Devereux Foundation Reviews

Pros

Good benefits, room for advancement, flexibility, always have overtime.

Cons

often understaffed, pay could be higher

Advice to Senior Management

pay more attention to needs of the clients

Pros

Having the ability to influence the client in a positive way. Showing the clients that someone cares about them. Understanding supervisors

Cons

Low pay. Lack of therapy programs for the clients to improve their mental health. Too much down time causes discipline problems on the units

Advice to Senior Management

More communication between staff and upper management

Pros

If you are interested in working in social services (under DCF), this is an entry level position to gain experience and exposture. I enjoy helping "at risk children" who have been neglected and or abused. Working as a DCP can be very difficult emotionally and physically.

Cons

Some cons are lack of professionalism, getting physically hurt by the children and possibly having DCF called on you for ANY reason. DCF will do an investigation to find out the facts if you happened to get called on by a child or another staff member. DCF respects the rights of children.

Advice to Senior Management

Good people are hard to find especially working as a DCP. Show your employees respect and honestly listen to feed back given. Do not just go through the motions as if steps are being taking to change for the better. TAKE ACTION BEFORE A SERIOUS SITUATION ARRISES!!

Pros

Working with the children is the most rewarding part of working for the Devereux Foundation. The benefits are just okay.

Cons

Underpaid, lack of staff, emphasis on seniority despite poor performance, poor living enviroment for children, lack of support from supervisors, never able to take time off, poor training, predjudice, lack of motivation or incentives....

Advice to Senior Management

The agency needs to have a time for employees to discuss in a one on one interview fashion, without fear of retaliation, the pros and cons of working for supervisors, with staff, the quality of care provided for children etc. Not once in my years of employment was I ever able to talk to anyone about my concerns other than my direct supervisor. I was considered expendable. They could find someone to pay less to replace me. So if you were to express any kind of negative concerns they would eventually find a reason to fire you, despite your loyalty and commitment to the children.

Pros

Generous amount of time of benefits
A lot of opportunities to volunteer and give back to the community
Good health benefits

Cons

Not a diverse work environment
Poor structured management
Poor communication between upper management and staff
Low hiring standards for many which leads to inadequate knowledge of positions
Unprofessional work conduct at times

Pros

The mission is absolutely fantastic - best reason
You get to see the consumers when they come into the office

Cons

Must take vacation days for holidays that other nonprofits and companies give off automatically (Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc.)
Pay is not competitive
Time off is not competitive compared to other nonprofits or schools (because you have to use six vacation days for holidays)
Extremely high turnover (not just direct care staff, which is what they tell you in the interview - I've been here almost a year and a majority of people around me already are newer than I am - I've only worked for two other places in my career and this is truly eye opening)
HR is awesome at recruiting and will dazzle you - one ploy they use is getting you to come in at a lower salary than you're currently making with the caveat "in six months we'll re-evaluate and adjust accordingly" but that adjustment doesn't come through
From the outside, and in interviews, it seems like SUCH a great place to work - but once you get inside those doors, you start to wonder, "Is it just me?" and once you begin to open up to others you realize that most people are miserable - one person even said that choosing to work for Devereux is the worst decision they have ever made in their entire life

Advice to Senior Management

I really don't have any advice because I don't think anything will ever change. It's the culture, it's the leadership. Unless all of that is changed (which it won't be), nothing will change.

Pros

The time off plan is pretty decent. The corporate office is pretty cutthroat and unsettling, however some of the centers can be a little better. Confusion and miscommunication flows directly from HQ. So much money is lost and wasted. Employees are still using dinosaur desktop PC's with miniscule screens. If one is out of commission, the office is completely out of luck. Horrible...Horrible.

Cons

ineptitude of management
promotion only available to boot lickers and ultra brown nosers
pay scale is deplorable
management has no clue
the place is mired in confusion and lack of communication

Advice to Senior Management

Fire everyone in management and start all over again. Go and speak to the actual employees. The ones who are on the front line. You will find that you have a plethora of talent who are stuck with the most inane managers who have no clue on how to promote the mission of Helen Devereux while keeping a close eye on profitability.

Pros

Helping kids who have survived a trauma
Having the ability to effect change in a youths life
Supportive & fun Management
Team-Oriented
Staff are very responsive to crisis situations
Thorough training prior to start date

Cons

Gossipy-Amongst the staff
Stressful
On the job training could be better
Communication is an issue
If you're not inerested in helping emotionally/sexually/physically traumatized kids & you just need a paycheck-this is not the place for you. You wont last more than a month as direct support/campus support/program coordinator.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire compassionite people!

Pros

Laid back and easy going management. Helpful and resourceful staff members. This company offers extremely competitive salary as well as a fantastic benefits package.

Cons

Little supervision. Senior staff did not always communicate important information about planning, training, and events to staff members. Work is 365/7 days a week. Required to use days for holidays.

Advice to Senior Management

Please follow through if you make an offer to help an employee after an immediate lay off due to cuts from an outside resource. Better communication would have made the transition easier.

Pros

Staffing is exceptionally talented people
Kids really listen when they are respected

Cons

Money
Men are favored
Upper management have no feelings for staff.

Advice to Senior Management

If changes are going to be made, please tell your employees before you make them and tell them the reason why. Stop the freeze on the salaries of the lowest paid.