Sheltering Arms is currently looking to hire Juvenile Counselors for our Limited Secure Placement (LSP) program. Limited Secure Placement are 8 to 25 bed programs that houses juvenile delinquent youth between the ages of 11-17 who are serving their sentence in our facility under high surveillance. In the LSP program, all youth services take place within the facility. This is including but not limited to: education, medical appointments, and visitation. The Juvenile Specialist will be primarily responsible for building healthy relationships with each resident and providing adequate care, safety, custody, control and counseling with the aim of allowing the youth to become a productive member of society.
Essential Functions
- Provides direct supervision and be accountable for whereabouts of residents at all times.
- Utilizing mechanical restraints to transport youth between sectors of the home.
- Works closely with representatives from the Department of Education to ensure safety during educational enrichment.
- Intervenes during emergencies or altercations in order to ensure the safety of all residents.
- Manages residents' behavior utilizing the principles of the Integrated Treatment Model with the goal of teaching the young people to make positive, lasting changes in their behavior.
- Implements daily living routines, schedules and procedures.
- Assures the safety of the residents and maintains security
- Ensures high standard of sanitary conditions throughout the house including heavy cleaning and laundry.
- Participates in the planning and execution of educational, recreational, and personal enrichment activities.
- Participates in ongoing meetings, conferences, training programs as required.
- Interacts and communicates with Sheltering Arms Children and Family Services staff in matters related to, but not limited to, the needs of the residents and the program, in general.
- Attend all mandatory training required by ACS, OCFS and the Agency.
- Responsible for adhering to all ACS, OCFS and agency regulations.
- Uphold rules, repertoire of responses, confrontation techniques, application of the restriction system, negotiating restrictions, Force Fields; utilization of Safe Crisis Management techniques when necessary.
- Manages the peer group, understands peer group dynamics, promotes and maintains a positive peer group culture.
- Attention to and support of medical issues, student educational needs, casework, clinical appointments, etc. Monitors residents in Family Court.
- Completes log reports, complete behavior assessment reports, and submits documentation, incident reports.
- Informs the Case Planner and supervisors of any issues related to the youth or their families as they become aware of such information
- Ability to work various hours and days of the week
- Performs other duties as assigned
Qualifications
- High School Diploma + 3 Years of Direct Services in Mental Health or Juvenile Justice Programming
- Associate's Degree + 2 Years of Direct Services in Mental Health or Juvenile Justice Programming
- Bachelor’s Degree + 1 Year of Direct Services in Mental Health or Juvenile Justice Programming
- Valid NYS Driver’s License preferred.
- Must have exceptional verbal and written communication skills in order to maintain required documentation
- Must have a commitment to work from a strength based and/or youth development and trauma-informed perspective
- Commitment to the mission and values of Sheltering Arms Children and Family Services
- Must be able to pass required Safe Crisis Management (SCM) and recertify annually
It is the policy of Sheltering Arms Children and Family Services that the Agency wholly complies with the equal treatment of all employees and applicants for employment without unlawful discrimination as to an individual’s perceived or actual race, creed, color, national origin, alienate, citizenship status, gender, gender identity, age, disability, marital status, partnership status, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, or veteran status in all employment decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, compensation, training and apprenticeship, promotion, upgrading, demotion, downgrading, transfer, layoff and termination and all other terms and conditions of employment.
