direct support professional

direct support caregiver

assistant

support staff

service technician

Star-Community-Inc

During my time with this company, I observed several serious issues that I believe prospective employees should consider before accepting a position. One of the biggest problems was the clear divide between upper management and direct support professionals (DSPs). Management often operates as a tight-knit clique, which leaves DSPs feeling like outsiders. This sense of exclusion was made worse by obvious favoritism—certain clients clearly received more attention and resources than others, and it showed.

Staffing was extremely inconsistent during my time there. There were many times I didn’t know who would be training me at the house with the clients until I showed up that day. This lack of preparation and structure made it difficult to feel supported or confident in my role.

My biggest concern, however, was safety. There were instances where I was told a client was not capable of being harmful, only to be harmed by that very client. When these incidents happened, management acted like they never occurred. In one case, an incident report I submitted was even deleted. This made it clear that protecting staff (current and future) was not a priority.

The only consistently positive experiences I had were with the nursing staff. They were professional, compassionate, and truly seemed to care about both clients and staff. Unfortunately, their example was not followed by other parts of the organization.

Overall, while the work itself can be meaningful, the lack of support, safety, and fairness from management makes it difficult to recommend this company. There are other agencies that treat their employees better, pay more fairly, and create safer, more inclusive environments. I encourage you to explore those options first.

When I first stared at star I loved it. This company has slowly and surely gone down hill. They expect that the DSPs do work that the people in the office would never humble them selves to do…. Minus the one who works in the homes more then the office. You know who you are and you are amazing. This company is NOT progressive. They are NOT appreciative of the work you put in. You will NOT have the work home balance they swear you will. The only reason I stay here is because of the amazing residents I get to work with everyday. and the coworkers I have in the homes. The upper management (office staff) are a joke. They have meetings where they tell you all the ways it would “blow your mind” that we aren’t offering options to the people we support. Meanwhile they don’t even come to the house to see the options that “aren’t” being offered. Nothing you ever do will be good enough because it has to look good on paper while not hurting their bottom line…. Some house don’t go out enough while other houses are going out too much and “spending too much money”.  The residents pay for their own stuff so I’m not even quite sure why star would care but from my understand they seem to care a lot. The real MVP here is the DSPs, house managers, and the assistant residential director. Pretty much everyone else is trash and aren’t worth the air you would waste talking to them 

I know. You would think that a company that provides services to people with developmental disabilities would be first and foremost worried about  the individuals we serve. They are not. This is a business. The people at the top have been on a which hunt looking for the staff that have been writing negative reviews about them. They "want to know 'why' we feel this way. 'why' we don't feel comfortable coming to them directly". This is why. Their first instinct was not to self reflect and see of they could see why someone might feel the way the did. The first thing they wanted to do was silence them. We had a meeting today where we were told pretty much what our clients want and desire are not important. What is important is the bottom line. Our guys don't need name brand toilet paper or paper towels. And I quote "They wont know the difference." We were told that we are to only go out to eat or order in 2 times a month tops. Also when we do go out... we are only to tip 10%. The wait staff don't require more then that. The managers were in an uproar. The people in the house for the most part are wonderful people who genuinely want the best for the people we serve. The people in the office. DO. NOT. CARE. They will run you into the ground. They will hang you out to dry. They will make you the problem and will hold you "accountable" while they run rampant and run a once great company into the ground. 

This company is losing people by the bus loads. Why? Because we are treated like garbage. We do not get proper PPE. When we do, it has to be reused. We are constantly berated about everything we do when we are forced to work understaffed. Oh they say "thank you for all you do. We appreciate all you do" and then they send out emails telling you everything you are doing wrong. As if we don't already feel stressed and under pressure. The company picks and chooses which clients they allow to get special privileges. When we say it's not fair for the other housemates, we are told "it's their right" sure. It's their right. It's also their housemates right and they tell us no about those people. There is drama around every corner. If you're fortunate to get around the drama, then you're overlooked. They are losing the workers who loved and cared for the persons we support from lack of empathy, compassion and compensation. We stopped getting hazard pay back in July. Yet surrounding companies still paying hazard pay. Our job is to keep people safe, happy, feel loved, taken care of. But the office cares more about their own safety than those of us who are actually giving the care. Yup. You SUPER appreciate us. 

I've been with this agency for over 6 years now and I thought it was going to be the place I retired from.  But over the last two or so years, things have really gone downhill.  I'm at the point now that I'm looking for other jobs, and it breaks my heart because I love my co workers and the people supported.  I can't work under the current administration.  They have taken so much away from the people supported.  They claim to be all about choices, but I don't feel like the people get many choices at all.  Everything is about cost saving measures with no consideration of how it will impact the clients.  Not only that, but the higher ups are not accessible, not supportive, are condescending, and make no effort to visit the various programs and get to know the staff or clients.  Staff used to feel appreciated, but we don't anymore.  And on top of that, we are working outrageous hours because people are leaving and they can't find new staff.  And no one in administration is going to work in any of the programs, they've made that very clear.   They work their 9-5 and then head home.  We feel alone with no support.   So as much as it pains me to say this, I do not recommend working here.

As an employee of Star Community, I am saddened to see what has become of the organization. Star used to be about the people served and making sure they were living their best life. It was also about making sure staff felt appreciated and valued. Sadly, things changed (and not for the better). Star’s mission is to provide a life of limitless possibilities, but there hasn't been a time when things have been so limited. Staff are no longer allowed to buy brand name products…"they won't know the difference"…according to management. Residents are also limited on how many times they can go out to eat, as well as what and how much they can (and can’t) eat in their own home.

Staff are no longer valued or appreciated by management, who talk down, are rude, and spend no time in the residential homes. There is no internal channel for staff to address management issues as both human resources and the Board do not advocate for staff. Current management is only concerned with the outward appearance of the organization. Internally, however, management is more concerned with lowering operating expenses (regardless of the impact on the residents).  


My typical day at work involved maintenance on 10 residential homes, an indoor heated pool, an equestrian center, a day program, 2 greenhouses  and about 20 outbuildings. I was also responsible for grounds maintenance of 140 acres and maintenance of 23 vehicle fleet. I learned to interact with people with various disabilities, both mental and physical. The most enjoyable part of my job was interacting with both the staff and the residents. The 2 other people in the maintenance department and I blended well and made a great team. The hardest part of the job was trying to keep up with everything with only the 3 of us. However, I do feel that upper management was more concerned with profit than the well being of its employees.

Upper management is orchestrating a reduction in workforce by pressuring house managers to resign, thus paving the way for the remaining managers to be forced into salary ARD positions with increased workload, diminished pay and unreasonable schedules for all second/third shift staff. The administrations workplace culture resembles a toxic high school environment, where backstabbing and gossip reign supreme. The staff are facing the consequences of the house managers' distress, leading them to seek alternative workplaces. Unfortunately, this has caused a negative impact on our ability as an organization to provide quality service to our individuals. The board needs to urgently examine the root cause of employee retention, preferably as soon as possible, considering the retention has been mounting.

This place stopped being fun to work at when the people we support were denied their right to choose how they live their lives, we are told constantly that we are here to make their day YES, but unbeknownst to them we are telling them no at every turn.  No you can't go out, no you can't eat what you want, no you can't do anything.  If they disagree, we are to persuade or convince them that it is good for them and in their best interest to comply.  People who are constantly victims of being taken advantage of and we are supposed to support and protect are being victimized by the very people who should have their back.

Star Community was a nice Company to work for in giving developmentally disabled adults great care in a group home setting. Clients would retreat back to their assigned homes after spending their day in the on-site campus Day Program
Upon their arrival home they were greeted by Staff to begin their evening "home life" routine. As Life Skill Mentors we were able to take them on outings, do fun projects with them as well as assist them with their daily tasks.
We were also required to administer medication, help bathe and prepare and cook meals for the group.
This was a rewarding job and required working as a team with other Staff members

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Direct support professional 2 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour
Direct support caregiver 4 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour
Assistant 1 salary reported	$18.00 per hour
Support staff 3 salaries reported	$24.50 per hour
Service technician 2 salaries reported	$22.50 per hour

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