Pros
My time here allowed me to learn about DHS, Hennepin county social services, how be person-centered, how to balance and insanely high caseload, and was a really great way for me to expand my brain. I met some really great people and got a lot of personal satisfaction from the little wins from meaningfully helping clients. I personally think they PTO accrual rate has gotten better with time. I also find it great that so many people have been with Fraser for years, especially those in supervisory roles. The supervisors are tough, hold you accountable, but they are very very supportive and motivated to help you succeed. it makes the intensity and often rapid pace of this job, and the subject matter, much more easy to handle. This job helped me grow as a professional so much and how to pay attention to the larger picture, especially after college.
Cons
It's gutting to issue someone a denial of funding, especially because working with waivered services usually means the only other option is private pay, which no one could afford with a middle class salary. It's very very hard for families and their loved ones with disabilities already, not making it easier is draining and i think thats why we see about 50% of our new hires stay longer than a year and the rest leave fairly quick. Things move very slow and opportunities to support your clients get them involved in their much needed programming fizzle out very fast.. I was also told in February I would be getting a raise, 3% to not even adjust to the rate of inflation, and here I am in Mid-July and that raise has not been applied. We did get a raise back in September of 2022, but that was also to somewhat adjust to inflation. the work is rewarding, but it is so uniquely mentally and emotionally challenging. Denials, or mistakes( which are inevitable given the complex nature of this role) harm case manager/client relationships. I found myself at once point with 50 cases, which was a nightmare to manage. Things get very very busy some quarters and others are dead, both are very hard to manage. to do well in this role, you're going to have to work more than 40 hours a week, obviously, but thankfully one can get by working like 45.