The Key Program reviews

Thank you for your review and comments about your experience at the Key Program. Any and all work hours documented on an hourly employee's timesheets are paid...straight time for 40 hours per week or time and a half for any hours over 40 hours per week. No one works without getting paid. Key does not condone staff doing their work at home, during their time off. Having time off and a work/life balance is important; so if a staff is having time management issues, it can be addressed with their Supervisor in their weekly or bi-weekly one-one-one supervision meeting and they will receive assistance to manage their workload more efficiently. During the pandemic, all of Key's staff demonstrated extraordinary teamwork in which they were recognized monetarily with extra pay and benefits for their commitment. As a Residential Caseworker or an Outreach Caseworker, everyday our staff are provided opportunities and experiences to learn something new and to build their skills and confidence. When someone is asked to do a shift in a different program, it's an opportunity to gain exposure to something new and different. For an outreach worker to experience a highly structured residential experience, they can learn a lot of different strategies that are transferrable and could be helpful for them to help a parent impose structure within one of their outreach families homes. Key's direct care staff are hired for a time-limited period of 18-months; and this is a direct, hands-on learning opportunity to help set a career direction. It is intensive work, intensive training and difficult hours, but the endgame is significant experience, skill attainment and upward mobility potential...within Key or elsewhere.

Thank you for taking the time to comment on your experience at the Key Program. Key offers a very competitive wage in regard to other local human service agencies; and we prominently display our hourly wage or salary in every job posting so job seekers are aware of the wage/salary that is offered before applying. Key's leadership continuously advocates for increased wages/salaries for all human service workers in Massachusetts who do this demanding and challenging work that on the flipside is also critically important and significantly meaningful as a career choice. Key's direct care positions are time limited to 18 months in duration. Within this set amount of time, Key provides an intensive learning opportunity for staff to explore the field of human services and to begin to learn the skills and educational requirements that are needed to pursue a human service-related career. Key is a stepping stone in the human service field. Direct care staff can be promoted within Key into supervisory or clinical roles or they may take the experience and skills they have received at Key and move on to pursue other human service related jobs such as teachers, police officers, guidance counselors, probation officers, school adjustment counselors, etc. We also note in our job postings, and review in interviews, that our staff must have a personal vehicle that is legally registered and insured, for work use. When using a personal vehicle for work use, the staff maintain a mileage log and upon submitting it each month, they are reimbursed .40 cents per mile. The extend of our staff required driving may be to pick up or drop off a child/youth at school, bring them to and from a medical appointment, run an errand to a grocery/department store or pharmacy, or to bring the children/youth to a local place in the community for a recreational activity. As an additional benefit, Key offers a discounted annual AAA membership to all staff. We understand that not everyone is up to the challenges and demands of a human service job; however, we do wish you the best in your future endeavors.