Has anyone worked with the Mental health/retardation field for adults?

I just started as a case worker and everyone is quitting! I have never worked in this field and the clients can get violent! Tell me about your experience...should I stay?

Working with mentally and developmentally disabled clients is a very difficult job to do. It is stressful and chaotic and takes a special person to do the work. It must be something you are passionate about learning about and you must take care of yourself personally above all else. People all over are stressed out because of the difficulty of the job and county and state funding requirements in this field.
It is work that needs to be done and is rewarding in more personal ways. I love the work with the clients, but dislike the politics. There is much to consider in determining your commitment to the field.

I think you if you took the job for money or experience you should leave. If you took it to help them, then you might find it rewarding despite the issues.

I put in 20 years in various venues, and would have to say that being a MHMR Case Manager was among the most difficult and least satisfying.

I certainly had violent clients-in fact I was attacked in my office. I was just about to brain this individual with a desk lamp when my colleagues intervened.

But what made the job the most difficult is the sense of entitlment so many individuals who suffer from chronic mental illness have. Sooner or later you will get the client who believes they are entitled to whatever they want, and if they don't get it, it's your fault. I've known them to make complaints to Quality Assurance when they didn't get Medicaid the first time they applied for it, or the caseworker refused to give them a ride in their private car. It's very often the parent of an adult child raising all the hell. After awhile, it becomes rather demoralizing. Especially with condenscending psychiatrists and nurse-practitioners thrown in for good measure.

My experience has been that a) case loads expand constantly, b) case workers either stay for a career or leave after only several years for more civilized territory and c) administrators are often as loopy as the consumers.

I have been working in a psychiatric hospital on a unit that works with developmentally disabled clients. I think that you'll find that the staff turnover rate is quite high when working with this population, no matter where you go. The truth is that this is tough work, especially since many of the clients are victims of abuse.
My first bit of advice is that you should make sure you take a class on ways to de-escalate clients or safely restrain clients, especially since you are working with some clients who are violent. Your place of employment or local DMR office may offer some training. (Remember to never tackle these situations alone!) This training may help you to feel more confident when working with violent individuals.
I'm not sure about whether or not you should stay...That's something you need to decide on yourself. Here's some questions you might want to ask yourself:

Do I feel that some aspects of this job are rewarding?
Do I feel like I am being helpful to others?
Do I enjoy certain aspects of this job?

In my experience, I have found it rewarding to sit down with my clients and just lend an open ear. I let them share their thoughts and I just try to use my therapeutic communication skills.
I hope that this information helps.
Best wishes,
Miche