direct support professional

group manager

licensed practical nurse

program assistant

recreation assistant

The Arc of Ocean County

My experience with the Arc has been entirely positive. The first people you meet: HR, Supervisors, managers, and other administration, will all tell you they love their job. My manager loves her job, most of my co-workers love their job. The Arc of OC is a very positive place and everyone you meet loves working there for one reason: they all love working with their residents/clients.

I can't speak for the vocational side of this job, I work strictly residential, taking care of residents in their apartments. The Arc provides an impressive list of benefits, cheap insurance, your supper is paid for as they encourage you to eat the dinner that you prepare for your residents along with them, and currently plentiful overtime is always available. Pay is competitive, above average by a a couple dollars/hr.

My job specifically can be very different depending on your placement. My guys are very highly functional so generally my job entails fixing their dinner, giving them their medication, cleaning up around the apartment, and just hanging out with them. I love it. Hanging out with them can also mean very different things. Sometimes I get to go out to eat with them with my meal covered, or go out to an amusement park with them, see a pro wrestling match, go to a fair, go to the movies, go bowling, etc. It can be a lot of fun. 

I think the kind of people this job attracts are the kind who love people, are sociable, are caring, and compassionate. It makes a wonderful work atmosphere.

The hardest part about residential is the hours and schedule. Residential is almost strictly 2nd shift or 3rd shift. Only the most experienced workers get the rare 1st shift positions. Also, you will almost certainly have to work weekends. Only managers get some of the weekend off. However, you can always work vocational which is strictly 1st shift and always have weekends off. If you need a life for family, this is the way to go. However, if you're single or working around school, residential has it's perks.

As for job security and advancement, the company has been growing very fast for many years now. It seems very unlikely that you will be laid off. Residential is always short staffed, but as mentioned earlier, this means overtime is always available. The company also sends bi-monthly job postings by email so you can always see what positions are available. Some placements can be very tough with complete physical assistance required, behavioral problems, etc. so it's nice that one can always transfer to a new placement. Also, with a growing company advancement will frequently be available. However, managers are paid by salary instead of hourly, which makes all of the overtime detrimental.

This has been my experience and yours could vary greatly, but I love where I am and what I do.

Communication is poor and expectations are constantly changing. Compensation is competitive for the field which is generally underpaid, but insulting for what is expected of you. Good news if you like overtime, you will constantly be getting stuck staying late when your coworkers call out. If you are competent and work hard, your responsibilites will increase but your compensation will not. If you care about the clients and work hard, expect to get burnt out picking up the slack for your lazy coworkers who seem to think the job entails sitting on the couch and watching TV. The turnover is terrible and they basically hire anyone with a pulse so you get a lot of people who have no business doing this kind of work. Advancement seems based on favoritism rather than talent, so you may work under a manager with zero managerial or people skills. Instead of being coached or trained you will be written up for trivial things. Raises are across the board and not performance-based. Maybe ok for an interim job or part time while in school but not a good place to stay. A shame because working with the clients can be very rewarding, but the workplace culture is toxic.

A typical overnight at the arc isn't hectic during the night depending on what apartment or house your in. In the morning when you are giving medication it is. I have learned that they take medication very seriously at this job and you have to pay attention in the medication class. Management is okay they aren't bad but i feel there should always be a 7 a clock person in there and have extra staff. On multiple occasions there was no staff at 7am. Overnights because they re coming off of a night shift shouldn't give medication, after ten hours you cant think straight. The co-workers were always nice and helpful. The hardest part of the job is making sure in the morning the clients are ready for program and doing the medication because after three mistakes within 6 months they fire you. I am not saying this is a bad company but they could have went about letting me go differently when I mostly always on time and I only called out one time within 6 months. Other employees have called out plenty of times. The most enjoyable part of the job was seeing the clients and assisting them in there needs. I would work for this company again.

As management, I was forced to overload my staff with more than they can handle. After expressing their possible frustration to my direct supervisor, I was ridiculed and dismissed for it. I had to write staff up for things they thought were ok to do since past management never addressed the issue, instead of coaching them right from wrong. The agency's policies and procedures are a true contradiction of what some staff are trained on compared to others. Every site has a different procedure they follow. No one is on the same page with anything. As a result, it confuses their staff, and once you do something "wrong", you're getting written up for it. 

Management (i.e Directors), and HR are 100 percent untrustworthy. They will pretend your best interest as an employee of their agency is at heart, but as soon as you turn around they're stabbing you in the back. There is a high level of favoritism at The Arc Of Ocean. If you don't make the cut, your time will come. 

The Executive Director seems to be very nice, but she's blind to those who work under her.

I wouldn't recommend my worst enemy to work for this place, not even part time.

May sound cliche' but I truly love my job. Even bad days are good days for me. Our residents are a blessing and often times THEY are the support just by being so resilient and unique in their everyday living. The last 2 years were challenging for everyone because of Covid but it made me appreciate working for The Arc even more. During the start of the pandemic we saw our Director lead in the most humble transparent way possible despite the unknown and the world's fears. She displayed nothing less than strength and dignity as our leader. She never lets us go unappreciated
(bonuses annually, perks here and there for participating in surveys, bonuses for not calling out....you're rewarded for doing your job!!!). I am pretty sure we are the highest paid and most respected agency around(yes I'm bragging) I am extremely proud to say I work for The Arc. 

I worked here for a few years and it was a really great place. Working with the clients is the best part. I worked in a day program and I just heard that they are open again after COVID. We did a lot of really fun activities and I felt that my manager was really good. I learned a lot from my coworkers and boss and they taught me a lot of things I never knew about people who have disabilities. This job can be hard sometimes, especially when it's really busy, but I really liked working here. The staff at the office are really great and always were very friendly when I came to pick up my check or had a question. The benefits were really good too. We also had a lot of vacation time and sick time. One of my coworkers finished getting their college diploma when they were there because they offered tuition reimbursement too. 

Employment Specialist Journeys & Discoveries ~ The hardest, best job I've ever had. I was a short-timer. But in that short time, the job became an amazing life-changing experience. The participants in the program will steal your heart. Supervisors are a VERY rare breed... kind, supportive, compassionate, always willing to help in any way that they can. Everyone should work for ARC just to broaden their view of the world. The daily challenges that the program participants & their families face can be daunting. The staff of ARC Ocean County is AMAZING in their commitment to help shoulder some of the responsibility in caring & mentoring for the participants. If you have any desire at all to work in this field, please do consider working at the ARC of Ocean County. You will experience SO much so quick under the guidance of supportive and compassionate staff.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I loved working with the residents, who were developmentally disabled. I worked in a group home with high-functioning residents.  They were fun and great to work with!!  They loved my cooking!!

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Some of the management and staff were very d8fficult to work with.  I understand that the company has very strict rules, but I felt that I was treated unfairly in some cases.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The Arc is a fantastic organization that has helped the disabled in so many ways!!  

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I worked afternoons and evenings at a beautiful Group Home.  I cooked, made coffee, did lots of laundry, took the residents shopping, bowling, and to other activities.  I gave out Mefs at specified times. Assisted with showers and more!

I work at the Arc in an apartment. When I first started I worked the 3-11p shift. They started offering a differential for the overnight shift so I switched and then I made more money. OT is available if you want to work it. 

The company itself is really good. They do a lot of things for employee appreciation and to make staff feel good about their work. Working with the residents is the best part. You know you have a job to do, but the residents and your coworkers become like a family. 
It seems that a lot of people have worked here for a long time and got promoted along the way. At my program there was one program assistant who got promoted to Assistant Manager pretty quickly.

If you do the right thing and you always report any issues with the residents you will have no issues working here and you probably will really enjoy it. 

I have been working here for a few years and I really enjoy it. I started out part time and now I'm full time and have been able to have training and move up in the company. There is a lot of OT if you want to earn extra cash. There is also a lot of paid time off and sick time. I was able to work a few weeks of extra OT and save up to go on a nice vacation with my family. During COVID everything has been shut down but we've done a lot of activities and crafts at the house to keep everyone happy and safe. I really like working here and seeing the individuals we support learn and do new things is the best part. I also really like my coworkers and house manager. If you don't like the spot you are working in, it is pretty easy to transfer to another house. You can also pick up shifts at other houses to see where you like working best. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Direct support professional 46 salaries reported	$21.91 per hour
Group manager 22 salaries reported	$24.22 per hour
Licensed practical nurse 9 salaries reported	$36.28 per hour
Program assistant 21 salaries reported	$22.07 per hour
Recreation assistant 14 salaries reported	$22.01 per hour

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