What I heard at work today was simply shocking! I do not know if it is true, but an associate was saying that one of our colleages had been found dead at work in the S. house. I just gave Shawn a break this last Sturday, and to learn that he is no longer among us was absolutely heart wrenching. My prayers are with him, and my heart goes out to his family members.
HA
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
More about the 4th
The following message was contributed by an associate, who wished to remain anonymous:
As we've celebrated the 4th of July I am reminded of why the colonists left England to come to this country. They were looking for individual freedoms and a life that was not governed by the rules and ambitions of the hierarchy.
It is all too easy to become complacent and allow others to govern our lives. Many find it easy to complain but do nothing to create a change.
These circumstances occur at national, state, and at the community level. The closest level is in the workplace. Anyone working under the auspice of a community protection service may notice several discrepancies between procedural policies and actual "in the field" and management practices.
The early colonists broke away from their tyranny to create the freedoms and rights we share today. We should not sit idling by while others are acting in an unethical manner to conceal their true agenda at our expense and the expense of clients; we each lose freedoms and rights to these purveyors of injustice while they are advancing their own careers, agendas, and ammassing great sums of money solely for themselves.
As we've celebrated the 4th of July I am reminded of why the colonists left England to come to this country. They were looking for individual freedoms and a life that was not governed by the rules and ambitions of the hierarchy.
It is all too easy to become complacent and allow others to govern our lives. Many find it easy to complain but do nothing to create a change.
These circumstances occur at national, state, and at the community level. The closest level is in the workplace. Anyone working under the auspice of a community protection service may notice several discrepancies between procedural policies and actual "in the field" and management practices.
The early colonists broke away from their tyranny to create the freedoms and rights we share today. We should not sit idling by while others are acting in an unethical manner to conceal their true agenda at our expense and the expense of clients; we each lose freedoms and rights to these purveyors of injustice while they are advancing their own careers, agendas, and ammassing great sums of money solely for themselves.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Latest
I just received a response from the governor's office to the letter which has been posted on this site. An independent investigation into the policies and practices of Aacres WA has been innitiated. The concerns which were reflected in the letter appear to have been taken very seriously. The investigation seems to be bigger than just Aacres WA and it also targets the way DDD in Spokane has been implementing DSHS policies.
HA
HA
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Why
It started when I criticized my program director for the way he responded to a client - D. to be exact - when D. called him a bunch of names most of which started with an "f," his exact response was, "Bring it on! I love it when you call me names!" I asked if this was standard operating procedure when clients call us names. He asked if I had a better way. I told him I would simply ignore the cussing and try to redirect the conversation to something else. I told him that his response would simply reinforce the name calling behavior in the client - as, by the way, it has in D. - and then they expect to get away with it even when someone outside their comfort zone is the target of such profanity. That did not sit very well with the program director. In my next annual evaluation, there was a part that said that " I had difficulty with the company's policies." So much for freedom of expression at Aacres WA.
Ever after that incident, I was no longer the exemplary staff that I had been prior to that.
Please share your experiences with others. I am sure our shared experiences and common grievances can unite us into better care providers and social workers.
HA
Ever after that incident, I was no longer the exemplary staff that I had been prior to that.
Please share your experiences with others. I am sure our shared experiences and common grievances can unite us into better care providers and social workers.
HA
Monday, May 25, 2009
You Are Entitled to Your Breaks
Don't be intimidated by the mumbo jumbo that they give you in office meetings about your break time. Both federal and state laws have made sure that you can receive your breaks. You don't have to pack up your meal and take it on outings with the clients. Whether it is the clients' workplace or simply one of their outings into the community, you are entitled to your meal break no later than five hours into your shilft. This must be an uninterrupted half hour, and you can choose to take it away from the respobsibilities of your work. The company MUST provide you with a relief staff for your meal period. They cannot force you to take your meal break on the job site.
The business may require workers to stay on the work site during:
* Their paid rest periods.
* Their meal period IF the business pays the worker during that meal period.
* Their meal period without paying them IF the workers are completely relieved from duty for the entire meal period and will never be called back to work during the meal period.
You can get answers to frequently asked questions about rest periods and meal break at this link: http://lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/Wages/HoursBreaks/Breaks/default.asp.
HA
The business may require workers to stay on the work site during:
* Their paid rest periods.
* Their meal period IF the business pays the worker during that meal period.
* Their meal period without paying them IF the workers are completely relieved from duty for the entire meal period and will never be called back to work during the meal period.
You can get answers to frequently asked questions about rest periods and meal break at this link: http://lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/Wages/HoursBreaks/Breaks/default.asp.
HA
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Comp Time
How often have you been asked by your program director to report to work a couple of hours late on the next day after you ran into overtime on a certain day because the client refused to return home in time to finish your shift and go home? Unless you, as the employee, agree to do so, this practice is entirely illegal! No-one can force you to take compensatory time off in lieu of overtime work.
Compensating time off in lieu of overtime pay.
The provisions of chapter 49.46 RCW requiring one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 per week does not apply to any person who requests compensating time off in lieu of overtime pay. Therefore, compensating time may be as agreed upon by the employer and the individual employee at the request of the employee, but may not be imposed by the employer in lieu of overtime pay upon any employee who has not so requested such compensating time off.
For a thorough understanding of compesatory time off, check the following link: http://www.omwlaw.com/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=93
HA
Compensating time off in lieu of overtime pay.
The provisions of chapter 49.46 RCW requiring one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 per week does not apply to any person who requests compensating time off in lieu of overtime pay. Therefore, compensating time may be as agreed upon by the employer and the individual employee at the request of the employee, but may not be imposed by the employer in lieu of overtime pay upon any employee who has not so requested such compensating time off.
For a thorough understanding of compesatory time off, check the following link: http://www.omwlaw.com/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=93
HA
Friday, May 22, 2009
Some Useful Links
Hello everyone,
You may find the following sites useful:
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/248806_risk18.html
Obviously the actual cost of Community Protection Programs run by companies such as Aacres WA is not limited to the exorbitant funding that such companies receive from the taxpayers' money. The hidden costs of these programs are all too often concealed from the taxpayers. By the way, have you ever called the police after you or a client has been assaulted or threatened? Read this article and you will find out why your program directors insist that you should call the on-call pager before calling 911.
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/248599_profit17.html
This article from Seattle PI sheds light on how much Aacres Allvest received from the State of Washington in funding in 2005, and how the greater portion of the funds went to administrative costs rather than be paid to the front-line staff.
http://www.caringtoday.com/forums/my-story/fact-sheet-for-live-in-caregivers-in-wa-state
This is a rather recent article about changes which demonstrate how the live-in model should no longer be paid less because they are considered "companions," or "family members." The live-in caregiver should be paid for as many House as s/he spends at the clients' home. There is no such a thing as "sleep hours." The live-in caregiver is, in the least, on call during the night hours even if s/he can mange to get a few hours of sleep - with one eye open.
HA
You may find the following sites useful:
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/248806_risk18.html
Obviously the actual cost of Community Protection Programs run by companies such as Aacres WA is not limited to the exorbitant funding that such companies receive from the taxpayers' money. The hidden costs of these programs are all too often concealed from the taxpayers. By the way, have you ever called the police after you or a client has been assaulted or threatened? Read this article and you will find out why your program directors insist that you should call the on-call pager before calling 911.
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/248599_profit17.html
This article from Seattle PI sheds light on how much Aacres Allvest received from the State of Washington in funding in 2005, and how the greater portion of the funds went to administrative costs rather than be paid to the front-line staff.
http://www.caringtoday.com/forums/my-story/fact-sheet-for-live-in-caregivers-in-wa-state
This is a rather recent article about changes which demonstrate how the live-in model should no longer be paid less because they are considered "companions," or "family members." The live-in caregiver should be paid for as many House as s/he spends at the clients' home. There is no such a thing as "sleep hours." The live-in caregiver is, in the least, on call during the night hours even if s/he can mange to get a few hours of sleep - with one eye open.
HA
Members
Hello guys,
If you would like to post on this blog, please send me an email with a user ID, and I can add you as an author. Then you can simply log on with your user ID and write what you feel others should know.
HA
If you would like to post on this blog, please send me an email with a user ID, and I can add you as an author. Then you can simply log on with your user ID and write what you feel others should know.
HA
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Letter
The following letter has been written to the Governor's office and a few other offices in the state of Washington in the hope that it will trigger an independent investigation into the policies and practices of Aacres WA. I believe that if enough of us can raise our concerns with the authorities, the company will eventually have to put an end to its unjust treatment of both clients and staff. It is not all about the bottom line, you know? We are dealing with human lives! Please make your voice heard!
Dear Madam Governor:
A while back, I wrote you a letter in an attempt to reveal the type of wrong policies and ineffective practices with which my company – Aacres WA – treats the developmentally challenged clients, who have been placed in its care by the Division of Developmental Disabilities of the Department of Social and Health Services. Sadly, my letter was referred to the very division whose poor oversight has resulted in the issues and concerns that I had raised in my letter. Some time later, I received a response from the Division of Developmental Disabilities to the effect that my concerns were not legitimate nor founded in reality. They stated in their letter that they had inspected the clients’ homes and interviewed staff and clients and were convinced that the clients were living lifestyles which were conducive to gradual integration into the community and approximation of normalcy.
Unfortunately, none of my concerns were properly addressed in the response, and the rosy picture which was portrayed was consistent with the attempts of Aacres WA to create an image of illusory improvement in the lives of our clients justifying the millions of taxpayers’ money which they receive from the state annually.
Below, I will attempt to reiterate my concerns and the issues which affect the lives of our clients negatively in the hope that a more independent investigation is launched this time.
All though 95% of our clients are able-bodied individuals, staff members are forced to carry out their daily house chores for them. While staff members get paid to do these chores, clients are gradually conditioned to depend on others for almost every little household chore. Staff members make their beds, clean their rooms, do their laundry, clean their bathrooms, wash their dishes, cook their meals, mow their lawns, and shovel their snow. In this way, the company is receiving these clients with a certain level of shortcomings and, in effect, increasing their disabilities over time and as they stay with the company, thus condemning them to a lifetime of dependence and disabilities.
Normal people are expected to live with the consequences of their actions. If you lose your money gambling at the casino, you will probably not have enough money for food, rent, transportation, and other expenses. Our clients, however, are conditioned to believe that there are no natural consequences. They spend their money at the Dollar store, and if they are out of money for their smoking habit as a result, all they have to do – they are conditioned to do – is throw an anger tantrum and blow up. Aacres WA is then soon to accommodate them with money to buy their cigarettes. A person, who refuses to wash his or her dishes, will be left with no clean utensils to eat from or cook in; a person, who declines to do laundry, will have no clean clothes to wear; a person, who does not shower or observe personal hygiene, will be shunned by others in the community; a person, who calls others names and disrespects them, will find himself or herself alone and lonely. Well, not if that person is a client placed in the care of Aacres Washington! By removing all natural consequences from the lives of the clients, Aacres WA is incrementally turning them into more disabled individuals as they continue to stay in Aacres’ program. Is this not tantamount to condemning the clients to a lifetime of dependence and more debilitating disabilities? How is this policy conducive to integration into the community and approximation of normalcy?
In the absence of true power and authority, such as the ability to make life-enhancing decisions on one’s finances, place of residence, relationships, course of education, or choice of jobs, clients are regularly allowed to seek empowerment in violating social mores and rules. They are systematically allowed – even encouraged – to practice their control and seek empowerment in disrespecting staff members, abusing them verbally and, at times, even physically, with impunity. They are often found jaywalking and trespassing (I posses pictures to prove this) disregarding the staffs’ pleas to cross the street where it is legally allowed. There have been cases when clients have flipped off police officers in an authority defying gesture. The company regularly allows client to have a staff member accompany them to an espresso stand across the town in below zero temperatures despite media recommendations cautioning the public against leaving their homes. Yes, they can! Is this akin to normalcy? Is this conducive to identity achievement or enhancement?
Some of the clients – fewer than 5% - are engaged in what the response, which was provided to my letter by the Division of Developmental Disabilities, qualifies as jobs. SL-Start and Goodwill Industries are among the few places at which these clients are engaged in their pseudo-jobs. Not only do these companies enjoys tax breaks by offering employment to our clients, they are also paying their wages out of the taxpayers’ money allocated to them by the state as not-for-profit organizations. These are, in no way, productive jobs, which can help to integrate the clients into the community. Clients are reminded that if they leave the program, they will lose their employment. Conversely, these so-called jobs are another means of perpetuating disability and dependence by giving the client the illusion of achievement.
Maybe the Division of Developmental Disabilities of the Department of Social and Health Services can provide me – the public – with the number of clients that Aacres WA has been able to fully integrate into the community over its long history of receiving public funding for this purpose. Yes, how many clients have graduated from this program so far? Who is benefiting from perpetuating these persons’ disabilities and dependence? Is maintenance the sole goal of this mission?
There are other issues regarding how clients are forced to rent from a crony of Aacres WA, and how this person is paying off the mortgage loans on his properties by an agreement with the company which compels the clients to lease exclusively from him rather than enter into the competitive rental market. I fail to understand why this has not raised a red flag with the Division of Developmental Disabilities to this date.
I believe the public deserves to know how and to what end their money is being funneled into a company like Aacres WA, who is trusted with the sacred task of providing care and attention to its most vulnerable members. I also think that the policies of the company are nothing short of abuse and neglect of the clients placed in their care. Rather than brushing away concerns regarding the way these clients are being treated by Aacres WA, the people in charge of the Division of Developmental Disabilities should rethink and revise their relationship with the company with the well being of the clients in their mind and cautioning on the clients’ side.
Best regards,
Dear Madam Governor:
A while back, I wrote you a letter in an attempt to reveal the type of wrong policies and ineffective practices with which my company – Aacres WA – treats the developmentally challenged clients, who have been placed in its care by the Division of Developmental Disabilities of the Department of Social and Health Services. Sadly, my letter was referred to the very division whose poor oversight has resulted in the issues and concerns that I had raised in my letter. Some time later, I received a response from the Division of Developmental Disabilities to the effect that my concerns were not legitimate nor founded in reality. They stated in their letter that they had inspected the clients’ homes and interviewed staff and clients and were convinced that the clients were living lifestyles which were conducive to gradual integration into the community and approximation of normalcy.
Unfortunately, none of my concerns were properly addressed in the response, and the rosy picture which was portrayed was consistent with the attempts of Aacres WA to create an image of illusory improvement in the lives of our clients justifying the millions of taxpayers’ money which they receive from the state annually.
Below, I will attempt to reiterate my concerns and the issues which affect the lives of our clients negatively in the hope that a more independent investigation is launched this time.
All though 95% of our clients are able-bodied individuals, staff members are forced to carry out their daily house chores for them. While staff members get paid to do these chores, clients are gradually conditioned to depend on others for almost every little household chore. Staff members make their beds, clean their rooms, do their laundry, clean their bathrooms, wash their dishes, cook their meals, mow their lawns, and shovel their snow. In this way, the company is receiving these clients with a certain level of shortcomings and, in effect, increasing their disabilities over time and as they stay with the company, thus condemning them to a lifetime of dependence and disabilities.
Normal people are expected to live with the consequences of their actions. If you lose your money gambling at the casino, you will probably not have enough money for food, rent, transportation, and other expenses. Our clients, however, are conditioned to believe that there are no natural consequences. They spend their money at the Dollar store, and if they are out of money for their smoking habit as a result, all they have to do – they are conditioned to do – is throw an anger tantrum and blow up. Aacres WA is then soon to accommodate them with money to buy their cigarettes. A person, who refuses to wash his or her dishes, will be left with no clean utensils to eat from or cook in; a person, who declines to do laundry, will have no clean clothes to wear; a person, who does not shower or observe personal hygiene, will be shunned by others in the community; a person, who calls others names and disrespects them, will find himself or herself alone and lonely. Well, not if that person is a client placed in the care of Aacres Washington! By removing all natural consequences from the lives of the clients, Aacres WA is incrementally turning them into more disabled individuals as they continue to stay in Aacres’ program. Is this not tantamount to condemning the clients to a lifetime of dependence and more debilitating disabilities? How is this policy conducive to integration into the community and approximation of normalcy?
In the absence of true power and authority, such as the ability to make life-enhancing decisions on one’s finances, place of residence, relationships, course of education, or choice of jobs, clients are regularly allowed to seek empowerment in violating social mores and rules. They are systematically allowed – even encouraged – to practice their control and seek empowerment in disrespecting staff members, abusing them verbally and, at times, even physically, with impunity. They are often found jaywalking and trespassing (I posses pictures to prove this) disregarding the staffs’ pleas to cross the street where it is legally allowed. There have been cases when clients have flipped off police officers in an authority defying gesture. The company regularly allows client to have a staff member accompany them to an espresso stand across the town in below zero temperatures despite media recommendations cautioning the public against leaving their homes. Yes, they can! Is this akin to normalcy? Is this conducive to identity achievement or enhancement?
Some of the clients – fewer than 5% - are engaged in what the response, which was provided to my letter by the Division of Developmental Disabilities, qualifies as jobs. SL-Start and Goodwill Industries are among the few places at which these clients are engaged in their pseudo-jobs. Not only do these companies enjoys tax breaks by offering employment to our clients, they are also paying their wages out of the taxpayers’ money allocated to them by the state as not-for-profit organizations. These are, in no way, productive jobs, which can help to integrate the clients into the community. Clients are reminded that if they leave the program, they will lose their employment. Conversely, these so-called jobs are another means of perpetuating disability and dependence by giving the client the illusion of achievement.
Maybe the Division of Developmental Disabilities of the Department of Social and Health Services can provide me – the public – with the number of clients that Aacres WA has been able to fully integrate into the community over its long history of receiving public funding for this purpose. Yes, how many clients have graduated from this program so far? Who is benefiting from perpetuating these persons’ disabilities and dependence? Is maintenance the sole goal of this mission?
There are other issues regarding how clients are forced to rent from a crony of Aacres WA, and how this person is paying off the mortgage loans on his properties by an agreement with the company which compels the clients to lease exclusively from him rather than enter into the competitive rental market. I fail to understand why this has not raised a red flag with the Division of Developmental Disabilities to this date.
I believe the public deserves to know how and to what end their money is being funneled into a company like Aacres WA, who is trusted with the sacred task of providing care and attention to its most vulnerable members. I also think that the policies of the company are nothing short of abuse and neglect of the clients placed in their care. Rather than brushing away concerns regarding the way these clients are being treated by Aacres WA, the people in charge of the Division of Developmental Disabilities should rethink and revise their relationship with the company with the well being of the clients in their mind and cautioning on the clients’ side.
Best regards,
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Share
Hello everyone,
Every day is a new day when you work with developmentally challenged individuals. Every day brings fresh experiences, challenges, achievements, and frustrations. We are the frontline members of the treatment team of the persons that we work with. We bear the brunt of their frustrations; we deal with the day-to-day aspects of their lives; we take them to their therpy sessions, medical appointments, can-collecting excursions, latte stands clear across town in freezing temperatures, or simply for a walk around the block to help bring their blood sugar down in case of the diabetic ones. We spend more time with them than we do with the members of our own families. We attend to their needs, document their activities, remind them to take their meds, monitor them as they try to integrate into the larger community around us, and remind them of their options as they freely make their own choices. In this attempt, we are frequently verbally abused, sometimes physically assaulted, and often threatened with golf clubs and baseball bats. Some of us have had our car windows smashed, or our hoods and fenders dented by angry clients. Yet we are the least appreciated, the most underpaid, and worst treated members of the treatment team. Our efforts go entirely unrecognized by the company that we work for, or even by the state and federal bureaus which are assigned with the collossal task of oversight of the programs that our clients are enrolled in. In Rambo's words, "we are Expendible!"
Our superiors do not listen to us; they simply ignore our views and opinions. Our clients find us in their comfort zone, and as such vent out their frustrations with the shortcomings of the program on us. Where should we go if and when we feel frustrated? I have created this blog so that we can voice our concerns, talk about our experiences, share our successes and failures, reflect our opinions, and vent out our frustrations. If you have something to say about what happened at work today, how you were justly or unjustly treated at work, how you made a differences in the life of your client, or how you could have brought your client closer to normalcy and independence if company policies allowed you, share your experiences with me in an email - abghari@msn.com - and I will post it on this blog for you, with your own name or anonymously if you feel that it might affect your standing with the company.
I look forward to your cooperation.
H. Abghari
Every day is a new day when you work with developmentally challenged individuals. Every day brings fresh experiences, challenges, achievements, and frustrations. We are the frontline members of the treatment team of the persons that we work with. We bear the brunt of their frustrations; we deal with the day-to-day aspects of their lives; we take them to their therpy sessions, medical appointments, can-collecting excursions, latte stands clear across town in freezing temperatures, or simply for a walk around the block to help bring their blood sugar down in case of the diabetic ones. We spend more time with them than we do with the members of our own families. We attend to their needs, document their activities, remind them to take their meds, monitor them as they try to integrate into the larger community around us, and remind them of their options as they freely make their own choices. In this attempt, we are frequently verbally abused, sometimes physically assaulted, and often threatened with golf clubs and baseball bats. Some of us have had our car windows smashed, or our hoods and fenders dented by angry clients. Yet we are the least appreciated, the most underpaid, and worst treated members of the treatment team. Our efforts go entirely unrecognized by the company that we work for, or even by the state and federal bureaus which are assigned with the collossal task of oversight of the programs that our clients are enrolled in. In Rambo's words, "we are Expendible!"
Our superiors do not listen to us; they simply ignore our views and opinions. Our clients find us in their comfort zone, and as such vent out their frustrations with the shortcomings of the program on us. Where should we go if and when we feel frustrated? I have created this blog so that we can voice our concerns, talk about our experiences, share our successes and failures, reflect our opinions, and vent out our frustrations. If you have something to say about what happened at work today, how you were justly or unjustly treated at work, how you made a differences in the life of your client, or how you could have brought your client closer to normalcy and independence if company policies allowed you, share your experiences with me in an email - abghari@msn.com - and I will post it on this blog for you, with your own name or anonymously if you feel that it might affect your standing with the company.
I look forward to your cooperation.
H. Abghari
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
