Raise The Age (RTA) Support Professional - Snell Farm - Flex

Job Summary

The RTA (Raise the Age) Support Professional assists in the care and treatment of youth and families through providing rehabilitative services for young offenders, reducing recidivism and protecting adolescents from potentially traumatic or violent encounters in adult prisons. The RTA Support Professional partners in service with youth and families to facilitate the development of skills needed for the youth to reach their full potential and safely return to their community. 

Essential Job functions

• Engage youth and families in trust-based, productive relationships to help them prepare for transitions, interactions in the community, and promote respect and independence.
• Participate as a member of a multidisciplinary team in order to facilitate positive and effective outcomes which include improving community safety and reducing recidivism post-discharge.
• Partners with a multidisciplinary team to deliver evidenced-based services that are relationship based, competence centered, trauma-informed, ecologically oriented and culturally competent.
• Provide supervision according to youth’s individual home and community safety plan.
• Support the day to day functioning of the residents by helping to create and maintain an atmosphere of warmth and safety.
• Partner within designated service teams to develop individualized treatment and behavior management plans aimed at assisting youth to achieve their personal goals and objectives and support the implementation of such plans.
• Utilize a Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) framework for treatment of youth which includes focusing supervision and services on high risk behaviors and addressing youth’s greatest criminogenic needs through consultation with clinician and treatment team.
• Lead groups focused on development of life skills including healthy sexual behavior, identifying and eliminating thinking errors, college application process and job interview process.
• Identify youth’s barriers to learning and improve his/her behavior through tailoring services to develop skills needed to overcome them.
• Oversee activities, ensure the safety of the youth assigned and maintain thorough awareness of all procedures relating to emergencies. 
• Maintain current knowledge of the youths’ emotional/behavioral status, provide input regarding the progress of treatment goals, and support youth/family interactions with family and local community.
• Recognize dysregulated youth behavior and utilize the continuum of verbal and nonverbal de-escalation skills up to and including the use of physical restraints consistent with Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) techniques.
• Recognize issues and situations that require notification and communications to others.
• Complete all assigned responsibilities including all required written and verbal documentation, reports, log entries and administrative tasks as required.
• Perform a wide variety of support tasks including transportation and medication administration.
• 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
• Minimum 18 months’ work experience in residential care environment required

Special Requirements

• 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.  

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:

• Ability to demonstrate the emotional confidence and good judgment required to build productive, engaged youth and family relationships while implementing required rules 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 utilizing training provided in behavior management and Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) including the use of physical interventions (holds).
• Demonstrate problem-solving and conflict resolution skills with self and 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 2 hours)
  • 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 temperature changes, 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 lbs. and 300 lbs. and guide them safely to the floor. In some circumstances, restraints can last up to 15 minutes and may require repetition as necessary.

$21.00 Minimum pay rate, $29.50 Maximum pay rate, based on experience. This pay rate may include a Regional and/or Department premium.