Direct Support Professional I-Lehigh B IRA-Overnights

Job Summary

Shift: Thursday-Saturday 10:00 pm to 7:00am 

The Direct Support Professional I partners with a team of skilled professionals and families to provide services that are family-driven, youth-guided, trauma-informed, and culturally competent to help youth reach their full potential.  This role creates a safe, nurturing, and peaceful environment that provides opportunities for the successful development of life skills and social skills for youth and families receiving services. 

Essential Job functions

• Provide supervision and care to the individuals they serve, assisting with their daily living skills according to established program standards and follow all applicable safety and mandated reporting protocols. 
• Develop, implement, monitor, and report on treatment objectives and modalities that are utilized to support the individuals' goals.  Assess the effectiveness of individual care plans (e.g., behavior, safety, treatment, and routine support plan).

• Build professional relationships with peers that support individual development and success.

• Provide purposeful activities, based on the individual’s current developmental level that foster skill development to help them prepare for transitions and interactions in the community.

• Monitor participating individual’s emotional and behavior status and document accordingly. 

• Partner with the family-driven treatment team to ensure all decisions are made in the best interest of the youth.

• Complete all required documentation according to established policies and regulations. 

• Follow established procedures for passing/administering medications to individuals receiving services.

• Maintain daily communication with appropriate staff to ensure relevant behaviors and/or concerns are shared in order to support client needs. This includes timely documentation and notifications to families and funders.

• Recognize escalated youth behavior and effectively apply the continuum of crisis prevention and intervention through verbal and non-verbal de-escalation skills to reduce risk, which may include the use of protective interventions and physical restraints.

• Promote participant learning through reflective practice in collaboration with the treatment team to ensure lasting outcomes.

• Execute a wide variety of support tasks, including transporting for medical appointments, various housekeeping duties, administration of medication and managing petty cash.

• Execute staff training initiatives.

• Transport youth as required.

• While this job description covers many aspects of the role, employees may be required to perform other duties as assigned.

   

Education & Experience

• High School Diploma or GED required.

Special Requirements

• Successful completion of Approved Medication Administrative Personnel (AMAP) training within 1 year to meet the health needs of the individuals in care. 

• CPR certification required or obtained within 60 days of hire.

• Unrestricted, valid NYS driver’s license for minimum of 1 year with a clean driving record and minimum insurance coverage that meets agency standards preferred.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

In addition to demonstrating the Hillside Professional Competencies of Communicates Effectively, Personal Excellence, Cultural Competence, Builds and Leverages Relationships and Optimizes Decision Making, the following occupational competencies must be demonstrated:

• Demonstrate the emotional competence and good judgment required to build productive, engaged children, youth, staff and family relationships while implementing required rules, expectations and routines.

• Ability to complete all required documentation in timely fashion according to established policies and regulations.  This is an essential function in order to facilitate the efficient and effective flow of information necessary for the program to be effectively managed and outcomes optimized.

• Ability to recognize and address escalating and dysregulated youth behavior, and utilize training provided in behavior management and Strategies for Crisis Intervention and Prevention (SCIP), including the use of physical interventions (holds).

• Demonstrate problem-solving and conflict resolution skills with self and others.

• Understand importance of effectiv