iBarty
LunaInverse
So I almost walked out of work last night.
Needless to say, the union representative is going to find what I have to tell him very interesting.
Hmmm...
Well, this will require a bit of background information.
In residential programs where there are more than one client, there is something called ratio that's part of the contract with EEC (The Department of Early Education and Care). The EEC is the agency that licenses programs like mine.
Ratio refers to the number of staff needed in the program per number of girls (for example, a ratio of 1 to 3 means the program needs 1 staff person for every 3 clients).
Now, in my particular program, our ratio is 1 to 6, EXCEPT on overnights, where it's 1 to 8. The reason for the overnight difference is that most of the girls and their kids are asleep.
Right now, in my program, we have 14 girls. We have no full time 2nd shift staff (positions have been getting filled by relief staff), and half the time our supervisors aren't even there.
So with 14 girls in the program, we NEED to have at least 3 staff on shift, until 11 pm, when the girls have to go to their rooms. But, from 10pm-11pm is when the girls have to do chores. And I'm the one in charge of checking chores. So that means for about half an hour, I have to be out on the floor watching the girls. Just imagine how difficult it is for 1 staff to monitor 14 girls as they do their chores, AND make sure they don't break any of the other rules of the program.
So I come in at 10 pm, and there's 4 staff in the program. One staff I know is off at 10pm, and another I knew was leaving at 10pm because she had just started up her car (remote starter). So I figured it would be me, the new girl (it was only her 3rd shift), and one of the relief staff, or so I thought. And then the relief staff started to put on her coat. And I was confused.
"So, who's staying with me and Renee until 11pm?"
I was told that one of the supervisors had called and said that it was ok for ratio to be just 2 of us at 10pm.
Two staff...with 14 girls, all of whom were awake AND has to do their chores...and one of the staff had only worked a few shifts before and was still learning how the program runs.
Oh, ******** no. No one is pulling that s**t on me. I almost walked out right then and there. But I decided to call the on-call supervisor (different person from the one who said ratio at 10pm was ok to be just two of us), and asked her "When did ratio change for 2nd shift!?"
So after telling me that supposedly the other supervisor told HER that she had called to ask the case manager to stay until 11pm (and she hadn't), the on-call asked the case manager to stay. Liars. And don't even get me started on our interim site director.
Oh, I am so ******** pissed that the supervisors feel they can change the rules when it's convenient for THEM, but the DSAs (what the regular staff are called) have to pick up the slack and get denied their holiday time that they EARNED as part of our contract...
If I can, I am taking the management of my program down. I've stayed silent long enough. I'm ready to attempt a coup. ******** them.
