employee of St.Coletta you ride the hard waves with the company, it will be noticed. The clients I work with, I love dearly. Best part and the most enjoyable part of the job is being on the front lines. Working directly with the men and women who live in the homes and apartments of St.Coletta. You become someone they depend on, someone they look up to as a role model. As a Direct Support Professional, starting here at 18 years old. I knew nothing about the field. St.Coletta has a extremely thorough training for their new employees. Select classes that are then repeated every year to keep it fresh and in front of your brain to be used in daily work. 
My manager currently is the best. I have had a few managers during my six years. She works hard, cares about her staff, wants you to succeed. At St.Coletta we now have system where DSPs (direct support professionals) have a chance to move up in the company. This affects your pay-rate.  We have three tiers standard DSP,  careerist DSP,  lead DSP. You can make up to $18.00 an hour! 

It’s the job you do not think of when your searching for a job, but it’s well worth it when you find it. 

This non-profit organization (direct management & upper management) expects far too much from its direct care staff for the low wages they pay.  I played the role of grocery shopper, accountant, cook, therapist, bather, chauffeur, teacher, nurse, and more, for only $10.50/hr for SEVEN women. Most of the time, I worked my shifts alone, or went to work in fear of being by myself, because the company's turnover was so high. There was little work/life balance due to the fact that management would call me on my days off and expect me to fill in for those who called off, or it was implied that I'd be "in trouble."  At one point, a supervisor asked me to work an overnight shift (11pm-9am) immediately after working a 12-hour shift (according to the organization's policy, 16 hours is the maximum consecutive hours allowable to work).

My general understanding was that no matter how much I did, it was never enough. I never felt like my work was appreciated. I also never felt like I could trust my coworkers and supervisors, or HR; the environment was very gossipy and catty. There was little to no support, and I often went home completely burnt out, crying my eyes out. 

This organization is based and directed from Jefferson, WI, and due to its distance, I feel like a lot of things in the Rolling Meadows division got swept under the rug and out of sight from Jefferson. 

Although this job was extremely challenging, I loved the clients that I worked with (even though they could be challenging, too). I still think of them almost a year later and wonder how they're doing. I wish that I could have done more for them, but the organization did not provide the resources.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Working with an advocating for the clients.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
No support from the upper management. Chronic understaffing. Unrealistic job expectations. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Chronic understaffing. High-demand, low support leadership structure. Reactive rather than proactive operations. Blurred boundaries around workload expectations. Compliance pressure placed heavily on operational staff.  Possible communication disconnect between frontline reality and upper leadership. Strong dependence on dependable employees. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
As the Residential Manager, I worked the first shift staff position passing medications, cooking breakfast and transported clients to day program. I also performed Assistant Manager duties by taking the clients to medical appointments, and specialty doctors. Received medications, completed necessary audit for medication administration as well as maintained the medication closet for compliance. Maintained day to day operations with client finances and budgeting of the house credit cards. Maintained the schedule and completed payroll duties. Completed assessments, held interviews, performed Annual performance reviews and worked the second and third shift staff positions. Attended monthly Leadership meetings as well as funders reviews with MCO's and the interdisciplinary team members. Communicated with families to deescalate concerns of their loved ones.

I have worked for St. Coletta for over a year now and have given it my all and I am completely at the end of my rope.  I worked in Jefferson before transferring to Waukesha and I can say that the environment is not very different. 

The clients are nice to work with and the experience I have had with them is invaluable.  It is also nice that St. Coletta certifies staff to pass medication.  These are the only positives I can think of.

They over work the staff to the point of exhaustion.  They expect 3 staff to take out 3 to 5 clients almost everyday of the week.  Almost all of these clients are wheelchairs.  On top of that they expect a lot of unnecessary paper work to be filled out.  I understand that documentation is important with this work but with all of the outings they expect staff to do the last thing we have time to do is paperwork, they just keep piling it on.

Management is the worst part.  They do not manage.  They gossip and try to "motivate" staff by telling them that other workers are complaining about them.  I have worked every shift in the house I work in now and currently I work 3rd shift.  The 3rd shift schedule is 7 days on 7 days off.  That is 7 days in a row without a break and 3rd shift is the only shift with one staff.  Management does not take any of this into consideration when confronting staff.  Managers clearly have favorites and don't mind sabotaging perfectly good employees just to make themselves look good.

On top of all this the pay is terrible.

Was here for over 5 years. The clients is what makes you stay and enjoy your job. Unfortunately revolving door of management to where majority not qualified for that role. Say clients are number one priority and they clearly are not with their actions. Say their employees mean alot to them, again actions and the way they treat their new and even long term employees is ridiculous. Alot of good can come with this job with the clients, but you have to have thick skin and deal with alot of bologna to say it nicely. Toxic work environment no matter how hard you try. Continued to hear the same issues throughout different homes and programing staff complaints. HR is a joke and do not help you or take things reported seriously. You will be completely over worked and under appreciated while not getting the pay you deserve for the work you put in. They will keep terrible and I mean extremely terrible employees no matter how many times they are reported. Been stuck past my shift many times when management was able to relieve me and did not, happened to alot of employees. There has been times were they mess up your paycheck and overtime hours, if you do work there make sure you check your timecard. 

When you start this job and go through all the intensive training you walk into the home feeling very scared and unsure if you are even able to handle it. The first day is the scariest as you literally have someones life in your hand and they are dependent on you - so it is very intimidating. As you go through your job duties, somewhere along the line you lose the feeling that this is a job and it becomes more personal! It is almost impossible to explain and rather you just have to experience it to understand. The relationships that you build with your clients grow to where you almost see them as part of your family and you truly care for them. Working with people with disabilities is difficult for find the right mix of professionalism and care but also promoting their independence and growth. It is a great place to work and the clients are what make it rewarding, however it turns into more than a job and you constantly think of them even when you are off, so it feels like a 24 hr job.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I don't have to worry as long as I tell them where I am that includes when I call in, but I still like getting along with my co-workers and or peers mainly because I only put in 2 hours a day per week and working my own hours the boss gives me.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The main stressful thing for me is people walking in the bathrooms when I'm cleaning, and using too much solution.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
I like it because it's religious for all people with abilities which date back to 1902.  The environment there is nurturing filled with kindness, dignity, compassion, and being there for there fellow men and women.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I go there to learn vocational skills to be able to get a job in the community. We learn so many things to help us get real jobs in our communities. I work 2 work shifts on day 1 in the morning 1 in the afternoon. We have class at 8:30 in the morning and we go home at 2:00 in the evening.

I have never seen a company that cares so much for the employees and clients. They have made many steps toward doing more and being better and continue to strive to be the best they can be. They provide support and expectations to help their employees be successful. The team is invested and encourages employees to work hard and move up in their positions as desired. Very fun job - I can’t imagine being anywhere else. Management keeps close eye on overtime to prevent burnout. 
I have had the opportunity to move up in positions in a short time - they really notice the work their employees are doing! 
Every person at St. Coletta is truly invested in the mission, I have even seen the president of the company assist with staff and clients when in need to ensure they were being cared for as he genuinely cares. 
St. Coletta is a growing company and leader in the field - I would recommend for anyone to work here.

Can be draining at times since there is so much to get done all the time and not enough time to do it, depending on which house you're in.

Managers seem disconnected and just sit at the office all day and don't help out much in the homes.

The people who work at day programming act like the people who work in the homes don't do anything... which is confusing since the people who work in the homes are do all the cooking, cleaning, passing medications, doing showers and personal cares, packing lunches, answering phones calls, doing calorie counts, etc. sooooo not sure why they think that when we do all the harder work and at day programming they get to just print off coloring pages for the clients and talk about the weather with them.

I would come in to clock in and go pick up our clients from their workshops, prepare their dinner, administer their 4pm meds, after dinner I would assist the clients with there bath, grooming, and getting them ready for bed. Finally administering their 8pm meds and treatments. I have learned so much about special diets and about development disabilities. This is just a whole new world. Management is not so consistent. My co-workers were great to work with. The hardest part of this job is when the clients become violent and harmful to themselves and others. Once they stop and we take control of the situation they are so sweet and loveable. They may be adults but they have a heart of a child.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Direct support professional 2 salaries reported	$20.38 per hour
Nursing assistant 2 salaries reported	$16.75 per hour
Direct support caregiver 1 salary reported	$18.50 per hour
Residential manager 1 salary reported	$23.00 per hour
Qualified intellectual disabilities professional 1 salary reported	$25.13 per hour

Working at St. Coletta of Wisconsin: Company Overview and Reviews

St. Coletta of Wisconsin

St. Coletta of Wisconsin Ratings

Popular jobs at St. Coletta of Wisconsin

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected