Residential Counselor Per Diem 3889

EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Per Diem

SCHEDULED HOURS: As needed

PROGRAM: Woodbridge House

SITE LOCATION: Coventry, CT

MISSION: Child Residential Programs provide 24 hour care for children and adolescents who need this level of care due to complex emotional and behavioral issues. The programs provide stabilization, clinical assessment and treatment, child care, education around daily living skills, recreational and therapeutic activities, educational linkage and support, case management and coordination of care. Programs provide a family involved, trauma informed, and strengths-based approach to care.

SCOPE:

Direct care of children and/or adolescents in placement with a wide range of responsibility for program activities, child supervision and safety skills. Because of the life experiences and trauma histories that our residents bring to their placement here, staff must not only provide adequate safety and supervision, but must be actively engaged in the process of building relationships, understanding and solving problems as part of a team, and must offer energy, safety and commitment in their work with our residents through genuine, caring and empathic engagement. The programs support family treatment and involvement. Providing facilitation, supervision, and support for visits and family connections with parents, relatives and other significant people in the lives of our youth.

ACCOUNTABLE AND RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FOLLOWING RESULTS:

• Provide a safe, nurturing, caring atmosphere for youth who reside in the homes.
• Work within program policy and guidelines to provide program services.
• Demonstrates an understanding of child development relevant to the age group of the home worked in, demonstrates an understanding of the actual developmental levels of youth in the home, and intervenes to promote development and adjusts expectations by taking into account developmental understanding.
• Demonstrates an understanding of the importance of family/kinship connections to youth in our homes and supports those connections by welcoming parents, relatives, and caregivers on visits and facilitating planned contacts with families in the program, the community, and the family/relative home.
• Demonstrates an ability to form and maintain positive, nurturing relationships with youth by building trust and supporting competencies through interest and active engagement.
• Demonstrates the ability to teach and support the learning of a broad range of skills including those related to: emotional regulation, age appropriate activities and competencies, and living in a home-like setting. Plan and actively participate in activities to support and increase skills and competencies.
• Demonstrates an empathic understanding of complex trauma and its effects including abuse, loss, and neglect that youth bring to placement. Incorporating that understanding in interactions with youth and responses to pain based behavior.
• Demonstrates an awareness of the physical and emotional environment by contributing to the home being a place that is emotionally and physically safe, nurturing, appropriately engaging and stimulating, which fosters growth and resilience.
• Support routines of youth through assisting and supervising wake-up, bedtime, personal care routines, completion of chores and laundry, meals, meal preparation, recreational activities, homework supervision and assistance.
• Work as part of a team to identify needs and strategies to meet those needs. Implement identified strategies for youth to insure needs are meet.
• Transport youth when necessary.
• Care for program facilities and equipment: organizing, cleaning, sanitizing. Household tasks and duties as assigned, or as needed, to promote a clean, safe, and comfortable environment.
• Document planned interventions, behavior incidents, and general observation of youth and assessment of their skills, behavior, and moods in an objective and professional manner.
• Demonstrate knowledge of and role in individual youth treatment plans, including their assessment, particular needs, behavioral goals, and identified intervention strategies.
• Attend and actively participate in staff meetings and required trainings as scheduled.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education: Bachelor’s degree preferred, Associates degree or 2 years of college with minimum 2 years of relevant experience.

Experience: Substantial childcare experience required.

Licensure/Certification/Registration: DCF Medication Administration Certification, First Aid, CPR, Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) Certification and CARE Training Certification are required to be successfully completed before the end of the new employee probation period and are required to be maintained throughout employment. Agency scheduled and required trainings, E-Learning trainings as assigned, and any other program specific training as scheduled.

Training/Continued Competency: Continued skill development and maintain certifications.

EEO MINORITIES/WOMEN/DISABLED/VETERANS

Required

Preferred

Required