Youth Care Specialist

GENERAL PURPOSE OF JOB
The primary role of the Youth Care Specialist is to provide quality care and supervision to youth in the group home, generate accurate documentation and perform duties necessary for the overall safety and well-being of the youth under their care.  
 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide appropriate direction for children/youth in their daily routines by establishing and maintaining professional boundaries and creating an atmosphere conducive to growth and development by giving positive reinforcement as appropriate
• Provide supervision to youth on and off campus, coordinate and engage in recreational and service activities for youth
• Teach life and independent living skills in accordance with child specific service plans
• Assist to prepare and serve nutritious meals in a family like environment
• Provide transportation of youth to school, medical or other appointments and designated activities
• Monitor, support, and encourage academic performance and educational success
• Maintain confidentiality of youth’s personal and medical information
• Properly document daily activities based on established policies and protocols and ensure effective communication with other staff
• Communicate effectively with other direct care staff during shift change and keep other staff informed of pertinent youth information and campus events
• Maintain the order, safety, cleanliness of the group home
• Dispense medications as prescribed by a medical professional once trained
• Participates in in-service training sessions and attends staff meetings
• Other duties may be assigned as special projects may be requested

WORKING HOURS
CNHC’s work week is Monday through Friday, 40 hours per week.  Your supervisor will advise you of your work hours; however, business office hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. CNHC’s group homes operate with 24 hour a day awake shift staff, 7 days a week, including weekends and all holidays. The supervisor for each group home will coordinate a schedule based on the required available shifts.  

TRAVEL
Travel in and outside of Circuit 13 (Hillsborough) may be required.

TRAINING
All employees must complete fifteen (15) hours of on-line or classroom Training on an annual basis.  If the employee is a Certified Child Welfare Professional, Training hours must total twenty (20) annually. In addition, group home employees must complete all trainings required by the Department of Children and Families and Children’s Network of Hillsborough in relation to working with dependent populations in a residential group home setting.
 

QUALIFICATIONS
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
 

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES
This position does not have supervisory responsibilities

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE    
High School diploma or equivalent is required.  One year of experience working with youth in a structured setting is preferred.

OTHER QUALIFICATIONS

• Must be 21 years of age or older
• Must have dependability, discretion, and good judgement
• Ability to establish and maintain positive working relationships with others

SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Must be able to operate standard modern office machinery, including fax, telephone, calculator, computer, scanner, printer, copier, and mail machine.  Minimum typing speed of 45 wpm; excellent word processing skills.  Must be competent with Microsoft Office Suite programs, including Word, Excel, Power Point, and Outlook.  Must be competent with basic e-mail protocol and procedures including sending, receiving, replying, attachments, and meeting scheduling; excellent written and oral communication skills; effective listening skills; ability to work as a team member, and the ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.  Must abide by the highest standards of confidentiality.

PRE-EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS

• Valid driver’s license, clean driver’s license check, and proof of insurance is required
• Criminal background screening (fingerprinting ~Local Law Enforcement/FBI/FDLE,  and Abuse Registry)
• Drug Screening is a requirement
• Children’s Network participates in E-Verify

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

LANGUAGE SKILLS
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, legal documents, and/or governmental regulations. Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community.  Ability to write speeches and articles for publication that conform to prescribed style and format.  Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, public groups, and/or boards of directors. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS
Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

REASONING ABILITY
Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.  Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables. Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.  Ability to be proactive, as well as handle problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS
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.

This job requires the ability to sit for extended periods; walk; stand; use hands to finger, handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel or crouch; talk and hear.  This job requires visual acuity sufficient to read and to operate standard modern office machines.  The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Remember:  If you are currently an employee of Children’s Network of Hillsborough Florida, LLC, or one of our Case Management Organizations, it is necessary that you notify your current Supervisor, prior to applying.