case manager

family support worker

foster care case manager

therapist

foster care licensing specialist

THE VILLAGES OF INDIANA

 I feel proud to have contributed to long-term change in my clients lives, this was one of the only positive of working Family Preservation at The Villages. There were several challenges during my time with the program that, if addressed, could greatly improve the overall work environment and effectiveness of the program and would make me want to work for FPS again! Leadership was made aware of these things by many FPS workers before me, and at this rate, many more after me, and there was no measurable change in programming over my almost 3 years. To start, communication, expectations, and policies/procedures are not made clear by FPS Leadership. Things were ever changing without discussion or follow up. Example- I was told we were capping at 8 families due to high needs and drive time by my supervisor, and within the same week the director accepted 2 more clients. This change was never addressed or communicated. Follow up and follow through is a HUGE issue in this department. Another example- the director obtained our schedules/hours worked in hopes to assist us with not working as late, no follow up. A significant portion of my time, up to 15hrs, was spent driving to/from clients reducing the amount of time I could actually spend with them even when they had needs. Despite the extensive travel time, there was an expectation to complete the same amount of work within tight deadlines. I worked til 7pm at least 3 days a week, flexing was nearly impossible due to calls from staff/clients. One of the more concerning issues was the pressure to cancel or adjust PTO in order to avoid going into overtime (Which is unpaid if you have PTO or holiday in the same pay period). In practice, this often meant working 32-40 hours in just 3-4 days, which made it difficult to maintain a healthy work-life balance. This kind of expectation ultimately led to burnout. There was a noticeable disconnect between the staff in the field and those in leadership positions. Field staff often felt that leadership was out of touch with the realities of the work, and that there wasn’t enough recognition of the challenges we faced on the ground. 
Additionally- it is reiterated that "DCS is the client", I understand this from a business perspective, but language matters and putting DCS on a pedestal removes families from their treatment, and that does not sit well with me. 

Run while you can!! The best thing about this job is the children and families you serve. Management is a joke and not supportive in any way. You will be overworked and not compensated and told to flex your time. You are expected to work all morning and night, and are not fairly distributing a caseload. You will be hired for one job, but will take on multiple roles. People will be fired and not replaced. You will be expected to do their job as well as your own. If you are sufficient in doing your job you will be rewarded by being given multiple jobs and harsh deadlines. If you reach out for help you will have a target on your back. Management has no experience in child welfare. They do not have good relationships with The Department of Child Services. Management will attend meetings and conferences while direct care staff are continually expected to do more and more work. Excessive staff meetings are required and could simply be emails. This family service agency does not care about YOU, your family, or your mental or physical health. “Come join our staff, so you too can have PTSD.” Sad that a few bad employees can ruin a company. 

It wasn't a horrible environment, but It wasn't the best. The on Boarding training sucks. You are put in the field before you get a good amount of Core Training.  The culture is a bit stiff. The Director and Supervisors work well together, but there is a disconnect when it concerns the Family Services Specialist Team and the family Services Assessment team.  When working in an environment of motivating the spirit of Families,  traveling in rough neighborhoods risking our lives tracking down these families with a case weight 32, the workers need to feel appreciated for doing a great job. The workers worked overtime, but don't get paid for it (flex time), there's no way possible to get notes done in a timely fashion, due to travel. A lot of times you would have to do the work at home.  The only appreciation the workers get is a piece paper of someone doing a "shout out" a great job well done in the monthly meetings.  In spite of all of the things, I've mention Family Service Specialist, Assessment Workers, Front desk personnel were wonderful.

The health insurance offered is not affordable for social worker  wages. ($600 a month for a family of 4) which is 1/3  of my paycheck.  The high deductible plan is affordable but doesn't cover anything including co-payments for routine doctor's visits and prescription plan until the deductible is met. Before accepting any job here, look at the health care costs because most positions can be found elsewhere in Indy that are connected directly with a hospital with much better health insurance and much higher hourly wages for the exact same job. 

If you are allergic to mold, be warned that the basement floods many times during the year. 

While the top supervisor for Healthy Families is excellent, some of the supervisors that directly manage FSS, needs better training on how to manage people professionally and better organization and investment of training new workers overall. Training is inconsistent and varies among supervisors.

This place has a good mission and working with families is for sure rewarding. All the workers care about their families and the work there doing. But the management is terrible. Everyone is always overworked and it seems like they just pass responsibilities from one worker to the next and then just yell at whoever doesn't get the work done, when really they just keep passing the extra work along. How much they expect to get done is just crazy and I don't think any of the management has ever been a caseworker. Great coworkers will keep you here longer then you should stay. The playing favorites is the worst and so obvious!

The Villages offices are open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.  There is some flexibility in the daily schedule as many duties require work with families and clients in the homes.  The Villages provides office equipment required for the positions.  Employees are often out in the field and should be self directed in ability to perform the requirements and tasks of the position.  There is  training available to employees to enhance their skills.  The specific jobs are not always well described or outlined in the amount of reasonable time it should or could take to complete the tasks. This company has some great leadership and employees with over ten years or more stability.  The overall expertise of the employee colleagues is phenomenal.

Do not even apply at this agency.

 It used to be a company I was proud of for over a decade. The current VP and Regional Directors have destroyed the morale of the workers. They give you 3 jobs to do and pay you for one.  They expect you to be on call 24/7 with zero compensation. You have to work in the middle of the night with no pay because they don't want to pay for overtime. Upper Management has run program's in the ground and blame staff. They have lost multiple programs due to poor leadership. Turn over is very high, and cannot keep employees due to the high work load. 

There is a lot of nepotism among upper management. They will create new positions to keep their friends employed. Move them to offices that are not needed. Just to keep them employed. 

It's sad to see what has become of this agency. Foster Parents are running to other agencies. 

If you do not mind low pay, poor management that yells at you like a child when angry, judgmental environment toward employees and families, threatens to fire when families do not answer the phone or answer the door when you knock, forgetful conversations meaning say one thing then turn around and say something totally different, gossip festival talk about the families behind their backs, but yet Healthy Families say they are preventing child abuse but judge the families poorly as if he/she or bad people. That confused me!! The benefits are very poor. Overall Healthy Families is an aggressive program!
If you do not mind to work in a place like this, this is the job for you! If not, I strongly do not recommend you to apply! 




Was told one thing during interview and ended up doing something different. When asked why, was told it would eventually get there. Many months now and it hasn't gotten anywhere close to better. Constant changes and not child focused. Just about the money. Lots of people to help but always concerned about the paperwork rather than clients. Not at all a good place to work. Feel bad for kid's in this agency not getting help because paperwork is more important. If paperwork isn't right, agency doesn't get paid. Hire people to do paperwork and let social workers do their jobs with kids. Management doesn't want to hear anything that could help the team. Smile and keep going no matter how frustrated you become. 

I enjoy working with the kids I work with, it has humbled me and at times it can be hard to process that so many children need permanent homes, we work days but expect to work some evenings, you control your schedule mostly, you will do a lot of driving but you will schedule those travel days in advance, expect 1,000+ miles a month added to your personal vehicle. I have 14 years of professional experience and this has been by far the best job I’ve had. You will never find a more supportive agency. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Case manager 68 salaries reported	$47,324 per year
Family support worker 29 salaries reported	$38,276 per year
Foster care case manager 25 salaries reported	$46,000 per year
Therapist 3 salaries reported	$60,000 per year
Foster care licensing specialist 4 salaries reported	$46,000 per year

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