Description
Employee Work Profile and Job Description
Position Title: Direct Support Professional
Full Time: Yes
Reports to: Director of Intellectual Disability Services
Direct Reports: No
Department/Program: Clint Walker Group Home
Location: Smyr, DE
Description of Position
The Direct Support Professional (DSP) is a member of the clinical team that provides compassionate care and assistance to persons who struggle with intellectual, developmental, and behavioral health challenges and require assistance to achieve their fullest potential. The DSP provides the assistance necessary to allow the clients we serve to live independently and ensure their wellness, health, and safety. The DSP, in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team, provides a wide range of services to meet the environmental, physical, psychosocial, and personal needs of the persons in our care. The DSP embraces the mission of organization by fostering a culture of compassion, hope, service, and collaboration.
Education and Experience
- High School Diploma or GED
- experience working with persons who struggle with intellectual, developmental, or behavioral health challenges
- CPR and First Aid Certified
Professional Credentials/Certifications
- Obtains all training, skills, and certifications required by the organization, accreditors, and contractors
Position Requirements
- Three-year Motor Vehicle Record and valid Delaware driver’s license
- Clean drug screen
- Must be available to work evenings, weekends and holidays
Responsibilities
- Assists with daily living activities, including preparing meals, housekeeping, and assisting with personal hygiene
- Supports the independence of persons served by providing the assistance necessary to maximize their quality of life
- Models hope and optimism when encouraging persons served to achieve their potential
- Supports persons served in developing relationships and becoming involved in their communities
- Cultivates a safe and supportive relationship and environment
- Provides supervision and guidance to person served to build skills and competence
- Documents interactions and activities per policies and procedures
- Monitors and responds to crisis situations or potential crisis situations consistent with best practice, policies, and procedures
- Utilizes skills and competencies to respond to crises
- Reports suspected incidents of neglect, abuse or mistreatment consistent with the organizations policies and procedures
- Maintains client confidentiality and adheres to the organizations ethical code
- Assists in maintaining the well-being and safety of persons served
- May assist consumer with daily medications
- Performs other duties as requested or assigned, verbally or in writing
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Problem Solving: Ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong and respond appropriately.
- Inductive Reasoning: Observes, gets to know persons served, anticipates potential reactions, and considers appropriate strategies to assist persons served.
- Written Communication: Notes, logs, correspondence, and other written communication is professional, free of grammatical errors and easily understood by others
- Oral Communication: Ability to relate and convey directions to persons served and colleagues, with patience, and advocate for persons served with professionalism and compassion.
- Adaptability: Ability to adapt to changes in the work environment, manage competing demands, and demonstrate ability to deal with change, delays, or unexpected events including crisis situations.
- Time Management: Ensure that tasks/duties/activities, projects and goals are accomplished in an accurate and timely manner.
- Attention to Detail: Ability to process detailed information effectively and consistently.
- Stress Tolerance: Recognize crisis situations and react to such in a calm, mature manner; accept criticism and deal calmly and effectively with high stress situations; and the ability to identify, react to, and report
- Ethical Decision Making: Ability to make sound judgments consistent with the Connection’s policies, procedures, and code of ethics
Requirements
Physical Demands and Working Conditions
- May be exposed to verbal and/or physical aggression from individuals
- Majority of duties will be completed in a residential setting
- May be exposed to stressful situations
- Travel between assigned sites is required
- Intermittent sitting, standing, walking and driving expected
This job description is not designed to over or contain a comprehensive list of activities or responsibilities that are required of the employee, and may be site-specific. Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.