direct support professional

support associate

program coordinator

overnight associate

senior sales professional

The Arc of Southern MD

A typical day at work would always depend on the client and how they were feeling each day. It would usually begin with meal preparation, assistance with dealing with change of shift and doing positive reinforcement to assist with the transition that would often upset the client.

I learned a lot of interpersonal skills dealing with verbal and nonverbal clients. Introduction into the relationships between medications, side effects, and the individuals themselves. There was vehicle upkeep, shopping, counseling, physical assistance with bathing, chores, or around the residence or in the community, as well as assisting with overcoming socialization barriers.

The management was well-intentioned, certain were more knowledgeable in their jobs than others, especially when dealing with the clients, social services, or DDA. It did however find itself problematic when dealing with training new managers or meeting in the middle ground with policies that weren't well-thought out or catered around the individual clients themselves. I feel that many of them did the best they could with the positions they found themselves, but were complacent and unwilling to go the extra mile in some cases for their staff or clients.

The staff are what make the company work as a whole. When the staff are happy, communicating, and working together, households run smoothly in most cases. The abundance of paperwork, chores, and client duties keep the staff in constant motion and can be extremely overwhelming in some cases, yet they manage to make it work.

The hardest part of the job is staying on top of the constant workload and the expectations that come from the company with the pay grade being what it is. It is generally outweighed by the feeling and bonds that come from the clients and staff and the feeling of accomplishment with the difficulty of certain day to day clients, staff, and management.

Terrible place to work the pay is bad. Management is terrible and they can’t keep enough staff to run functionally. Less than one Star 

Staff is overworked because of staffing issues and is not appreciated. No raises are given and pay is horrible. Management lies on staff to protect themselves. When house staff are not available to work managers are supposed to cover shifts, however majority of the time they will force you to work so they don’t have to. There are no set rules for clients so they do any and everything and get away with it. The company is poorly ran and upper management does not appreciate the little staff they do have. No awards or bonuses are given for hard or extra work . They do not even give work performance evaluations , which shows they don’t even consider pay raises based on staff performance. Both management and staff come and go shortly after being hired  because of how poor the work culture is. Dealing with clients with disabilities is hard enough but when you are not given the resources or support from management you need to succeed everything goes down hill. Management never has set rules or an answer or solutions to problems encountered on the job. If upper management would pay staff more than they would have better morale and in turn provide better support to clients. But it’s hard to care about a job when you are not appreciated or payed for your value

My daily routine involved getting my client up and ready for his day program and getting him his medications. Later in the afternoon, I would come back and then we would exercise, go to a doctor's appointment, cook, clean, or go socialize.

I would communicate with my manager a few times a week and make sure that paperwork was done and that services were being met. I had a good relationship with my co-workers, who were really hard working and dependable people.

The hardest part of the job was task completion and patience with my company, the client, his parents, and social services. There was a lot of scheduling conflicts and things not being completed that would have been highly beneficial but were unable to get done because of many differing parties involved.

The most enjoyable part of the job was hanging out with my client. He is a really good person with a good heart. Believing in someone that no one else believed in and watching him grow as a person and an individual was single-handedly the best part of the job.

I will go to work help out four ladies with there laundry, and there set goals they have to do every month. I will look over things like body wash tooth paste to make sure they have everything that's needed for everyday living. That doesn't end my job just yet I have to make sure these four ladies take there shower after showers are done clean the showers for the next person to get in. Before they go to bed there medication has to be on time to do this you have to be med certified. Last I will make sure medicine is in stock and not out. No i don't do this alone i have a co worker who helps out with these four ladies which is nice we have a curtain way that we do things and we like it. The most enjoyable part of the job is working with these ladies you learn different things from each lady and they all communicate differently. The worst part of this job is having to spend your own money to do what ever these ladies wanna do and driving your gas out to take them where they need to go. Management is poor they switch up when its convenient for them

The Arc ask that you have a reliable vehicle but they don't. The managers request a lot from you with very little resources... There haven't been any increases in the mileage rates in years. The trainings are very educational. Residential homes needs to improve significantly!!! They should look into having 7 days on and 7 days off. All of the houses are on different work schedules. Some managers aren't professional. With low pay wages and increase in the cost of living which makes it hard to want to stay and work for the Arc. The residential homes and day programs should have more scheduled, structure activities for the consumers daily. Why does the Arc of P.G. pay more then here?? It should be the same pay across the board.

The best part is the clients and actually feeling like you are making their lives more meaningful. From observing over the years, job security has been a major issue, as well as growth in your career. But if you do as you should, you should be okay. We are responsible for others livelihoods, that’s not taken lightly, so no room for mistakes. Compensation is low, you do receive yearly raises, but not big enough to see a huge difference in your paychecks. Some staff have more “challenging” clients to work with, but everyone has the same pay. It can be stressful like any job, but again, rewarding at the end of the day. Staff all get along and work together to figure any staffing issues out, such as short staffed or call outs. Overall a decent place to work, but would be better with more pay. 

 




If you want to work long hours for minimum wage then this is the place for you. Management will blame you for things to cover for their own mistakes. Some clients are very aggressive and have attacked staff on multiple occasions, while staff are expected to continue working with said clients. Staff are basically told not to defend themselves, but to either take the beating or run from the clients. Even assisting someone who is being attacked may lead to you being disciplined or even terminated. This company is for people who are okay with putting their safety at risk for extremely low pay with no recognition for their efforts. This company does not take care of or protect the hard working staff who dedicate so much time to helping others.

Management treats DSPs as if they aren't people. It's also clear they don't care about the clients either. They do not care if you live or die. Management doesn't care about your personal life or wellbeing whatsoever. There is no work life balance. In order to go to trainings, you need to find coverage. If you want to take any time off, you need to find coverage. Good luck finding any coverage when it's always understaffed. People are quitting left and right at the Arc of Southern Maryland, and for good reasons. The job is very unappreciated, especially by management. If you want to feel valued as an employee and as a person, STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!

It is an okay job. If you are higher up than a DSP or RSP the pay is good and benefits are good but for the DSP staff I don't really understand why they have that job for only $13.50. Was severely understaffed and if you are a manage or coordinator you will definitely work more than 40 hours a week. The management definitely don't respect the DSP's and always want to give them more work and complain about calling out but the DSP's really don't get paid very much. The clients are fun and the job is fun when there is enough workers and everyone is nice to work with.

Most days at work are very easy going. I have learned how to face major challenges and how to deal with difficult situations in a work place. My management is very professional and organized. I enjoy working with all of my co-workers. We work independently but are there for each other whenever needed. The hardest part of my job is dealing with clients who show a lot of aggression or physical behavior. The most enjoyable part of my job is working with different clients and getting them out in the community.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Direct support professional 19 salaries reported	$19.29 per hour
Support associate 42 salaries reported	$19.68 per hour
Program coordinator 14 salaries reported	$50,000 per year
Overnight associate 8 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Senior sales professional 2 salaries reported	$19.50 per hour

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