direct support professional

direct support manager

chauffeur livreur

accounts receivable clerk

support worker

Lambton County Developmental Services

I’ve hit my breaking point. I love the guys I support. My coworkers for the most part are awesome. But I’m tired of being taken advantage of by the “innovative leaders”

I just worked a double shift (16 hrs) yesterday, back in this morning with only 7 hours between shifts. So with minimal sleep, I’m back to find we are short staffed again. Rumour has it a colleague just worked 23 hours with an hour off to commute, rest and eat between programs. 

There will be no ramifications for the staff who don’t show up, but if something happens today…my coworker (who just did the overnight but is now stuck here) and I will be immediately thrown under the bus. The Oncall manager just told us to essentially suck it up. Such innovation. 

Once upon a time, they would have fought the ministry, but they are now “inline” with the ministry by closing our day programs. 
The people we support miss their day programs; we are supposed to be running them from their homes, planning meaningful activities . However, there is never enough staff to run basic  needs of the home, let alone take people out. Most of the plans we make are cancelled due to poor planning by management.  Money spent on tickets by individuals for events wasted because there was no one to take them. They suck up the cost, management and agency does nothing. 

The management are dictators. There are programs where the staff, even when working crazy long shifts, are not allowed to run out for even a coffee.  

They continue to call the staff their greatest assets. They don’t treat us like that. Sending water bottles and shirts because apparently material objects make us happy. Staff who work the stupid hours, there is no thanks. Staff appreciating month in August. The staff that were chosen were quite and kept to themselves. Not the ones who work stupid hours, stay late, come in early, volunteer their time, and advocate. They don’t like those of us who speak up. 

They wanted our opinion. We’ll create a program to make it completely anonymous. That lasted  2 seconds. Now, if you speak up, you will be signing a piece of paper that tells you you can’t.. or maybe they will just hang up on you. 

Two consulting firms were hired for stupid amounts of money. (Must be all the money they save by not replacing the higher paid staff who leave) How can we make this place better? The staff spoke. They didn’t listen.  AT ALL. Either time. Yet, both times, it was all the same concerns. 

They ask staff who quit for input, on how can LCDS change. Pretty sure having the HR Dictator hang up on them when they don’t like the answer they were given , isn’t a way to promote the agency. When all the Long term staff leave, No one ever asked, is there anything we can do to make you stay? That’s how little they care about their staff.  It’s all about the great name they are rapidly loosing. 

20 years ago LCDS was ahead of its game. The place to work when it comes to supporting people in their own homes. Pride was had in working here. 

Now it’s at the bottom. it’s not individualized at all. It’s no longer one person at a time as they use as their logo. It’s let’s lump them all together as if they all require the same supports. Leadership has taken away every perk full time staff had. ESA is out the door. No comp time, but want you to work extra hours because they are short staffed. I’ll happily pick up extra shifts for a day off later. Now, if you pick up the extra shifts, you get taxed so much it’s not worth it, so no one wants to help out. Discounts at Columbia and Telus are NOT perks.  Grocery store staff get that as well. 

Rules change so often staff cannot keep up. There are so many grey areas in their policies. Surveys are sent out to make the staff feel like they have a say. However, they are worded in such a way, that no matter how we answer them, management can make it look good. (It’s not) 

No money to properly staff the houses, yet when
The government paid the front line staff extra cash during the pandemic,  they magically found an extra $2/hour for non front line staff. Admin got to work from the comfort from their own home making extra cash while front line staff are buried in PPE and not able to leave the programs. 

Full time staff leave, and are replaced with less qualified staff. If there is a posting at a program, the full time staff may have to take a pay cut/demotion to change locations. The cookie cutter schedule across the agency, doesn’t work and the hours are terrible and exhausting. They don’t suit the needs of the locations. 
Some managers are fantastic and helpful. Others will be the first to throw you under the bus. No one wants to speak up about concerns for fear of reprimand. Upper management would rather lose good long term staff then look at the real problem. 

Staff are burnt out and exhausted. They throw mental Heath training at us, but don’t practice what they preach. 

Long term staff are dropping like flies, and being replaced with less qualified, and underpaid staff who are expected to do the same work as the higher paid qualified staff. 

The people you support are amazing. Your co-workers, also amazing. If you value quality supports of people, it may be difficult for you to work here, as the agency makes it so very difficult.   If you can put your head down, do your work and go home; then you will do well.  There is little room for growth. Full time, higher paying jobs disappear when staff leave. Never to be filled again, replaced with a lower paid position. And the long term staff have been leaving at a quick and rapid pace.  

Management needs to be flushed and started over.  Lack of arms length and nepotism runs ramped among management. 3 or 4 sets of married managers including the ED.  Cousins, neighbours, siblings, mangers- best friends. They all work together. The cliques are horrible because of it.  Trust from front line to management left a long time ago. Their BOD doesn’t seem to care about it.

They are more worried about their reputation as an agency then the people supported. Staff are moved around to suit the agency needs. Not the people they support.  They would sooner leave a program terribly understaffed as long as the vision they have in their head works. Don’t try to complain though. 

Their hasn’t been a viable strategic plan since vision 2018. (Which came out in 2008) Since then they come out, and change with no opportunity to attempt to make them work. The teams used to be self managed, now it’s a dictatorship. 

Schedules are horrible. You work way more than your scheduled hours. They aren’t flexible, they don’t care about your home life or other responsibilities.  ESA is out the window. You can expect to work HUNDREDS of hours in a two week pay period. Schedules are  missing shifts, but they expect you to figure it out.  Not the scheduling manager. To fix this problem, it’s ok you can work 16 hours today. But if you work extra one day, don’t expect them to cover it somewhere else. 

The schedule changes very quickly. Especially during the holidays. If it looks like you aren’t working Christmas, don’t make plans yet. They will change it. 

It’s interesting they now have a new, review free name for themselves on this platform . The other one has bad reviews, so they are trying to hide their bad reputation. Again.  How this place continues to run without an union is beyond me.

DSC (full time) get the same pay as long term DSP (part time). Yet the full time have significantly greater workloads, more stress and are the first to be thrown under the bus by management. It was supposed to be same pay for same work, but that is it NOT case. Part time bring home pay is also significantly more.
No new positions. No chance for growth unless you were a chosen one. Most new management positions filled & created were all managed by the same manager at one time .  (now a director). No one else stands a chance. They aren’t creating new positions anyway, unless they are for significantly less pay. 
Management states they listen to staff, but they don’t. We as staff,  aren’t supported by our managers. Most management has no clue what’s going on, or take the  to get to truly get to know the people we are supporting.  Management  will throw your under the bus in no time flat, and not back you up in the event something happens. 
Vacations for the people. Not allowed, insurance issues. Outings. Not allowed, due to staffing shortage. Proper staffing for the houses and their individual needs? No money. Relationships in the community? Gone,  as they are now outsourcing rather than supporting local. All locations have the same schedule no matter what the needs. Homes are falling apart. Here’s a bandage. 
Very top heavy organization. HR isn’t for the staff, it’s for the agency. Sr. Management Dictatorship leadership and micromanagement that continues to be allowed by ED. 
The agency outsourced a company to talk to the staff about how they feel the agency was run, upper management didn’t listen. Although, the staff had great hope for this when it was initiated to be heard. 
Vague polices, with vague replies when asking for clarification. No respect for privacy of their staff, no respect for staff’s home life balance. Their polices are only to benifit them, not the clientele, because if you try to mention that they are  breaking their own policy, you’ll probably be reprimanded. 

LCDS is not an ideal place to work. There is no room for advancement (unless you have been groomed to do so because the upper management have chosen you). In fact, when a DSC position becomes available they change them to the lower paying DSP positions or to part time so they don't have to pay benefits/vacation etc. The Senior Leadership team is disheartening to work for with micromanaging, and demeaning behavior towards employees lower than them. People supported by Lcds's life goals/ wants/ and needs are put on the backburner due to 'budgets'. This is supposed to be a company that helps get rid of barriers for people with disabilities to live out their life dreams, and they use it as a photo op to promote themselves and make themselves feel good. They created too many management positions so the company is too top heavy, and then the upper management wont even let location managers make a decision. The management positions are just for show. There is no room for advancement, not a good morale, and no trust in upper management to make the right choices. They pay less than other companies in the area and have no respect for their employee's. A Senior Leadership member has been quoted as saying "everyone here is replaceable" by many people..... way to make your staff feel valued. The only reason people stay at LCDS is for the people supported and if you're lucky for the staff you work with at your location. There are many more reasons to leave than there are to stay unfortunately. Time for an upper management cleanup, get rid of the bullies.

You are responsible for med administration and treatments, personal care, counseling, mental health and behaviour support, transportation, community activities, documentation and all household tasks such as cleaning, meals, shopping, laundry. 
Typical DSP job.  

'Part time' is mostly weekends and nights. No matter how many hours you work, you don't qualify for benefits. Even 'full time' postings are just indefinite 'contracts' without benefits or commitment to you. They expect you to be available for them 24/7, especially if you're new.

They're trying to cut corners, not so much on support, but definitely on staff. It's ALWAYS talk about the budget. Watch your pay stubs and make sure you know what's in your contract before you sign on.  

Upper management is seriously out of touch. Middle managers are constantly being switched around and don't know what's happening in the programs. You have to rely on your coworkers for info and help. If you're working alone -and you will- you message your coworkers. Most of front line staff are amazing and do a lot for the people they support and the other staff, even off hours.   

It's ok for experience until you find something better.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Management does a decent job of listening to frontline staff and providing staff with the resources they need to do their job well. There's also more of a family-like atmosphere working here compared to other developmental services agencies I've worked at. While not perfect, LCDS is one of the better places to work in this industry.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Aggressive/combative persons supported. They can be tricky.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Generally relaxed, respectful, and enjoyable.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
No day is the exact same as the clientele are fairly unpredictable. But generally, you're required to tend to the nutritional, transportational, recreational, and physical/mental health needs of the people supported.

LCDS was once a well respected professional place of employment. Standards have gone down and they now employ uneducated people who are willing to work the impossible shifts they are asking for. Work life balance is not important to them, however they claim it is. Too many management and not enough front line. Shifts are run short often and the individuals who are suppose to be the priority are missing out and being ignored. Management have taken to giving all their attention to the part times and casuals in an effort to keep the low wage earners that don't have benefits employed. The mighty dollar has become the highest priority. Education, skills and experience no longer hold any value. 
Some of these issues can be blamed on government funding, however, the way front line staff are being treated today is a shame. LCDS is dropping the ball.

The job itself is wonderful. Coworkers and people we support are amazing and the on site managers are great. 
The issue is that upper management doesn’t seem to listen to front line workers. No matter how many times we voice our issues with scheduling, and home/work balance, they do not hear our concerns or even respond to our concerns. They become defensive and make front line staff feel like they are being unreasonable. There is little to zero flexibility with the schedule. 
If it wasn’t for the happiness the location itself brings me, I wouldn’t still be there. 

Starting at this job I was so happy and excited to be at a company that put the clients first. Slowly management changed and the agency went downhill. They started to lose the attitude that the clients come first and are priority. They promote from within which normally would be a great asset to employees, however it is not just for competent staff. They promote those that only see the same vision and do not challenge authority. Sad to watch this great agency crumble, obviously some staff are wonderful. Not sure I would suggest anyone to work here and would NOT have a family member or friend supported by this agency. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
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