Direct Support Professional I

Job Summary

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 effective communication at all levels and recognize issues and situations that require notification and communication to others.
• Ability to meet the highest standard for ethical and professional conduct towards all.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Must be able to work a variable scheduling including evenings and weekends
• The following physical demands are required:
  • Occasional sitting (up to 4 hours)
  • Occasional standing (up to 1 hour)
  • Occasional walking (up to 2.5 hours)
  • Occasional driving (up to 8 hours)
  • Continuous balancing (up to 8 hours)
  • Occasional balancing, bending, stooping, climbing, kneeling, pushing, pulling, reaching forward or down, reaching overhead, running, and twisting (up to 2.5 hours)
  • Weekly lifting up to 50 lbs. (community-based staff may be required to lift an empty wheelchair weighing up to 50 lbs.), 10-15 lbs. on a daily basis
  • Weekly carrying up to 55 lbs. approximately 10-100 ft., 10-15 lbs. on a daily basis
• Manual dexterity is required, including the frequent ability to grasp in both hands and continuous use of fine manipulation skills in both hands (approximately 1-2.5 hrs.)
• Occasional exposure to change in temperature, dust, fumes, gases or chemicals is apparent. 
• Protective clothing or equipment as required: close toed shoes, protective shields, universal precaution PPE and gloves for toileting and food preparation
• Ability to change positions as needed

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

• May be required to physically restrain clients weighing between 50 and 300 lbs. and guide them safely to the floor using Strategies for Crisis Intervention and Prevention (SCIP) approved techniques. In some circumstances, restraints can last up to 15 minutes and may require repetition as necessary.

$18.50 Minimum pay rate, $24.00 Maximum pay rate, based on experience.