Youth Care Specialist

Job description

Make a lasting impact by mentoring and guiding youth through their daily routines in a supportive residential setting. You’ll help build life skills, foster positive behaviors, and create a safe, engaging atmosphere where growth and healing happen every day.

Job Details

• Position Title: Youth Care Specialist / Youth Care Specialist Senior / Youth Care Coordinator
• Responsible To: Assistant Treatment Director
• Responsible For: Providing a positive role model for children to emulate. Supervising children throughout their daily routine in adherence with the treatment milieu and in coordination with the agency’s mission.
• Minimum Qualifications: High School Graduate or Equivalent
• Basic Minimum Qualifications: Must be able to make fair, sound and reasonable decisions, follow directions of supervisor, use good communication, and be able to ensure a safe and secure environment for residents. Must be physically able to restrain a child in case of imminent danger to him or others.

Function

Providing a positive role model for youth to emulate. Supervising daily activities ensuring safe and secure environment. Teaching youth social skills and daily living skills to help them be successful upon their discharge from treatment.

Responsibilities

1. Functions as a surrogate parent to children; overseeing, assisting, participating with and maintaining children during a daily routine which includes: wake up, hygienic and grooming tasks, schoolwork and homework, meals, activities, chores, therapy and counseling groups as well as off- site activities such as eating out, going to church or shopping.
2. Provides therapeutic interventions to residents as part of the facility’s Therapeutic Behavioral Services (TBS) and/or Psychosocial Rehabilitation (PSR) services (mentoring, crisis interventions, teaching youth social skills, daily living and other life skills). Provides individual support to assigned youth in accordance with their Individual Service Plan.
3. When providing TBS/PSR services, documents the interactions through accurate and timely session notes.
4. Provides a positive role model for children to emulate.
5. Supervises all children at all times during their shift according to the agency’s policies. Ensures a safe and secure environment for residents, staff and visitors.
6. Documents all reportable incidents; documents daily observations, special occurrence(s), and the youth’s response(s) in the daily log.
7. Carries out fair and balanced consequences according to treatment milieu.
8. Assists in the fulfillment of the agency’s vision and mission for those we serve by empowering individuals to thrive as healthy, self-sufficient and contributing members of our communities.
9. Completes child abuse referrals as required of all mandated reporters.
10. Maintains positive community relations with parents, other agencies, case workers, probation officers and youth family members.
11. Attends staff meetings and trainings as required.
12. Performs other duties as assigned.
13. Senior Youth Care Specialist and Youth Care Coordinator are responsible for staff supervision duties as assigned.