Crisis and Trauma Team Specialist

Description

Company Purpose/Mission:

Roy Maas Youth Alternatives (RMYA) creates brighter futures for children in crisis by promoting individual success and healthy relationships in a safe, healing environment, giving children and families the tools to end the cycle of abuse. RMYA provides treatment programs for traumatized children who most often are victims of sexual, physical, and/or emotional abuse. RMYA supports using trauma-informed techniques and relationship-based approaches to create a safe environment that provides consistency, structure, and caring for the children we serve.

Job Summary:

The Crisis & Trauma Team Specialist serves all the programs of RMYA. The Crisis & Trauma Team Specialist assists children and youth eliminate or replace disruptive, harmful, or negative behaviors with positive/restorative practice-focused actions in both the school and residential setting at RMYA.

Essential Duties/Responsibilities:

1. Help children maintain healthy behavioral and emotional expression in residential, school, and community settings and prevent serious incidents, while providing one-on-one support for children as necessary or determined by the individual treatment plan in combination with the school’s Behavioral Improvement Plan (BIP) for each student and/or requirements as set forth by the Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
2. Work directly with residential and school staff to provide support focused on anticipating and averting crises; modeling restorative practices, redirection, and restraint techniques; and offering direct support as appropriate and within licensing guidelines when a child is in immediate crisis.
3. At the direction of the clinical team, more generally assist staff with clinical interventions targeted at stabilizing each resident’s placement and improving their path toward positive goal attainment and a positive placement outcome.
4. Maintain an ongoing understanding of individual treatment plans and resident-identified interests and de-escalation techniques.
5. Ensure programs and associated activities are in compliance with applicable Texas rules, regulations, and laws that govern residential programming for children, youth, and their families.
6. Ensure campus safety and security.
7. Maintain professional and ethical standards as prescribed by RMYA.
8. Maintain personally required training hours.
9. Represent RMYA in a professional manner at all times.
10. Be supportive of all RMYA policies and procedures, and actively participate in their development by proposing changes and updates as well as working on teams designed to improve how we work together.
11. Other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Formally evaluate performance of own staff

Other Duties/Responsibilities:

Example: Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Education: High School Diploma required.
• Experience: 2-3 years of direct-care experience with emotionally or behaviorally challenged children and youth in a residential, shelter, school, hospital, or community-based setting is required. 18 credit hours of graduate education in counseling or social work may be substituted for two years of direct-care experience.
• Certification/Licenses: Valid Texas driver’s license or ability to obtain within 30 days of hire. Must have acceptable driving record.
• Competencies:
  • Interpersonal skills demonstrates sensitivity and empathy with others, possesses insight into behavior, maintains open communication and respects diversity, interacts respectfully, effectively and cooperatively with a wide range of people
  • Integrity and ethics demonstrates strong moral principles and work ethic, behaves ethically, acts fairly, takes responsibility, and maintains client confidentiality
  • Professionalism maintains a professional appearance and presence, demonstrates self-control and a positive attitude
  • Initiative demonstrates a willingness to work and persists to accomplish tasks even when conditions are difficult or deadlines are tight, setting challenging goals and can work independently.
  • Dependability and reliability fulfills obligations and follows through, meets attendance and punctuality expectations, attends to details and follows directions
  • Adaptability and flexibility - displaying the capability to adapt to new, different, or changing requirements. Embracing new innovations and providing suggestions to improve processes and tasks.
  • Lifelong learning demonstrates a commitment to self-development and improvement
  • Reading able to understand and comprehend written information in a variety of formats
  • Writing able to use standard business English to compile information and prepare written documents
  • Communication conveys relevant information to individuals or groups effectively, clearly and concisely. Able to understand, interpret, comprehend and respond to information received from others
  • Teamwork establishes productive relationships and works cooperatively with others to complete work assignments and meet team objectives
  • Customer focus efficiently and effectively addresses needs of clients/customers
  • Health and safety maintains a healthy and safe environment
  • Laws and regulations- knowledge of relevant local, state, and federal laws and regulations that impact the delivery of long-term support, care, and services.
  • Patient health and safety- implement procedures and protocols to promote the health and wellness of person receiving supports, care, or services.
  • Long term care, supports, and services- knowledge of the broad range of services and supports designed to ensure the health and safety, and promote independence of individuals receiving services.
  • Documenting/recording information- entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic format to efficiently manage record-keeping.
  • Supporting daily living- effective application of the knowledge, skills and ethics necessary to assist and support individuals who require health and human services to live a self-determined life in a safe and healthy manner.
  • Crisis prevention and conflict resolution- knowledge of potential crisis situations or behavior, and the appropriate procedures to de-escalate the situation or minimize the likelihood of danger.

• Physical Requirements: ability to sit up to 1-3 hours per day with frequent walking, standing, running, bending, squatting, pulling, and pushing; and may move residents up to 170 pounds to a height up to 6 feet with the possible assistance from one other employee.
• Work Environment: Ability to work flexible hours, including weekend and evening hours.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in education, social work, psychology, counseling, or other related filed is preferred. 18 credit hours of graduate education in counseling or social work may be substituted for two years of direct-care experience.
• Competencies:
  • Mathematics- using principles of mathematics to solve problems like quantification, computation, measurement and estimation.
  • Science- using scientific methods and comprehension to solve problems.
  • Critical and analytical thinking- using logic, reasoning, mental agility, and analysis to address problems.
  • Promoting empowerment- develop strategies to assist and support the team to make informed choices through participation, self-advocacy, and utilization of resources.
  • Keeping customers informed- following up in a timely manner to requests and inquiries.
  • Planning and organizing plans and prioritizes work, manages time effectively, develops contingency plans, and manages projects.
  • Problem solving and decision making- applying critical-thinking skills to solve problems by generating, evaluating, and implementing information, solutions, and alternatives.
  • Working with tools and technology- selecting, using, and maintaining tools and technology to facilitate work tasks.
  • Scheduling and coordinating- making arrangements and scheduling appointments.
  • Instructing- teaching or showing someone how to do something.
  • Business fundamentals- knowledge of basic business principles, trends, and economics.

Work Authorization/Security Clearance Requirements:

Successful clearance of Department of Family and Protective Services licensing background checks, (to include fingerprinting and drug testing) and maintenance of status providing ability to be present at an operation.