BATAVIA, Ohio — There’s a workforce crisis in Clermont County. Agencies that care for people with developmental disabilities are having trouble finding enough Bruce Manions to go around.
Manion, a direct care professional for Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled (LADD), has had a lot of jobs in his life, but none as rewarding as the one he has now.
“It’s the most rewarding," Manion says. He especially likes "helping to get them out to enjoy life and not be stuck inside all the time.”
"You learn from the individuals also," he says. "If nothing else, they teach you patience because they are patiently waiting all the time.”
Dave Sutter of ResCare Ohio says Manion and others who work in group homes and day programs get to make a difference in somebody’s life everyday.
"You just don’t find that in other lines of work,” Sutter says.
But there are challenges, too.
Manion says one of the biggest obstacles to recruiting is the pay. He estimates the starting wage in this area is about $11 per hour.
And some workers don't stay long, Manion says.
“They’re there a short time, then they find something that pays better or it’s not what they thought it was going to be. Hence, this turnover. It continues,” he says.
The worker shortage extends statewide, says Sutter.
“It’s a huge problem. In some locations it is better than others, but we have certain locations that the staffing crisis is very real,” Sutter says.
Clermont County is holding job fairs and putting ads on Spotify and Pandora to try to attract new workers who are the right fit for the job. Not everybody is, says Dan Ottke, superintendent of Clermont County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
“It’s a situation where it’s very, very rewarding work, but I would say it’s not work for maybe everybody," Ottke said.
Manion can tell who is and who isn't right for the job.
“You have to find the people whose heart is more in it than their wallet,” he says.
