direct support professional

case manager

program counselor

program manager

counselor

Thomas Allen

A Typical Day at Work:
A typical day involved managing two homes while frequently covering direct care shifts due to staffing needs. I often worked extended hours, sometimes up to 16 hours a day, while also being responsible for administrative duties, staff support, and client needs. Due to limited training and constant changes in expectations, much of the work required figuring things out independently and responding to issues as they arose.
What I Believe I Learned:
I learned how to navigate high-pressure environments, adapt quickly to change, and advocate for clients and staff despite limited guidance. I also gained firsthand insight into how critical proper training, communication, and organizational support are for leadership roles. This experience taught me my own limits and reinforced the importance of structure, transparency, and accountability in management.
Management:
Management expectations shifted frequently, and I did not receive the proper training that was initially promised for a Program Manager overseeing two homes. When issues occurred, I felt my perspective was not fully heard, and accountability was placed on me for responsibilities I was never trained on. Despite these challenges, there were no formal write ups during my 90 day period.
Workplace Culture:
The workplace culture was fast paced and high stress, with limited consistency in policies and expectations. There was a strong emphasis on outcomes, but insufficient support and preparation for leadership staff. This created an environment where learning through mistakes was common, rather than learning through structured guidance.
The Hardest Part of the Job:
The hardest part was the lack of proper training combined with being held accountable for responsibilities I was never taught. Working long hours often performing direct care for extended shifts while being paid as a salaried employee for fewer hours added significant stress. The uncertainty and constant changes made the role emotionally and mentally exhausting.
The Most Enjoyable Part of the Job:
The most enjoyable part of the job was supporting clients and working directly with staff. Building relationships, helping others, and making a difference in people’s lives remained meaningful despite the challenges. That aspect of the role reaffirmed my passion for this field, even though the position itself was not the right fit.

I really wish my experience with Thomas Allen had been different. I worked there for three years, so it was tolerable, but there were a lot of things I wish would have been different. The owners obviously only cared about money, and the only direct communication we got from the owners was about our billing percentages. I worked there for 3 years and never saw the owner's faces. Whenever it was suggested that the owners "pop in" for case management team meetings, they always gave excuses as to why it "wouldn't work." It never made sense since all case management team meetings have been virtual since COVID. I've been at my new job a few days and had more direct emails from the CEO than I did in 3 years at Thomas Allen.

 Management for my team wasn't great, there was a lot of pressure to do everything exactly perfect, and then pressure to do even better on top of that. Upper management did minimal work to address concerns brought to them regarding management. Some things did improve when brought to their attention, so they did some work, but not nearly enough. They gave a lot of excuses without actually addressing obvious problems.

Case managers are underpaid. They did just increase wages across case management, but it wasn't nearly enough to be proper compensation. Poor healthcare benefits. They could do so much better in terms of compensation and benefits, but the owners never seemed to care. They are definitely a for-profit organization. They are not transparent at all about company finances like you would experience at a non-profit.

There was a change in administration a while ago, and things did improve since then. I think things will likely improve more once this new administrator has had more time in the position. There are a lot of passionate people who work at Thomas Allen, and it is pretty easy to transfer internally if things aren't working out on your team. They also allow case managers to work from home once you have been there for 6 months.

Work/life balance was fine. You aren't expected to be available after hours. Managers tried their best to do employee recognition outside of wages. 

Overall a fine place to work, especially as an entry into the field. But they could do better. 

This was a great job at first and something I pictured being a long term career. They do promote within, but it might be to your demise. When you start it feels like you have such a community of support but it’s due to their overall poor retention rates. As soon as you’ve passed your orientation period, depending on who your director is, you might face disciplinary action. It’s not a company fault, but really depends on who you’re working under and with what county because every county operates differently, therefore each division has its own expectation and operation. I loved every aspect of my role when I started and was so inspired to work hard and grow! I was eventually promoted within under different division and that’s when it fell apart. Suddenly it’s a different set of rules and office culture that did not foster the same team environment I start with. That, along with high HR and managerial turnover, coupled with federal and state regulations, your fate is decided for you. That magic professional carpet you were once weaving yourself is pulled right out from underneath you and it’s like you never existed. It’s a very corporate mindset and you’re valued if you maintain job expectations but you’re not rewarded for it. 

I worked for over a year at the West St. Paul location and it was okay to subpar. About 75 percent of the clients I inherited were either angry at me or the agency when I first started, and your gonna get yelled at from the start; I had to rebuild trust from the ground up with my clients because turnover was so high and boy, was it a pain. When I finally got my clients into decent condition, case managers were required to learn how to be receptionists and case managers at the same-time a certain number of times per month, and it was such a complete waste of time; you want the case manager to bill high, yet you're forcing them to do unbillable work every month, just hire a receptionist. I had to go back one or two years on my client's wavier spans, before I was hired to add stuff that my predecessors forgot to add or just outright didn't do. Other case managers got several weeks-off due to "high-stress" conditions while I got to carry the load and it so painful to experience. The decent things are good co-workers, okay supervisors, and a flexible schedule but that's about it. What I HATED the most was when you train someone new on the job and one month later they leave due to the high-stress workload; for this reason, I NEVER thought of a long term career here.

Thomas Allen is a great place to work if you are starting in the case management field, but I would not stay here long term. You get a 2% raise each year, but no raises outside of that, even if you have 20 extra cases, are helping train new hires, or doing extra tasks outside of your job description. You are started at a case manager level 1, 2, or 3 depending on years of experience in the field. Even when you get more years of experience, this NEVER changes and your rate of pay is based upon this level you are put at. There is very little room for growth as it is few and far between that management roles open up. The flexibility is great and management trusts that you will complete your job on your own time. However, you do have to work 80 hours a pay period yet get paid a salaried rate with no overtime. There is also no sick time. Everything must be taken out of your PTO, but there is a high PTO accrual rate. Major US holidays are paid. Overall it is a great place to work, but I would not stay here long term as you can make much  more money working for the County. 

I've worked for Thomas Allen for a few years and find it a nice place to be. There are a ton of really dedicated people here who care about the individuals we serve and making sure they have great lives. The company is a little behind with technology, but honestly, it's not so bad. It really depends on the location you work at, but we always keep up with our paperwork and have regularly exceeded expectations with state and county agencies.
I have a lot of autonomy in my position because my bosses trust me and assume I'm capable. I get tons of training - well exceeding what is required per year, and I get to choose most of what I attend, which gives me buy-in because at least I'm interested.
We do get a yearly pay increase, which I think is generous because this is not the case with many of our competitors who have had pay freezes for years. I have also received merit increases.
My reviews are always on-time, I get regular face-time with my manager, and we have plenty of fun!
I'd recommend you consider a position with Thomas Allen. They are very loyal to their employees and the mission is worthwhile.

Best part of the job, the persons served. The worst is the revolving door of staffing. Compensation is too low and focused on profit sharing. I have seen a 39 year employee that was let go in a 3 minute zoom call, because the position was eliminated, only to be reposted with a lower wage and only one element of the position was changed. Pay for staff had an issue of errors that went back over a year resulting in underpayments that took months to correct. As far as recognition for excellence, lower expectations. Merit increases are rare. Pay increases 2% annually, which is way under inflation so you are forced to leave to get a higher paying job. HR touts that job satisfaction is what we should shoot for, but to be able to survive on income should be the goal.  Retention is high in some segments, but low for direct care. A LOT of wasted training dollars.  Mixed messages on loyalty. People are too scared to do anything.  This results in a fear based environment.  

If you look at the insights for some of the houses it is at a 21% below average for pay. CHOOSE YOUR HOUSE WISELY. Make certain all of your questions are answered and you feel that your training was thorough. 
Some houses have a history of retaliatory management. 
One case included having poor preparation for workers and temp staff in the beginning of COVID (to include omitting the presence of patients with COVID to temp staff and taking retaliatory actions for staff looking for information from officials about proper protocol) and threatening the jobs of temp agency workers for talking about wages. This place is a place where managers can be overworked with no other outlet than their worker’s misery. If you can help it, work elsewhere. And, if you can’t, make sure you are vocal about your needs to other staff. Management and HR may or may not be helpful.

What is the best part of working at the company?
ongoing job training and internal or external social work license supervision plan. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Inability to keep an adequate case management staffing level at any time. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Free, non-intimidating, friendly work environment, long-term staff are well trained and ready to offer assistance. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Can be very stressful when you have a large caseload. Clients and providers are constantly calling and emailing the case managers for various reasons. case manager is either on the road to attend meetings or in the office creating support plans and renewing waiver services. So it is constant stress, especially when staffing level is short and the case manager has to take on more clients.

Working with the individuals was a blast. The down side was the management in the company. The program manager was barely hands on both regarding paperwork and floor work. When I got promoted to primary program counselor, the company excluded me from COVID hazard pay and I ended up making less than floor employees who did less work. Also, when I got promoted, the program manager "deligated" 90% of their workload to me. I had to correct almost every piece of paperwork they filled out. I took on a lot of responsibility. More than I signed up for, I went above and beyond and never saw any praise or appreciation for it. The company didn't really care for my existence until I submitted my letter of resignation, then they did everything to keep me. The best part of that experience was working with the individuals and their parents were awesome. Another thing that was nice was overtime is allowed if there is some to work.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Direct support professional 99 salaries reported	$18.35 per hour
Case manager 69 salaries reported	$23.97 per hour
Program counselor 1 salary reported	$17.00 per hour
Program manager 26 salaries reported	$58,544 per year
Counselor 27 salaries reported	$17.52 per hour

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