program leader

school program staff

site coordinator

residential manager

direct support professional

The Arc

The work load is difficult due to the comstant turn over and shortage of qualified staffing this is a problem that although impacts thw ARC it is not at all exclusive to this organization as all ahencies amd organizations within this field are plagued with this problem. The ARC is not juat a leader in advocacy and high quality but they set the standard and always aspire to excellence unfortunately not because of state funding they rwcieve but in spite of thw funding thwy sont recieve. They also  advocate and support employees as well realizing goos emplkyees and fair treatment is key to fulfillinf their mission. 
They offer full benefits package but the employee cost is a little high. My particular position posed difficulty qith home qork balance as at times I worked 35 or 40 hpirs but spread ober a span od 7 days but this was not the norm in other departments. Intermal amd external training and up dates where offerrwd and available but unless it was mamdated there was neber any te to take advantage of it. Management was competent and respectfull and rwconized lower level staff as proffessionals and valued part of the orgamization. A good organization, a meedle in a hay stack within a thankless difficult low wage high burn out field.
The work load is never ending and too much is never enough. The moee yoi work thw more work there is. This is the nature of the field not just the ARC. There is no middle of tje road staff either very dedicated competent and caring or taking advantage od other coworkwes and mamagers. 
If you insist on working in this a field tje ARC is one of tje few good. agencies left.

The arc is good to get your foot in the door but there are other companies that pay better. They don't pay cost of living but expect a lot from their employees and get miffed when school or other jobs that you have take priority. They put so much emphasis on offering flexible hours, but when you take time to take care of yourself or are sick or want to reschedule with a participant they want to act like youre not a good fit and that your excuse isn't good enough. We all have to pay bills so if my other job keeps me late that's what I have to do. All the participants I've worked with has been able to be understanding And worked around it but management is weird about it. I can't tell you how many times I've been messaged with less than a hour notice being asked to fill in at a participants house. Or I called telling them I wasn't going to be somewhere in advance and they told me to call back next week. They wait until last minute to fill shifts and act like we still need to call their on call number just to get someone that don't care and gets mad. Why should I? Y'all don't inform the participants anyway and wait until last minute. I also can't tell you how many times I've told them my school schedule but they keep asking me to work during times I'm in class. They don't care about us but want us to care about them. Pay us a living wage then! It's good to help the participants but you're really doing chores around the house or being a taxi. It's frustrating. That's why they have a high turnover. They mean well but there is room to improve because the high turnover due to low wage really affects the participants. They can't do what they need to do because people keep getting frustrated or go broke and quit. If they paid at least 13 a hr they would have higher retention and wouldn't waste so much time doing all this running around finding people.

The arc was great at first but when I continued  working there I found a lot of bad things that happened  there. A lot of the workers hooked up and the management  team  was horrible they would put you in unsafe conditions  with the residents and staff. Several  residents  are very aggressive  and hit and bite and beat  the staff ... They sent me into a home for a whole weekend with an individual  who was so abusive she hit me and beat on me all weekend no one would answer the phones no supervisor  would come relieve me I was stuck with her and her behaviors for 3 days I cried  and begged  for someone to come let me leave no one did . I also worked with a man who was at least  6 foot who would attack me and chase me down no supervisor  would help ... the supervisor  of my main house was never around he never came in and checked on us the staff would fight and argue .. when residents  would get injured  or something  bad would happen they never actually  investigate the problem the would ask their  favorite  employees and take that as word. It was the most stressful  job I ever had in my life. Do not work there

As an Addictions Case manager at the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center I am responsible for the recovery care of 30-50 clients depending on house count.

 I counsel clients from various social and economical backgrounds but most of whom suffer from the disease of addiction, alcoholism and institutionalization..

In addition to my duties as a counselor, I also facilitate several classes including Relapse Prevention, Step Study, and Christian Living.

Although we provide a spiritual component through bible studies and Sunday morning worship, the counseling position can at times be very stressful tending to the immediate needs of so many people some of whom relapse or overdose while in the program.

However, the overall atmosphere in the program is peaceful and non-confrontational. Most clients experience a spiritual fulfillment after staying the entire 6 month duration of the program and leave having also been assisted with finding sobriety, housing and employment.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I got to learn a lot of things. Like how to price toys, books, stuffed animals, etc. I also got to learn to look up the prices on toys and compare them from new to used. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part of working for The Arc is when your trying to find a price for a toy and you compare it then find a good decent price someone can afford then a customer looks at it and goes I can find this way cheaper at ( store name) and it’s like really we are a fair priced store and your telling me you can find this toy for way less then 5 dollars when in reality it’s just 25 or 50 somewhere else. Like um okay I guess. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Fantastic. All the employees are great, nice, kind, respectful, caring, and hey are just overall the best people you can work with. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day is normally a slow day. Ya some days might be hectic but mostly it’s a slow day

This is a long lasting career as well as industry. This is also a life changing industry in which not only does it add value to my life but to other individuals being served. 

On a daily basis I would create the staff schedule, coordinate recreation events for clientele . Assist clients in their daily living activities. Oversee all administrative operations. Inspect vehicles, submit state reports timely. I always created flexibility for the job.

The best part about the job was working with intellectually disabled individuals who are appreciative of your help as well as their families.
The hardest part was maintaining my patience as well as commuting ,and solving problems.

I learned that managing others can be difficult but you can be successful in finding techniques that will create a better work space for all parties involved.

I loved working with the clients ~ it was the reason I stayed as long as I did. However, upper management in the office was very disconnected and had no desire to learn about the clients the agency served. There were too many politics involved, and there were times the stress made me physically ill. Good benefits because of union presence, otherwise they would not be as good. I gave my 2-week notice and worked it through and was told I was not eligible for rehire. This also happened to another staff who left. We were both very vocal to upper management about the wrong doings that were going on in the agency. Upper management does not want people like that working for them. They want passive people who shut up and do whatever they are told.

The management team takes no responsibility for the actions they requested you to do when you get the wrong directions. If a supervisor forgets to update management for a day off it falls on you as a "no call no show" and the company is ready to fire you regardless of time working for the company. NO SECOND CHANCES. 
Site coordinators are lazy and refuse to do their job. As educators, we are responsible for talking to parents if there is an incident then we become coordinators too. When a kid runs out and call an SC you need to chase the kid instead of teaching your class but still get in trouble. I can go on and on but they definitely go based on favoritism. 

You have no voice to speak up because everyone in the team goes after you and make your working environment miserable to the point where you quit. 

Supported Counselor for the Director's adult daughter, a elementary school girl & a family of five.

Each morning I would arrive at the home of an adult young lady to assist her in getting prepared for work each day.  I would make sure she was suitably dressed for her place of employment and proper diet. 

Mid day I would pick up a school age child from school that had disciplinary problems and take her to after school activities then home.

The family had multiple needs that I would seven days a week visit their home.  Their needs ranged from medication education to reading and comprehending something that came thru the mail/telephone calls.

The hardest part of the job was seeing where some of their needs were not able to be met.

The enjoyable part of the job was watching each one of them have as productive of a life as possible.

My experience at the Arc was very disappointing. The participants I took care of at the Arc were great, but my coworkers could be very mean spirited. I started this job pretty young, right out of high school, but got all the necessary training needed to work here. I was very mistreated by my coworkers. I would get yelled at across the room for small mistakes when i first started to work there and would then get reprimanded for not “socializing with coworkers enough”. I was much younger than most of the staff, and I would always be talked to in a condescending way. And as for the way they talked to the participants, I think they could’ve definitely been a little more sensitive at times. Again, the participants I took care of were wonderful people that i was so glad i had gotten to opportunity to meet, but the most of the  staff weren’t what you’d expect human resources workers to act like.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Program leader 43 salaries reported	$19.58 per hour
School program staff 21 salaries reported	$20.10 per hour
Site coordinator 7 salaries reported	$23.03 per hour
Residential manager 2 salaries reported	$19.36 per hour
Direct support professional 3 salaries reported	$18.70 per hour

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