Behavioral Therapist-Bcba

Job Overview of Behavior Therapist-BCBA

This position is responsible for guiding and implementing behavioral interventions to youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or other comorbid disorders within the residential setting. This position will work closely with their assigned care team for each resident which is made up of clinical staff and direct services professionals. Our program has an integrated therapuetic approach that includes applying Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) principles, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques, and focus on trauma-informed care and sensory/body regulation. This position includes completing adaptive skill assessments, determining which areas are of priority need for intervention, providing effective interventions for practice around ADLs, and maintenance of adaptive skills from being dependent to independent in carrying ADLs and other independent living skills (ILS). The behavior therapist will also have a unique opportunity to work on carrying out Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support (PBIS) strategies in the residential cottage to further improve learning and decrease problem behavior. The Behavior Therapist will be responsible for both collecting data on resident’s behaviors and making data-driven decisions on individual intervention strategies. Proposed interventions will be developmentally appropriate, evidence- based and directly feed in to Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs).

This position works directly with children as staff will teach, supervise, and provide close supervision and support to the children during all Activities of Daily Living (ADL). This position will be responsible to plan and implement both individual sessions on a caseload and group sessions to teach and reinforce children’s adaptive skills and self-confidence in generalizing these adaptive skills across time, people, and settings. In addition, the Behavior Therapist will develop and strengthen their training/presentation expertise to support and teach their care team members and coach caregivers, working collaboratively in the interdisciplinary milieu treatment team (including OT, PT, social work, psychiatry, nurses). Additional professional opportunities are available to further advance experience, profession, and training.

Schedule: 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM, Monday thru Thurs. Friday: 9:00AM to 5:00 PM

Essential Duties of Behavior Therapist (BCBA)

• Understanding and supporting the agency’s mission & treatment philosophy; Supports overall strategic plan of the organization

• Treats all children, families and co-workers with respect & courtesy
• Demonstrates & models sensitivity to cultural background of children, families and co-workers
• Honors Sanctuary Commitments in all day-to-day activities
• Effectively manages behavioral interventions for residential children:

Able to complete and implement comprehensive FBAs and BIPs that integrates various principles of ABA, CBT, and with a trauma-informed lens

Collecting/recording behavioral data, interpreting results and drawing meaning to update or modify BIPs

Ability to learn and coach students in social skills, emotion regulation and body regulation strategies

• Supports interdisciplinary care team to understand the behavioral data and how to implement the BIP and why adherence is important
• Able to identify target behaviors for children and work collaboratively with interdisciplinary treatment team to address target behaviors through interdisciplinary interventions

• Able to help support Residence Manager to develop effective PBIS interventions that responds to varying levels of functioning of children
• Able to help team collect, maintain, and interpret data as part of effective treatment planning
• Able to facilitate and collaborate with the residential team to conduct social and llife skills groups, other weekly residential groups, and restorative circles
• Works effectively and well with interdisciplinary team members and families:
  • Able to work respectfully and collaboratively with parents and family members and hold restorative conversations to re-build relationships and to understand the impact of incidents
  • Works closely with psychologist, OTR, clinical social workers, and program managers as a team, ensuring that methodologies used support and work well with each other
• Completes documentation requirements timely and ensures reporting is completed in a clear, accurate, and timely fashion
• Ensures integrity checks of BIPs and target behaviors are tracked, communicated and documented in a systematic manner, in conjunction with the treatment planning team
• Ensures ANDRUS utilizes any and all technology to track positive changes in behavior
• Integrates self-regulation antecedent and consequence strategies into the BIP
• Able to document services and programs surrounding ADLs and of tracking ADL data over time
• Ensures that program wide material is visual, clear, and developmentally appropriate
• Support Overall Strategic plan of the organization
• Ability to adhere to our organization’s core values and commitments

Essential Qualifications of Behavior Therapist (BCBA)

• A Master's Degree in Education or Psychology and BCBA certified or eligible
• Minimum of one years’ experience and working with individuals with Autism and/or comorbid diagnoses.
• Knowledge and/or experience working with children who have autism and/or range of comorbid psychiatric challenges, learning challenges, trauma histories, and sensory needs.
• Ability to work as part of an interdisciplinary team in a high paced, demanding, creative, and collaborative environment.
• Commitment and ability to practice the commitments of the Sanctuary Model.
• Participate in ongoing professional development
• Able and willing to receive constructive feedback and set and strive towards goals.
• Excellent organizational and writing skills.
• Charismatic or a good speaker and has the ability to teach or co-teach concepts and strategies.
• Preferred Experience: working in a Residential Setting
• Must be able to work with other philosophies and approaches in a collaborative manner
• Adherence to all policies and procedures; punctual and regular attendance as scheduled.
• Ability to access and utilize ADP app on smartphone or other device for access to agency programs

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only job duties to be performed by the incumbent. Staff will be required to follow any other instructions and to perform any other duties requested by his or her supervisor.

Benefits of Behavior Therapist (BCBA)

• Generous PTO, 4 weeks of vacation, floating holidays, holidays, personal and sick time
• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Benefits
• 401(k) Employer Contributions
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Aflac Benefits
• Flex Spending Accounts
• Employer Paid STD, LTD and Life Insurance
• Professional Development

Physical/Travel Requirements

• Valid NYS Driver’s License
• Physical Requirements:
• Reach
• Walk
• Climb Stairs
• Bend

The employee must be able to meet these requirements with or without a reasonable accommodation.

Disclaimer

Nothing in this job description restricts Andrus’ right to modify the duties/responsibilities of this job at any time, with or without advanced notice.

EEO Statement

Andrus is an equal opportunity employer.