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Community Research Foundation

Engaged employer

Don't expect to get good support here. - Mental Health Clinician Community Research Foundation Employee Review

3.0
7 Mar 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

* The camaraderie is incredible. People genuinely care about the clients. In tough situations, your coworkers will support you. Management might not, but your coworkers will. *You will get a lot of valuable experience working with a really broad spectrum of mental illnesses and populations. You'll learn a lot on the job. If your passion is community mental health and high acuity populations, you'll definitely see a lot of things here and get the experience. *If you're trying to rack up your hours for licensure, you'll get it pretty quickly. The ratio ends up being 50/50 direct service/admin hours for outpatient. You'll only get a higher ratio by working inpatient. *If you stick around long enough, you will move up the ranks quickly. Given the hiring challenges the company is having right now, you would likely be able to argue a higher wage if you have the right experience.

Cons

*You will be overworked and underpaid. This is true of most community mental health, unfortunately. *You will have minimal control over your schedule, who you work with, and how your day goes. You will be double booked and expected to randomly cut appointments short in order to meet with more people. *The training that is offered is limited and more indicative of what corporate wants you to be doing with clients to maintain operational efficiency and limit liability, not to foster clinical growth. * The productivity expectation is unreasonable and unachievable, but you will be personally blamed and publicly shamed for not meeting the expectation. Documentation, travel time, supervision, admin, training, and no-shows do not count toward your productivity. If you have a no-show, the expectation is that you are supposed to scramble to find something else to do, whether or not it is in your job description. You will often actively be asked to do things that are outside your role and scope. *The processes for admin duties are frequently changed without clear communication. Many admin tasks such as maintaining various logs can be redundant and intensely time-consuming, and time spent does not count toward productivity despite being necessary for clinic operations. * Supervision is limited and you will need to advocate for yourself intensely in order to get sufficient supervision time to log your hours at a correct ratio. Despite being legally necessary for you to be able to see clients if you are an associate, it will not be counted toward your productivity. You will also be required to attend treatment team meetings that will not count toward your productivity. * Documentation is expected to be concurrent and collaborative but also highly detailed and completely unique for each client contact. Not every client is capable of meaningfully participating in the creation of documentation (for example, due to cognitive capacity or outright denial of diagnosis), but that doesn't matter. The expectation is the same across the board. Most people I worked with were either behind on documentation or doing it off the clock to maintain timeliness standards. That's not sustainable. *All benefits were cut for part-time employees, and the benefits were a huge reason to even work for this type of company in the first place. Now, there is no health insurance, paid time off, or loan repayment. Of all the expenses to cut to make the company "sustainable", as the email announcing this change claimed, how does undercutting already underpaid employees lead to retention? I've known multiple people who were forced to leave the company because they needed health insurance, couldn't afford the buy-in the company was offering, and were ineligible for other affordable insurance because they were in the no-mans-land of salary range.

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Community Research Foundation Response
2y
The system of care in the State of California is undergoing a complete overhaul, and it has impacted how ALL service providers are required to operate. CRF is working diligently to find the best way to improve our services to clients while meeting the demands of the system. We realize the transition has been difficult for some, but our mission to serve our community to the best of our ability remains unchanged. Under no circumstances are off-the-clock hours permitted, and when requested, additional paid time has been approved. We have provided additional training, supports, and resources to help our staff adjust to the new normal of managed care. Benefit changes mentioned were actually discontinued due to lack of interest and participation; we continue to have one of the best benefit programs and actively look for additional options throughout the year.

Explore other reviews about Community Research Foundation

5.0
24 Jan 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

As CRF is a non profit somethings CRF has to abide by the contracts of the county. CRF offers amazing benefits and the opportunity to learn from an amazing group of people.

Cons

It's tough but rewarding work.

2.0
2 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Mission-Driven Work: If you are passionate about working with vulnerable populations and individuals with Serious Mental Illness (SMI), the clinical experience here is excellent. Supportive Culture: The coworkers are friendly, and the organization’s overarching mission remains genuinely patient-centric.

Cons

Stagnant Compensation: The pay is significantly below industry standards, trailing the market average by roughly 15% to 30%. Flawed Pay Structure: Management pays the same hourly rate to both Full-Time and PRN nurses. This is highly unusual and effectively penalizes PRN staff who do not receive the benefits package afforded to full-time employees. Lack of Representation & Growth: There is no clear path for upward mobility for RNs. Furthermore, the Board and Executive leadership are composed entirely of administrators and clinicians, with zero RN or MD representation at the executive level (with exception of the DoN) Ethical Concerns regarding Billing: There is a heavy emphasis on "billing" clients a minimum amount per shift. This requirement exists regardless of whether the billing is clinically necessary, creating a high-pressure environment that arguably fosters insurance fraud. Failure to meet these arbitrary billing quotas results in disciplinary action, including write-ups and Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs).

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