At my agency, you can do "contract hours", which means that you can work extra evening hours (not to be confused with Extra Magic Hours at Disney World) on top of your regular job and get paid over and above your salary. It's sort of like doing private practice work for those hours. Anyways, you can do this only when you get your independent license - which, by the way, I have now. Boo-yah baby.
Ahem. Anyways....
So I officially put in my request to do this earlier this week. The nights you are allowed to see clients for contract hours (read= extra pay) are Mondays and Thursdays. Or so I thought. Yes, you can work on Monday nights, but this is for UR (utilization rate - in the world of community mental health in Ohio, since the agency is partly funded by state dollars, you are expected to provide a certain number of hours of service to your clients yearly to help the agency earn revenue and keep funding in place. My UR is 936 hours for a year.). This means that the extra hours work toward making UR. Making UR is a big deal - it affects your job security, and beyond that, it affects getting a bonus at the end of the year. I've been fortunate to always get a bonus since I always make my UR. On Thursday nights you can do contract hours for pay. The problem is this: I already work on Thursday nights doing the Parent Project. This class takes place for 10 weeks at a time, so I'd only be able to see more clients 36 Thursdays a year. That's a problem when you discuss continuity of care. Might not be so brilliant an idea to tell a suicidal client I can't see them for the next 10 weeks because I'm teaching a class and won't be available. The other issue is this: you have to be making your UR to be able to do the contract hours. I make my UR August-May. I don't usually make much UR in June and July because I'm not seeing many clients since school is out and my clients don't want me to do home visits over the summer (at least, not many of them).
So that further means I'd really only be able to see them a couple of months a year since my UR tapers off and doesn't pick up again until November (since I have to make up the deficit I accrue over the summer).
I was turned down for approval. I was told this is because they have never let anybody else work Monday nights for contract hours since it would muddle up the issue of who gets paid when and out of what pot.
Okay, setting aside that I have no idea what that means, the bigger issue is that other people do, in fact, work on Monday nights for contract hours and get paid. Apparently the administrators just don't know about this since these time sheets are turned into our billing department and the billing department just cuts the checks without having the administrators look into this.
From my perspective, it seems like an arbitrary rule. I'm sure there's a reason, but I feel like this is strange to be told I can't work more. I know every agency has budgets they have to follow, but how many people really want to work two nights a week plus their 40 hour jobs in the day? And, we currently have a waiting list of 116 people for outpatient, office-based counseling services. Granted, I can't put a big dent in that with taking on two clients, but every little bit helps.
I sort of feel penalized that I tried to follow the rules. And this has led to the rekindling in my mind of wanting to look for another job. I was satisfied to stay here indefinitely at this point, unless the dream job became available (which is to work as a counselor at a Christian university where I can use my faith in providing counseling to students - my favorite client population), but now I think I'll just resume the job search so that I can move on at the end of the year. I feel like that's petty, but I want the extra money. I was told I could do the contract hours when the Parent Project is over, but again, that'd be really inconsistent for the clients I do take on. Plus, I want to do both because both afford me extra pay.
So, I'm frustrated. And that calls for a silly post taken from an email forward. Enjoy:
THINGS ABOUT ME YOU MAY HAVE NOT KNOWN
Ahem. Anyways....
So I officially put in my request to do this earlier this week. The nights you are allowed to see clients for contract hours (read= extra pay) are Mondays and Thursdays. Or so I thought. Yes, you can work on Monday nights, but this is for UR (utilization rate - in the world of community mental health in Ohio, since the agency is partly funded by state dollars, you are expected to provide a certain number of hours of service to your clients yearly to help the agency earn revenue and keep funding in place. My UR is 936 hours for a year.). This means that the extra hours work toward making UR. Making UR is a big deal - it affects your job security, and beyond that, it affects getting a bonus at the end of the year. I've been fortunate to always get a bonus since I always make my UR. On Thursday nights you can do contract hours for pay. The problem is this: I already work on Thursday nights doing the Parent Project. This class takes place for 10 weeks at a time, so I'd only be able to see more clients 36 Thursdays a year. That's a problem when you discuss continuity of care. Might not be so brilliant an idea to tell a suicidal client I can't see them for the next 10 weeks because I'm teaching a class and won't be available. The other issue is this: you have to be making your UR to be able to do the contract hours. I make my UR August-May. I don't usually make much UR in June and July because I'm not seeing many clients since school is out and my clients don't want me to do home visits over the summer (at least, not many of them).
So that further means I'd really only be able to see them a couple of months a year since my UR tapers off and doesn't pick up again until November (since I have to make up the deficit I accrue over the summer).
I was turned down for approval. I was told this is because they have never let anybody else work Monday nights for contract hours since it would muddle up the issue of who gets paid when and out of what pot.
Okay, setting aside that I have no idea what that means, the bigger issue is that other people do, in fact, work on Monday nights for contract hours and get paid. Apparently the administrators just don't know about this since these time sheets are turned into our billing department and the billing department just cuts the checks without having the administrators look into this.
From my perspective, it seems like an arbitrary rule. I'm sure there's a reason, but I feel like this is strange to be told I can't work more. I know every agency has budgets they have to follow, but how many people really want to work two nights a week plus their 40 hour jobs in the day? And, we currently have a waiting list of 116 people for outpatient, office-based counseling services. Granted, I can't put a big dent in that with taking on two clients, but every little bit helps.
I sort of feel penalized that I tried to follow the rules. And this has led to the rekindling in my mind of wanting to look for another job. I was satisfied to stay here indefinitely at this point, unless the dream job became available (which is to work as a counselor at a Christian university where I can use my faith in providing counseling to students - my favorite client population), but now I think I'll just resume the job search so that I can move on at the end of the year. I feel like that's petty, but I want the extra money. I was told I could do the contract hours when the Parent Project is over, but again, that'd be really inconsistent for the clients I do take on. Plus, I want to do both because both afford me extra pay.
So, I'm frustrated. And that calls for a silly post taken from an email forward. Enjoy:
THINGS ABOUT ME YOU MAY HAVE NOT KNOWN
FOUR JOBS I'VE HAD IN MY LIFE
1) Worked at McDonald's
2) Cashier at the local IGA
3) Worked at a canoe livery
4) Entered insurance policy information for commercial policies
FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED
1) Perrysville, OH.
2) Ashland, OH.
3) Jeromesville, OH.
4) I'm boring. I only live in a 20 mile radius in a certain section of Ohio.
FOUR TV SHOWS I LIKE
1) LOST
2) Grey's Anatomy
3) Top Chef
4) Biggest Loser
FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN ON VACATION
1) Disney World
2) Grand Cayman Island
3) Gettysburg, PA
4) San Francisco
FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS
1) Mashed Potatoes
2) Shrimp
3) Spaghetti
4) Cheese Nips
I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW
1) At Disney World
2) Hawaii
3) NYC
4) In bed
FOUR PLACES I LIKE TO SHOP
1) Kohls
2) Hobby Lobby
3) Lane Bryant Outlet
4) Disney World
FOUR THINGS I AM AFRAID OF
1) Spiders
2) Taking a shower when no one else is home
3) Dying in a car accident
4) Financial difficulties
MY FAVORITE BEVERAGES
1) Milk (2%)
2) Pepsi
3) Lemonade
4) Virgin Strawberry Daquiri
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