The work itself can be concerning to work on a long term basis. There is a high turn-over rate, with new staff being hired literally every two weeks (that is a huge red flag). Many students will often have violent outbursts, many staff have gone to the hospital and been put on light duty. One staff member even had their neck broken by a student pulling on their hair. Staff has had their teeth chucked out from a student throwing a toy car at their mouth. Many staff have also reported receiving concussions due to physical outbursts from youth. (For myself, I have only been bit, hit and spit at, scratched, and bruised - nothing severe.) The PTO is generous - but it can be very challenging to find coverage as you are required to network with other direct care staff to essentially beg them to cover your shift - this means that if they take the shift - they might be working two 8 hour shifts in one day. It makes you feel guilty to request time off because you may be messing someone else’s schedule up. Because of the high turn-over for employees - most of the time they voluntarily quit - this can make the support on your own team feel unstable and if you look to plan a fun week-long vacation months in advance - good luck finding someone to agree to covering months in advance - and good luck on if they quit before they even cover what they agreed to.
It’s not a job that I would ever feel comfortable to work longterm given the high risk to safety and PTO challenges. We did get a pay raise recently so I receive $22/hr now - but having blood, vomit, and feces thrown on you, being spit at, threatened, kicked and punched, scratched, and bitten - it makes the $22 feel like a low ball. Right now the job works because I am able to access higher earnings through overtime, but it is a good stakeholder until I find a higher paying job that does not threaten my physical safety daily.
