Residential Support Staff - Child & Youth Program

Responsible for the care and supervision of residents, and in ensuring that a therapeutic environment is maintained in conformity to health, safety, and nutrition requirements. Adheres to the core values and trauma sensitive practices and presents as a role model for the youth in the community residence and community.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide individualized care and supervision of each resident.
• Model positive behaviors and implement the core values.
• Use strength-based intervention, communication and practices to build assets/resiliency.
• Provide a therapeutic milieu and promote appropriate socialization.
• Creates a warm, caring, home-like environment by modeling responsibility and pride in performing household duties.
• Employs trauma-sensitive practices.
• Promotes family involvement and reunification as appropriate, especially through regular and on-going communication with families, strength-based approaches, and creative strategies to strengthen child/family relationships
• Ensures that the physical needs of each resident are available (i.e. adequate food, shelter, clothing).
• Assists in residence household duties (general cleaning, laundry, shopping, meal planning, and preparation); train and supervise children in developing these skills.
• Provides individual assessment and instruction to the residents in daily living skills, and instructs/assists the residents with personal grooming.
• Participates in the service contract planning and review, and assists in the delivery of services as designated on the service contract.
• Prepares nutritionally sound meals each day in conjunction with scheduled meal plan.
• Monitors medication regimes and adherence to physicians’ instructions, and provides emergency referral and First Aid care as needed.
• Provides transportation and escort of residents to off-site programs and services, and monitors residents’ attendance/participation in Social and Recreational Activities.
• Provides informal one-to-one supportive counseling.
• Intervenes and assists in crisis situations.
• Completes individual self-preservation tests.
• Reports incidents, occurrences, or untoward events to the supervisors as soon as they occur and complete appropriate agency paperwork (entry in progress note, log, or internal incident report).
• Participates in and conducts monthly fire drills and residence evacuation procedures.
• Participates in staff, team, and house meetings, in resident orientation and familiarization.
• Attends appropriate training and in-service seminars in accordance with the agency and OMH requirements.
• Completes all assigned documentation in a timely fashion
• Attends appropriate training and in-service seminars in accordance with agency personnel policies.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Specific to the Night Shift: secures the residence for the night; conducts bed checks as procedures indicate; prepares nutritionally sound lunches for off-site programming, school, etc., as needed; completes all housekeeping tasks, and personal and household laundry as needed. This is an overnight AWAKE position.

Associate degree in human services and one year related experience and/or training working with seriously emotionally disturbed children, adolescents, and their families or High school diploma or General Education Degree (GED), and 2 years related experience and/or training.